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The Artifact of Atomos Plot Arcs

2014-02-13T02:34:43Z

Kupor: When new people speak lines of dialogue, you start a new paragraph. Also a few fixes.

This is a page to list all of the plot arcs for the Artifact of Atomos storylines.

==The Beginning==

The streets of Gran Ferra were peaceful this evening. A party has recently just ended and the streets were busy with people going home. One drunk white moogle with a red pom was flying towards the inn he was staying out. The moogle was to drunk to notice that he was being followed by extra shadows. The moogle greeted people as he passed them in the streets, waving merrily. A flick of the lights and suddenly the moogle was gone. Not a sound was made, and not a trace left, the extra shadows receding at the same time.

The woman in leather tapped her fingers along her leather covered arm impatiently, "These alleys, so dreary. Oh what do you think Locke dearie?"

A man stepped forward from the shadows and glares at the woman, "I think we are chasing a myth."

The woman reacts with a sidelong glance to Locke and reaches up to trace a nail across his cheek, "Oh dear sweet Locke, this is no myth." The muffled kupoing of a bagged moogle could be heard coming down one of the alleys.

The woman in leather reaches up and grabs the bag as it is handed to her. Opening it up she pulls out the moogle, "Hey let me kupo! I paid back the money I kupoed! I didn't take that last candy... kupo?" The moogle blinking to the woman holding him, "Who are you kupo?"

The woman holding the moogle smiles down to the moogle, "Oh dear Edward, I hear you came by some information. We can make this simple, give me what I want to know, and I will only torture you a little."

Edward pauses a moment, "Torture Kupo?" Then the moogle opens his mouth and chomps down onto one of the woman's fingers holding him. A screech of pain and Edward is let go, who takes to the air and starts to fly away.

Locke steps forward holding up a bow ready to take aim. "Locke dear, let him go. A brave little moogle, but I got what I want."

The bitten finger to her mouth and tasting her own blood, "Tasty, and we got what we needed." Reaching into the bag and pulling out an ancient leather bound book titled, "The Legend of the Artifact of Atomos." "Come dearie, back to the ship. Celese is making dinner."

The shadows were gone now, the alley empty the next moment. Edward Songkupo, the moogle, had escaped back into the night.

Meanwhile elsewhere...

King Kittemer sat in his throne chamber, drumming his fingers impatiently. An Aegyl walked in and offered a polite bow, "Your Majesty."

The king glanced up and nodded, "Dr. Baltemore, your late. I have a mission for you." Dr. Baltermore stiffens and sighs, "I was hoping it was for pleasantries." The man reaching over and taking a folder from and flipping it open. The king continues, "The Archadian special forces is moving after the listed legend. I am authorizing funding, you will get a team and track down the only lead we have, you the best we have for this Cecil. Hire some adventurers and tracking."

Cecil sighs as he flips through a few more pages, "So wait." The Aegyl glancing up, "So... the artifact of Atomos. We are talking world destruction here, and you are telling me." The Aegyl pausing a moment, "That to save the world, find the moogle?"

----

Khadala: Warehouse Investigation

2013-09-23T02:53:05Z

Kupor:

The warehouse has quieted down. The hail of bullets has left nothing but silence in their wake and five men dead inside the warehouse. Celeste has blood dripping from her spear and a few splatters along her uniform. Kupor is dragging down a unwilling man from the office who see's the carnage and falls to his knees, 'spare me! I am done with the drug business, you can have the drugs I don't care, just don't kill me!" The man starting to break down into crying. The three are inside warehouse 7 out of 10 in a small storage district along the waterfront of the city."
Kupor looks over at the dead men. He looks grim that men had to die, but when he turns to Celeste and Alistair, his face is concerned. "I hope you are not hurt." He gestures to the man, staying behind him. "I found their leader, kupo." He offers up to Alistair. "I believe he will be willing to talk."
Alistair simply turns away from the dead bodies left in Celeste and his wake, paying no more attention to them even as he quietly sticks that snubnose revolver back in his coat pocket. Stepping over to the table with the drugs then, there's a sudden flash of silver as the man flicks his wrist... A straight razor flicked open, and without much ado used to give a quick slice across one of those packages... The Detective carefully gathering up the white, powdery contents on the tip of that razor then, and holding it up to examine it with a careful eye... Before swiping some up with the finger of his other hand, and without hesitation touching it to his tongue... Letting the taste settle in his mouth, feeling it go ever so slightly numb, before he shakes his head and states to no one in particular, "Fairly low quality. A shame." Only to be distracted from that sampling then as Kupor drags the survivor in... His brows going up some as he turns to them, and he waves his hand at Kupor, "Ah, I'm perfectly fine, thank you." And pauses some again then to study the captive bandit...
Celeste shrugs her shoulders, and tosses a lop-sided grin towards Kupor. "They dun shot me," she declares, though she doesn't seem overly concerned about it. "Jes' hadda return the favor." She picks at the spot on her shoulder where a bullet grazed her. "Yer findin' anything useful in there, Alistair?"

The negotiations alone, a tricky beast to manage. Catching up to the rest of their contingent, no less a chore, though with its own unique stresses. Thus, when Dietrich and Azar finally track their compatriots down, and find the aftermath of bloody battle, the grey-clad Knight can only sigh, and pinch the base of his muzzle, as though to stave off a bourgeoning headache. "And what," he rumbles, coming closer, "happened *here?*"
"These men, I gather, believed in shooting first rather than seeking peaceful resolutions of their problems." Kupor gestures, "It appears it did not go well for them, kupo."
Azar brings up the rear, sword drawn, as she followed the Wolf-kin into the warehouse. "Hmm, we missed a battle sadly. Still, no less fierce for having crossed words and barbs dressed as honeyed compliments." She glances out the way they came, before shutting the door. "So, if you have someone... have they said anything yet?"
Celeste looks up at Dietrich, and then gestures towards the small variety of slain individuals. "We was jes' gonna come an' knock on'a door all friendly like," the mouse drawls, "When they done open'r up an' give us yer large caliber g'mornin'." She shrugs dismissively. "So we done fought'm off. Well... mostly me." She shakes her spear emphatically, to get the blood off it before returning it to the sling on her back. "Oi, Kupor... I'mma guessin' he ain' fessed up yet? Yer want me ter talk t'him?" She makes a show of cracking her knuckles. "I'mma *good* at talkin'."
The man contniues to sit there sobbing not having been asked any questions yet. "What do you want to know, I will tell you anything, anything!" He offers cowering back from Celeste, clearly scared of her.
[Public] Nuclear Snake Charmer Ainsley says, "bugs are icky"
Alistair shakes his head at Celeste as he puts that razor away again, casually answering her, "Low quality narcotics. You're welcome to them, should you wish." And then promptly glances over his shoulder as both Dietrich and Azar show up... The pale, slender Detective offering them a polite, welcoming smile, before he motions around the warehouse and responds in particular to Dietrich's comment, "As miss Celeste has said, they thought to give us too much of a warm welcome. We acted in defense." And he motions over at the survivor then, "But as it seems, the lucky survivor is perfectly willing to spill the beans, so to speak, without the need for Celeste's interrogation methods. The honor is yours to ask what we need to know, mister Dietrich."
[Public] How to color Zhgir says, "http://cdn.runt-of-the-web.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/misunderstood-spider-meme-read-paper.jpg"
"Well," Dietrich murmurs, rubbing a knuckle between his eyes for a moment, gazing down upon the sobbing wreck at Kupor's feet, "That's handy." Loosing a quiet breath, he approaches the survivor, dropping to his haunches and giving the man a cool, measuring gaze. "So... I suppose we should start with the simple. What on *Terra* posessed you to think this was a *smart* idea, hmm?"
Kupor has a certain effect on people.
[Public] Ezekial the T-I-Double Guh-UR snrks
The man just blinks, then blinks again, "ye daft?" completely confused by the idea, "Narcotics good business down here, bought myself a house with it along the river front. Good propery, of course I am going to do good business!"
"Yes," Dietrich sighs, neither looking or sounding at all put out by the prospect, "yes I expect you shall. Pay attention, will you? I *mean,* what drove you to waste perfectly good men and property, to say nothing of a less than useful livelihood, to assault *them,* of all people?"
Azar chuckles and shakes her head, "Yes, it certainly wasn't good for your business to begin negotiations by gunfire, now was it?"
The mouse warrior continues to stand there, looking generally pleased with herself, and equally pleased with the idea of roughing someone up for some information. "She plants one hand on her hip, and mmms softly, glancing back and forth between Dietrich and the poor sobbing survivor. "Y'might wanna cut ter th'bit 'bout where us stuff we's lookin' fer is, m'haps?"
"Coner, I did some business in Coner's quarter yesterday. He kills anybody who does that, thought you were assassins come to finish me off for cutting into his business. Shoot first, ask later, its how you live down here." THe man offers.
the man glances to Celeste, "What stuff?"
[Public] Seloria has wide ranging tastes.
Alistair just stands back, next to Azar, letting Dietrich do the talking and Celeste do the intimidating even as Kupor keeps the man into place. A brief smile curling the Detective's lips at the man's answer, and shrugging some as he remarks, "I certainly did not take the attempt personal. He's quite right as to how business is conducted here... But I'm afraid we've digressed a bit. We're looking for the outfit that took a particular weapons shipment, my good man. I'm sure some word has gone around, hm?"
<OOC> Alistair says, "Brb"
"Yes, and lot of good it did, hmm?" Raking a gauntleted hand through his hair, Dietrich settles himself, gesturing up at Alistair. "That's all that they were looking for, my good man. Could have gone a great deal easier, if you'd opened your mouth before opening fire."
[Public] (Legion) Raz Dva Tri! says, "Seloria stop gnawing on the chicken, they're not even dead yet."
[Public] Seloria is practicing.
[Public] Seloria says, "Once it is dead, I will revive it."
At the mention of weapons shipment the man pales and scoots back, "no no heard nothing, that cartel business. Keep my nose clean of cartel business I do! You can tell the Don I know nothing! All I hear is he stole a few, thats all!" The looking white as a ghost now.
"Well, tha's unfort'nate," Celeste comments. She slings her shield across her back, and takes a seat on a crate nearby. Reaching over her shoulder, she draws the short sowrd she keeps on the back of her shield with a soft shhhhhnk sound, and hefts the weapon, turning it over in her hands. "I'mma thinkin' y'oughta be thinkin' 'bout how all yer gonna keep y'self useful 'round here 'bouts." From a pocket, the mouse produces a whetstone, and commences a rather... obnoxiously loud session of blade-sharpening.
<OOC> Alistair says, "Back."
<OOC> Celeste says, "Welcome!"
Azar takes up a position against the door, cracking it open to peer outside. Shutting it once more, she leans against the wall there. "Well, obviously you know something, else you wouldn't be so pale and shaking like a leaf, yes?"
Kupor lifts his hand, palm outward towards Celeste, "I am sure the man would be pleased to tell us. There is no need for threats, kupo." There is a distinction tone of 'good cop' in his voice, however.
"Nothing, only that he stole some weapons and such. What he does with them I do not know, its suicide to even try to find out! The don, the done will kill me." Shaking visibly scarred and sobbing, "Torture me all you want, I know nothing." Still sobbing like a little girl.
"There there," Dietrich says quietly, "don't cry, now. It's not as bad as all that, for you see... you're in luck, my friend. All you have to do, is tell us where we *can* find out. For you see, we're rather detemined to retrieve those weapons. And since we don't know who you are, and not interested in finding out? Why, once we send you on your way, you'll never have to worry about us again, will you? All you need to do is tell us who knows where the shipment is."
The man glances up and whimpers a moment, "I am dead if I tell you. The don will find out. He has men watching all of us, I tell you I di, I do not tell you I die. What does it matter anymore. I do not know where he is, all I know is some of his ranking men have houses a few blocks over." Someplace Alistair would recall was one of his three locations.
Alistair watches the 'interrogation', looking at each participant as if studying their technique... Before settling his pale baby blues back on the sobbing man, and offering him another smile as he adds onto Dietrich's statement, "You might not even have to worry about the Don, my good man. Just think, he might decide to give us the same sort of welcome you so valiantly attempted. With most likely similar results."
Celeste snorts loudly. "Yer wuss," she states, as if reminding everyone that the sky was blue. "Y'gonna tell us, 'cuz yer a wuss. Y'sittin' there all ballin' y'eyes out." She stands up, and takes an idle step towards the man, still sharpning her sword. "Whatcher oughta think 'bout is whatcher wants t'look like after y'done tellin' us." She pauses, and flashes a big, toothy grin. "An' him's right," she nods towards Alistair, "If'n we go find yer big boogeyman, ain' likely ter be much talk a' who tipped us lot off."
Azar stands and walks over to the man, crouching down beside him. "It is a predicament, isn't it? However you're overlooking one thing. We're here, right now. The Don is not. The Don may presently be dealing with us, meaning you're free to flee and hide, and come back later on when the heat is off." She nods her head to Celeste, "See, even our most bloodthirsty is willing to let you leave, even after shooting her."
Kupor frowns. One man will die. But if they move on one of the houses, many more will die. He has only his judgment to go on. "Then we will ask these ranking men. And not you, kupo." He turns towards Dietrich, "I do not believe we can protect him, and it is possible the guards will put him into a life of slavery. Repentence with no chance of light is not repentence." He spreads his hands, "I would not damn this man to death when another option is before us."
The man starts laughing and falls back and holds his stomach, "you take on the don? Ha! He is fearsom, you have no chance!" Shaking his head laughign, "oh I want to live to see this now! Some of the houses, I do not know which ones. Safer not to know." Still laughing uncaring anymore if he lives or dies, something has snapped inside him.
"What option might that be, then?" Rising to his feet, Dietrich extends a hand to the shattered wreck on the ground. "Up you get, there's a lad. While we're puzzling this out, perhaps you could simply point the way? I'm sure we'll find out what we need with just a direction to go on."
"I find it troubling that this is the second man I have tried to save, kupo, who has gone insane," Kupor adds, tiredly.
Azar chuckles and grins at the moogle, "Perhaps you should stop trying to save people who obviously don't wish to be saved?"
The man stands up still chuckling, "not insane, just don't care anymore. You let me go I still die, so why not." Cracknig a grin to the moogle, "So to the houses? down along the waterfront, bout half ahout walk. Otherway is the shipyards, good thing your avoiding that place.' Chuckling still."
A loud, exasperated sound exits Celeste's lips, before the sword she is holding slams point-first into the crate she'd previously been sitting on. The blade quivers in the air as she leaves it there, and she marches straight up to the man, coming to a stop right by his side. "I'mma gettin' *bored*," she snaps, "And yer ain' gonna like me when I'mma bored." She crosses her arms across her chest, and glowers down at him. "Y'gonna tell us what all houses t'go to'r what?"
"I do not know." The man states very firmly, "You think I am stupid enough to find out which houses belong to the cartel? Your madder then Saint Kefka, you are." The man is still quivering in his standing, trying his best to hide his fear.
Alistair's brow raises some as the man snaps like that... And he shakes his head some, looking at the others next, "I have a fairly good idea of which residences he is talking about. I would suggest leaving him here, in the company of a strong piece of rope, for the time being. If sir Kupor wishes to aid him, we can return to do so once our business with the Don is concluded."
"Enough." Between the negotiations and the upcoming festivities, Dietrich's patience is wearing thin, and it begins to creep into his voice. Looking to Alistair, the wolfkin nods once, hefting the strap securing his shield to his back. "Best we get on our way, then." Turning back to the man, he raises an eyebrow. "Think you can keep yourself secure for a few hours, mh?"
Azar just shrugs and heads back to the door, looking outside once more to make sure their exit is clear. "This has got to be one of the strangest days I've ever had the pleasure of being awake for."
Celeste stares down at the man, and gives him a long, hard look. And then she shrugs her shoulders, and turns to walk back to where she left her sword. "A'ight," she states, her tone gone back to being airy and pleasant. "So... where all we's off ter next, then?" She pushes the sword back into the scabbard it came from, and stretches her back until the vertebrae pop.
The man does not prevent himself from being tied up, only shaking his head slowly, "I hope he kills you all, slowly and painfully." As he sits there watching the party go.
<OOC> Marduke says, "YOu all heading out to the housing area then?"
<OOC> Alistair says, "Ja"
<OOC> Dietrich ayus.
<OOC> Azar nawds.
<OOC> Marduke says, "Anybody have a aversion to blood/gore I should be aware of before I proceed?"
<OOC> You say, "it's only words, words cannot hurt me unless you really start getting into some Saw/human centipede stuff or something. Then that's really more of a personal problem you should get help for"
<OOC> Alistair doesn't.
The party starts out of the warehouse and it is not more then two minutes after they leave that they hear a sharp cry of pain from behind them. The man they had just interogated and tied up if anybody heads back is found tied up and hung with his own intestines. A note pinned to his chest.
<OOC> Kupor Afk just a few more minutes.
<OOC> You say, "man does he employ ninjas we haven't even gone two blocks for you to screw over our decisions!"
<OOC> Azar chuckles.
Alistair had started to lead the group to where he believes this Don character might have hidden the stolen shipment, when he's given pause by that scream... And shows no hesitation then as he starts to head right back, letting anyone who wants to follow along do so. The man re-emerging inside the warehouse only to find the strung up corse... His nose crunching up a just a bit at the strong scent of blood as he studies the effects of the brutal murder with an otherwise clinical eye... Gaze soon dropping to that note.
The note has but one simple word on it. "Slate"
Azar shakes her head and shrugs, "Well, the man's fear was properly placed it seems. Another one for the Don to have to pay for, when the time for accounting comes."
THe mouse warrior likewise had rushed back into the room, spear drawn and ready; and... it would seem, not necessary for the moment. She keeps it in had for the time being, however. "...Well damn, there's killin' a man, an' then there's that," she observes, peeling her lips back in brief disgust. "T'ain' necess'ry fer *that*." She slowly approaches the slain man, and reaches out to pluck the note off his chest, and hand it to Azar. "Here... what all that sayin'?" After that, she swipes her spear to cut the man down; after he lands on the floor, she rolls him onto his back, and lays her spear down beside him as she carefully feeds his intestines back into his belly. "A little dignity," she murmurs.
<OOC> You say, "dangit"
<OOC> You say, "couldn't type fast enough"
"Truly?" Dietrich's muzzle wrinkles as he rounds the corner at Alistair's heels, catching sight of the grisly murder just long enough to identify the victim, then turning to place his hands over his nose. "*This* is what he deserved? Augh... I think I'd agree, Azar... and... that's.... kind of you, Celeste... but do wash your hands before we go on, yes?"
"Not just dignity, but we rob the Don of the message he wished to display. We might not get the chance, but if it comes to fighting, we ought to carve a bit of hide from the Don." Azar crosses her arms. "This city and her ways are starting to get to me."
For one moment, Celeste and Kupor are of one mind. He has his hand on his sword, about to leap and do exactly the same. But as Celeste does it, he nods.
-
Kupor approves (+50)
-
"No. I had hoped to alleviate his death, kupo." Kupor brings his hat down slightly as he bends over with Celeste's work. He says a brief 'Let the Light guide your soul' before he stands up again. "Let us continue. My patience for this city's dark ways draws thin."
<OOC> Kupor ugh. I need 10 minutes. Sorry. Be back as soon as possible.
"Deserved, not deserved, inconsequential. Punishment determined and execution completed." Offers a monotone voice from the office. The office starting on fire as the Rozzarian golem Slate steps out. "Quick to find area, impressive. Slate gives credit." The golem coming to a stop, "You disapprove?" The golem tilting its head slightly, "Proper punishment for unacceptable life. What would be proper?"
"And we've only spent but a pair of days in her arms," Dietrich grumbles, keeping to the mouth of the alley, until the rest finish their business. The new voice, however, has the wolfkin straightening sharply, turning to face the golem, eyes narrowing. "Slate, I presume?"
"He could have still provided information later. Also, there really was no point, he was a broken man. A waste of time to have killed him, especially in such a fashion." Azar looks to Dietrich, "Has it really been only two days. It feels more like a week."
Alistair searches his mind for the possible meaning of the word on the note. Slate; A fine-grained rock formed by the metamorphosis of clay, shale, etc, that tends to split along parallel cleavage planes, usually at an angle to the planes of stratification. Slate; A thin piece or plate of this rock or a similar material, used especially for roofing or as a writing surface. Slate; A dull, dark bluish gray ... Only to be distracted from this thought process by the sudden voice, turning towards it much like Dietrich does, his brows rising as he promptly studies the Golem before them.
"...Well well weeelll." Celeste dispenses with washing her hands and stands up instead, work completed. She hooks one foot under the haft of her spear and jerks it upwards, catching the weapon in oner bloody hand; her other smoothly pulls the shield off her back, and slips her arm through the straps. "If'n it ain' ol' rust bucket from'a negotiatin' table. An yer does speak afterall." She tilts her head to crack her neck, and moves smoothly forwards; nothing overtly hostile, but merely a positioning of herself between Slate and the rest of the group. "Yer mind givin some 'splanation?"
"Explination request of actions." The golem pauses as if thinking, "Request accepted. Attempt at distraction and misinformation. Removal of possible information leads to adversaries, emberstrand deligation. Method of execution, attempt at demoraliztion, emberstrand deligation. Task, completed." The golem turning to face the group, "Slate recommends vacating premises, fire spreading drugs offer inhospitale air to lesser beings." The golem starting for the door, "Will discuss further outside." The fire from the office spreading quickly.
The hair of Kupor's nape rises. "This fire could spread to other warehouses. To homes, kupo!" How did the golem do this all so damnably quick? He turns to the office, then puts his hand over his face as the fire blazes. "We must alert the guard quickly. I care nothing for the golem's self-servings, kupo. More people will die if this fire is not quickly contained."
Azar doesn't need to be asked three times, promptly turning and making her way outside. "Hmm, the moogle has a salient point. Anyone have water spells handy?"
"None to speak of, but the guard is a fine choice," Dietrich says, ushering the stragglers out the door in a hurry. "Quickly though, quickly. Plenty of time to chat once we've shaken the soot from our shoes."
Alistair shakes his head some, but offers no comment yet towards the Golem or anyone else, not before they all get out of the warehouse as that blaze starts spreading... The man quickly turning to follow Dietrich outside, no stress, worry or even fear showing on his face as he does so. Rather seeming to be deep in thought instead...
Celeste matches Slate's steps, keeping herself between the golem and the party. "Lesser beings me arse, but I do like sweet air, s'a'ight, out we go. But yer makes a move fer me friends an' I'mma show you who all's lesser." She follows out after the golem, and takes up a good and strategic position. "A'ight then. We's all out'ere. How 'bouts yer 'splainin' b'fore th'city be burnin' down 'round us?"
"Fire of no consequence. Spreading of little impact, local lives evaluation, calculating. Nominal." The golem turns to face the group once outside. "Inquiry: What further expliatnation is required? Stated purpose was to hinder and demoralize, emberstrand deligation. Emberstrand objective, weapons grade supply shipment of magicite. Purpose, to delay group while arrangements are made. Task, completed."
The moogle cares little for the golem's explanation or evaluation. It is better that he leaves to go find the guard to take care of this fire rather than stay around the Golem. He takes off in a dead sprint.
"Can we quote you on that?" Dietrich says, nodding at Kupor's back as the moogle speeds off to summon the guard. "I suppose we've our work cut out for us, then. Friends, let's hurry, shall we?"
Azar rubs her chin, "Yes, I think the moogle has the right idea." She takes off at a run, roughly following Kupor's path.
<OOC> You say, "How did the Rozzarian embassy arrive here by the way"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Airship"
<OOC> You say, "their own airship or carter"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Their own."
<OOC> You say, "yea I know where I'm getting my god damn airship"
<OOC> Dietrich XD
[Public] Azar says, "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIscLaYnECs"
Alistair actually offers the Golem a bit of a smile... And he nods at it then, simply remarking, "You did a fine job, I'm sure... Give my regards to miss Satori, will you?" And with that, he simply turns to follow after the others, to attempt to salvage the operation as best they can.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "JUSTICE MUTINY."
"No he ain', Kupor's got'a *wrong* idea," Celeste snaps, taking a step back from the golem. "He all off ter find'a guards fer'a fire, an' by a'time we got that sorted we gonna be too late fer th'weapons." She takes another step back, and glances over her shoulder at Dietrich. "T'hell wit'a warehouses. We gotta be lookin' out fer *Emberstrand*."
<OOC> Alistair prolly got the situation wrong. Was following to go find the Don, not deal with dumb fire.
<OOC> Alistair tired.
<OOC> Dietrich nods, that's what I was assuming too.
"Quote acceptable, bases of you word vs ours. Accusations of weaker group act as weakening point, please quote." Slate offers to Dietrich. Then turns to Celeste, "Accurate account. Guards not in slums, estimated resonse time for fire control at 48 minutes, 32 seconds. Estimated time to find guard, 1 hour, 12 minutes, 12 seconds. Time needed for completion of shipment extraction, 1 hour, 44 minutes and 13 seconds remaning. Inquiry, why were you headed the wrong way for shipment of goods? Slate assumes you knew proper location of goods at shipyards."
<OOC> You say, "There are six of us, I'm pretty sure you guys can handle him without me for a round or two."
<OOC> Azar says, "Ugh."
"It's not as though we can't raise the alarm *on the way,*" Dietrich notes, tugging on the rim of Celeste's shield as they hurry away from the golem. "Kupor, Azar! Get the call up, we're on a *tight schedule* now!"
Celeste says, "Feel free ter rust solid," Celeste says to Slate, quite cheerfully, before she turns to run after Dietrich. Spear and shield find their way to her back; her hands are still covered in blood however, and there doesn't seem to be much she can do about that... though she does eye the back of Dietrich's clothes for a moment. "...So were he tellin' a truth?" she asks, once they are a reasonable distance from the golem. "He mentioned a' Shipyard, but he might'a be lyin'. There'a two more places fer a visit left... I'mm thinkin' we splits again.""
Azar has reconnected.
<OOC> Azar says, "Still good, only switched spots because Chinese."
Azar waves in response to Dietrich's yell, and without bothering to look back, she begins to yell out, "Fire! Fire in the warehouses!"
<OOC> Marduke says, "which way you going, shipyards, or houses?"
<OOC> Celeste Is for splittin'.
<OOC> You say, "Indeed."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Very good idea :)"
<OOC> You say, "heeey, we had one good idea! woooooo"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Note that it was not 'jack the ROzarrian's ride' XD"
<OOC> Marduke says, "You have had a lot of good ideas."
<OOC> Dietrich says, "So who goes with whom?"
<OOC> You say, "We'll split the killbeasts"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Let me point out a few things to before you split."
<OOC> You say, "and dietrich and I should go in opposing groups as moral guidance"
<OOC> Azar says, "Because nothing has ever gone wrong when we split up."
<OOC> Marduke says, "The houses are a lot of houses. Several of them with water front and ship docks for a lot of them. The shipyards are smaller and more open so searching is much quicker. If you wish to split up let me know how and where everybody is going."
<OOC> Dietrich nod, hm.
<OOC> Marduke says, "I have also given you two clues >.>"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "You have!"
<OOC> Alistair is good with whichever.
<OOC> Celeste suggest she and Dietrich go to the docks, and Alistair takes Azar and Kupor to the houses.
<OOC> You say, "Sounds good."
<OOC> Dietrich nod.
<OOC> Azar says, "Hnn, sure!"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Alistair having a target among the houses makes that easier."
Slate shifts a moment seeing that the party is splitting up. "New objective. Slate moves towards Docks to warn of approaching interferance. Initiating objective." The golem takes one step forward, then suddenly is a blur of speed rushing right past Azar and Dietrich.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Celeste."
<OOC> Azar says, "Now we should stick together. XD"
<OOC> You say, "IT WOULD BE GOOD IF SOMEONE COULD ROLL SENSE MOTIVE"
+-------------------------[ HP/MP/XP ]-------------------------+
| HP 153/153 | MP 22/22 | XP 84/352 |
+--------------------------[ DERIVED ]-------------------------+
| PATK 55 | RATK 34 | MATK 14 |
| DEF 24 | | MDEF 16 |
+---------------------------[ STATS ]--------------------------+
| Strength 20 | Dexterity 17 | Stamina 16 |
| Intelligence 12 | Insight 11 | Willpower 16 |
| Attunement 6 | Acuity 8 | Resilience 8 |
+--------------------------[ SKILLS ]--------------------------+
| Agility 18 | Alertness 9 | Athletics 18 |
| Brawl 18 | Empathy 6 | Endurance 12 |
| Fortitude 12 | Leadership 2 | Melee 24 |
| Performing 6 | Resistance 7 | Survival 4 |
| Vitality 10 | | |
+-------------------------[ ABILITIES ]------------------------+
| Active/Accumulate 6 || Active/Cover 8 |
| Active/Rend Attack 8 || Active/Rend Magic 7 |
| Support/Raise-HP 6 || Support/Toughen 6 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
<OOC> You say, "HINT HINT"
<OOC> Azar says, "Dude, really?"
<OOC> Kupor looks at Alistair
<OOC> Celeste says, "Yeessss?"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Kupor, the guy dropped the hint that the docks were dangerous. Nobody followed up with why. Second off, the golem stated that was the right direction second hit. Third hint, he is going ahead to warn people at docks. Three hints, without giving away the answer. If you wish to still icly split up, that is fine. else you can take the hints and head to the docks."
<OOC> Celeste says, "Marduke, can I try to do something about Slate rushing past us?"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Sure!"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "This golem is the worst mook ever. XD"
<OOC> Celeste is basically just gonna try to either take him off his feet with her spear, or else dige the blade in and go for a ride.
<OOC> Celeste Shall pose that, huhr.
<OOC> Azar says, "Best mook. We have no idea if he's telling the truth really. :P"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Is either one magically enforced?"
<OOC> Celeste says, "What do you mean?"
<OOC> Azar says, "I think he means enchanted."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Or tempered beyond normal hardness to prevent breaking."
<OOC> Celeste headshakes, not magic.
<OOC> Celeste says, "Good quality though."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Hai, pick your attack :)"
The mouse warrior's ears perk up at Slate's ramblings; Celeste spins around, coat whirling around her as she turns to face the golem full on. She sets her shield in front of her as she puts herself straight into Slate's path, and holds her spear behind her; she winds the weapon up for the attack, and with a fierce yell brings it around, aiming to slam the blade into the golem's side and puncture his metal self, while keeping her feet set to receive the charge full on with her own body.
"The Docks it is," Dietrich mutters, drawing in a breath. "Let's move!" Waving for the rest of the party to follow, the wolfkin unlimbers his shield and picks up the pace, hoping to catch up to Slate before he can bowl over Celeste, and drive the shield edge-on into the back of the golem's knee joint.
The golem is heavy, the golem is fast. It also seems to have a weakness in that very speed, lack of ability to react to a sudden change in situation. It charges forward, no vering, no alteration of course, and slams right into Celeste. The spear hits into the creatures side and pierces into the metal, then snaps the spear in half. The golem fortunetly hit the shield that bears the brunt of the hit. Celeste is crushed under the shield and into the ground several of her ribes cracking or broken and both her arms and left leg broken from the impact. The golem continues forward and now into the air, slamming into a building and through it into another and so forth going through five of the warehouses total before it comes to a crashing stop. The golem is shattered, pieces of him thrown about past the five warehouses. The golem is dead, a touch of mist escaping from its center and fading into the air. Dietrich is just a hair to late to try to help the mouse warrior.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "And this, children, is why you never hook up a brain to a locomotive."
Azar has dropped a connection.
<OOC> Celeste wonders if this is a good time to activate Regenerator? >.> <.<
<OOC> Marduke says, "Rollit"
<OOC> Azar says, "Heh."
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE GOLEM!"
Kupor grimaces. Is there no guard, even a light force here? Damn this city. As Azar calls out, it shall have to be enough. He turns to see the golem burst into motion. He twists, coiling his body to move. But it is Celeste that acts first. And her spear that brings the golem crashing through several warehouses. He blinks twice. "Kupo." He is not sure how to feel about this.
-
Resigned to leave the golem to his fate, he moves rapidly to Celeste instead to pry the shield off of her.
<OOC> Marduke says, "Heh, Golem was three things. Fast, silent, and 100% honest and obedient to its master. You found the easy way to kill it. I am impressed :)"
[Public] How to color Zhgir wheels Azar away.
[Public] (Legion) Raz Dva Tri! says, "Azar, you are not Brick, stop it. XD"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Stamina+Resistance+Reactive/Regenerator"
<OOC> Alistair dohs, dozed off. Not sure how long.
<OOC> Marduke says, "you are fine."
[Public] Azar says, "I AM BRICK, the PRETTIEST SIREN."
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE LEGION!"
[Public] Azar laughs.
[CHECK]: Celeste rolls (Stamina+Resistance+Reactive/Regenerator) result: 21
<OOC> Celeste Sorries for slowness.
[Public] Seloria is the reincarnation of...Seloria.
[Public] Seloria says, "Anybody got spare body parts?"
<OOC> Marduke nod nods, "It goes off. Your still beat up. Imagine being at 1 hp. three rounds will put you at 31% health basically :)
[Public] Seloria says, "I'm building a new mother."
The impact draws a deep wince from the running wolfkin, and as the golem passes over Dietrich scoops Celeste up on the run, hurriedly murmuring a brief healing incantation. [Cure] His newfound burden slows him some, but, to the shipyard he runs, intent on arriving before the deal is complete.
Azar slows to a stop as she runs past the moogle, turning in time to see the mouse-golem collision. She winces at the sound of each passage through a building the golem makes. "It couldn't have happened to a more deserving being, I think."
Alistair looks back at the sound of metal on flesh, only to watch Celeste be bowled over like that, the Detective in an instant noting it doesn't look at all good... And ignoring it as the Golem crashes into the nearby building, he heads towards the mouse warrior instead, to provide whatever aid he can.
[Public] Seloria says, "Raiding graves it is..."
<OOC> Alistair too slow.
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE GRAVE ROBBER."
[Public] Seloria says, "No, my face!"
[Public] Seloria says, "I'll never be able to compete for Miss Ivalice..."
[Public] Azar says, "... in the kidneys."
[Public] Seloria could not before, given her dress sense.
[Public] Nitro explodes the Puncher
[Public] Seloria says, "My kidneys..."
[Public] Azar says, "Yeah a towel and a scarf doesn't make for proper Miss Ivalice wear."
[Public] Seloria says, "I upgraded to a robe!"
[Public] Azar says, "A cape stolen from the spiderling."
<OOC> Marduke says, "After Celeste poses we are going to call it a night"
[Public] Seloria says, "I gave it to him..."
<OOC> Dietrich nodnod.
[Public] Seloria says, "Did I?"
[Public] Seloria might have burned it by accident.
( Celeste finds herself lieing on her back, staring up at the sky. The sharp cry that left her lips when the golem struck her goes wholly unremembered; in fact she finds herself quite unable to recall the previous fifteen seconds of her life. What does register, however, is that Slate is most certainly no longer within the realm of the living, and has gone to... wherever it is that golems go, along with the fact that she hurts. Significantly. Also of note is the massive dent in the middle of her shield, as well as the unfortunate condition her spear is is. Already, her wounds are working to knit together. "...I'mma need a new spear," she mutters, her voice raspy and strained. She winces and gasps as she's scooped up; her shield is dropped in the process, clattering across the ground, though she manages to keep ahold of the half of her spear that has the blades on it. "Thanks," she gasps once more, as the effects of the healing spell leave her in a much more favorable condition. ) [Spoofed By: Celeste]

Khadala: Warehouse Investigation

2013-09-23T02:52:13Z

Kupor: Unedited log

The warehouse has quieted down. The hail of bullets has left nothing but silence in their wake and five men dead inside the warehouse. Celeste has blood dripping from her spear and a few splatters along her uniform. Kupor is dragging down a unwilling man from the office who see's the carnage and falls to his knees, 'spare me! I am done with the drug business, you can have the drugs I don't care, just don't kill me!" The man starting to break down into crying. The three are inside warehouse 7 out of 10 in a small storage district along the waterfront of the city."
Kupor looks over at the dead men. He looks grim that men had to die, but when he turns to Celeste and Alistair, his face is concerned. "I hope you are not hurt." He gestures to the man, staying behind him. "I found their leader, kupo." He offers up to Alistair. "I believe he will be willing to talk."
Alistair simply turns away from the dead bodies left in Celeste and his wake, paying no more attention to them even as he quietly sticks that snubnose revolver back in his coat pocket. Stepping over to the table with the drugs then, there's a sudden flash of silver as the man flicks his wrist... A straight razor flicked open, and without much ado used to give a quick slice across one of those packages... The Detective carefully gathering up the white, powdery contents on the tip of that razor then, and holding it up to examine it with a careful eye... Before swiping some up with the finger of his other hand, and without hesitation touching it to his tongue... Letting the taste settle in his mouth, feeling it go ever so slightly numb, before he shakes his head and states to no one in particular, "Fairly low quality. A shame." Only to be distracted from that sampling then as Kupor drags the survivor in... His brows going up some as he turns to them, and he waves his hand at Kupor, "Ah, I'm perfectly fine, thank you." And pauses some again then to study the captive bandit...
Celeste shrugs her shoulders, and tosses a lop-sided grin towards Kupor. "They dun shot me," she declares, though she doesn't seem overly concerned about it. "Jes' hadda return the favor." She picks at the spot on her shoulder where a bullet grazed her. "Yer findin' anything useful in there, Alistair?"
[W] Mook (None set.) *OOC*
==============================================================================
Full Name: Unknown
Series: Unknown
Class: Code Mooker Alignment: Unknown
Gender: Male Species: Chocobo
Age: Unknown Birthdate: Unknown
Height: Unknown Weight: Unknown
==============================================================================
Currently connected.
No mail is waiting.
==============================================================================
Short Description: None set.
Miscellaneous: None set.
==============================================================================
= CoIAdjudicator, Plot Architect =============================================
[Hinoserm ]:[Server Admin ]:[On Duty ]
[Ivory ]:[HeadWiz ]:[5h Idle]
[Legion ]:[Vice Headwiz, Judgemaster, Theme, Complaints ]:[On Duty ]
[Silvante ]:[Theme, Spirit Cosmology & Build Wizard. Judge ]:[Offline ]
[Kioshi ]:[System/General ]:[On Duty ]
[Jenova ]:[None set. ]:[Offline ]
[Mook ]:[Mascot ]:[On Duty ]
[Thirteen ]:[Theme/History/Races/Locs **On Hiatus** ]:[53m Idle]
[Rebecca ]:[New Player Helper, Adjudicator, Player Relatio]:[Offline ]
[Viktor ]:[Plot Staff, XP Staff, Job Creation, Gun Nut ]:[On Duty ]
[Minion ]:[Job & Ability Dev, Theme, Player Relations ]:[Offline ]
[MCP ]:[Code and System Development, Plotstaffer ]:[Offline ]
==============================================================================
The negotiations alone, a tricky beast to manage. Catching up to the rest of their contingent, no less a chore, though with its own unique stresses. Thus, when Dietrich and Azar finally track their compatriots down, and find the aftermath of bloody battle, the grey-clad Knight can only sigh, and pinch the base of his muzzle, as though to stave off a bourgeoning headache. "And what," he rumbles, coming closer, "happened *here?*"
"These men, I gather, believed in shooting first rather than seeking peaceful resolutions of their problems." Kupor gestures, "It appears it did not go well for them, kupo."
Azar brings up the rear, sword drawn, as she followed the Wolf-kin into the warehouse. "Hmm, we missed a battle sadly. Still, no less fierce for having crossed words and barbs dressed as honeyed compliments." She glances out the way they came, before shutting the door. "So, if you have someone... have they said anything yet?"
Celeste looks up at Dietrich, and then gestures towards the small variety of slain individuals. "We was jes' gonna come an' knock on'a door all friendly like," the mouse drawls, "When they done open'r up an' give us yer large caliber g'mornin'." She shrugs dismissively. "So we done fought'm off. Well... mostly me." She shakes her spear emphatically, to get the blood off it before returning it to the sling on her back. "Oi, Kupor... I'mma guessin' he ain' fessed up yet? Yer want me ter talk t'him?" She makes a show of cracking her knuckles. "I'mma *good* at talkin'."
The man contniues to sit there sobbing not having been asked any questions yet. "What do you want to know, I will tell you anything, anything!" He offers cowering back from Celeste, clearly scared of her.
[Public] Nuclear Snake Charmer Ainsley says, "bugs are icky"
Alistair shakes his head at Celeste as he puts that razor away again, casually answering her, "Low quality narcotics. You're welcome to them, should you wish." And then promptly glances over his shoulder as both Dietrich and Azar show up... The pale, slender Detective offering them a polite, welcoming smile, before he motions around the warehouse and responds in particular to Dietrich's comment, "As miss Celeste has said, they thought to give us too much of a warm welcome. We acted in defense." And he motions over at the survivor then, "But as it seems, the lucky survivor is perfectly willing to spill the beans, so to speak, without the need for Celeste's interrogation methods. The honor is yours to ask what we need to know, mister Dietrich."
[Public] How to color Zhgir says, "http://cdn.runt-of-the-web.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/misunderstood-spider-meme-read-paper.jpg"
"Well," Dietrich murmurs, rubbing a knuckle between his eyes for a moment, gazing down upon the sobbing wreck at Kupor's feet, "That's handy." Loosing a quiet breath, he approaches the survivor, dropping to his haunches and giving the man a cool, measuring gaze. "So... I suppose we should start with the simple. What on *Terra* posessed you to think this was a *smart* idea, hmm?"
Kupor has a certain effect on people.
[Public] Ezekial the T-I-Double Guh-UR snrks
The man just blinks, then blinks again, "ye daft?" completely confused by the idea, "Narcotics good business down here, bought myself a house with it along the river front. Good propery, of course I am going to do good business!"
"Yes," Dietrich sighs, neither looking or sounding at all put out by the prospect, "yes I expect you shall. Pay attention, will you? I *mean,* what drove you to waste perfectly good men and property, to say nothing of a less than useful livelihood, to assault *them,* of all people?"
Azar chuckles and shakes her head, "Yes, it certainly wasn't good for your business to begin negotiations by gunfire, now was it?"
The mouse warrior continues to stand there, looking generally pleased with herself, and equally pleased with the idea of roughing someone up for some information. "She plants one hand on her hip, and mmms softly, glancing back and forth between Dietrich and the poor sobbing survivor. "Y'might wanna cut ter th'bit 'bout where us stuff we's lookin' fer is, m'haps?"
"Coner, I did some business in Coner's quarter yesterday. He kills anybody who does that, thought you were assassins come to finish me off for cutting into his business. Shoot first, ask later, its how you live down here." THe man offers.
the man glances to Celeste, "What stuff?"
[Public] Seloria has wide ranging tastes.
Alistair just stands back, next to Azar, letting Dietrich do the talking and Celeste do the intimidating even as Kupor keeps the man into place. A brief smile curling the Detective's lips at the man's answer, and shrugging some as he remarks, "I certainly did not take the attempt personal. He's quite right as to how business is conducted here... But I'm afraid we've digressed a bit. We're looking for the outfit that took a particular weapons shipment, my good man. I'm sure some word has gone around, hm?"
<OOC> Alistair says, "Brb"
"Yes, and lot of good it did, hmm?" Raking a gauntleted hand through his hair, Dietrich settles himself, gesturing up at Alistair. "That's all that they were looking for, my good man. Could have gone a great deal easier, if you'd opened your mouth before opening fire."
[Public] (Legion) Raz Dva Tri! says, "Seloria stop gnawing on the chicken, they're not even dead yet."
[Public] Seloria is practicing.
[Public] Seloria says, "Once it is dead, I will revive it."
At the mention of weapons shipment the man pales and scoots back, "no no heard nothing, that cartel business. Keep my nose clean of cartel business I do! You can tell the Don I know nothing! All I hear is he stole a few, thats all!" The looking white as a ghost now.
"Well, tha's unfort'nate," Celeste comments. She slings her shield across her back, and takes a seat on a crate nearby. Reaching over her shoulder, she draws the short sowrd she keeps on the back of her shield with a soft shhhhhnk sound, and hefts the weapon, turning it over in her hands. "I'mma thinkin' y'oughta be thinkin' 'bout how all yer gonna keep y'self useful 'round here 'bouts." From a pocket, the mouse produces a whetstone, and commences a rather... obnoxiously loud session of blade-sharpening.
<OOC> Alistair says, "Back."
<OOC> Celeste says, "Welcome!"
Azar takes up a position against the door, cracking it open to peer outside. Shutting it once more, she leans against the wall there. "Well, obviously you know something, else you wouldn't be so pale and shaking like a leaf, yes?"
Kupor lifts his hand, palm outward towards Celeste, "I am sure the man would be pleased to tell us. There is no need for threats, kupo." There is a distinction tone of 'good cop' in his voice, however.
"Nothing, only that he stole some weapons and such. What he does with them I do not know, its suicide to even try to find out! The don, the done will kill me." Shaking visibly scarred and sobbing, "Torture me all you want, I know nothing." Still sobbing like a little girl.
"There there," Dietrich says quietly, "don't cry, now. It's not as bad as all that, for you see... you're in luck, my friend. All you have to do, is tell us where we *can* find out. For you see, we're rather detemined to retrieve those weapons. And since we don't know who you are, and not interested in finding out? Why, once we send you on your way, you'll never have to worry about us again, will you? All you need to do is tell us who knows where the shipment is."
The man glances up and whimpers a moment, "I am dead if I tell you. The don will find out. He has men watching all of us, I tell you I di, I do not tell you I die. What does it matter anymore. I do not know where he is, all I know is some of his ranking men have houses a few blocks over." Someplace Alistair would recall was one of his three locations.
Alistair watches the 'interrogation', looking at each participant as if studying their technique... Before settling his pale baby blues back on the sobbing man, and offering him another smile as he adds onto Dietrich's statement, "You might not even have to worry about the Don, my good man. Just think, he might decide to give us the same sort of welcome you so valiantly attempted. With most likely similar results."
Celeste snorts loudly. "Yer wuss," she states, as if reminding everyone that the sky was blue. "Y'gonna tell us, 'cuz yer a wuss. Y'sittin' there all ballin' y'eyes out." She stands up, and takes an idle step towards the man, still sharpning her sword. "Whatcher oughta think 'bout is whatcher wants t'look like after y'done tellin' us." She pauses, and flashes a big, toothy grin. "An' him's right," she nods towards Alistair, "If'n we go find yer big boogeyman, ain' likely ter be much talk a' who tipped us lot off."
Azar stands and walks over to the man, crouching down beside him. "It is a predicament, isn't it? However you're overlooking one thing. We're here, right now. The Don is not. The Don may presently be dealing with us, meaning you're free to flee and hide, and come back later on when the heat is off." She nods her head to Celeste, "See, even our most bloodthirsty is willing to let you leave, even after shooting her."
Kupor frowns. One man will die. But if they move on one of the houses, many more will die. He has only his judgment to go on. "Then we will ask these ranking men. And not you, kupo." He turns towards Dietrich, "I do not believe we can protect him, and it is possible the guards will put him into a life of slavery. Repentence with no chance of light is not repentence." He spreads his hands, "I would not damn this man to death when another option is before us."
The man starts laughing and falls back and holds his stomach, "you take on the don? Ha! He is fearsom, you have no chance!" Shaking his head laughign, "oh I want to live to see this now! Some of the houses, I do not know which ones. Safer not to know." Still laughing uncaring anymore if he lives or dies, something has snapped inside him.
"What option might that be, then?" Rising to his feet, Dietrich extends a hand to the shattered wreck on the ground. "Up you get, there's a lad. While we're puzzling this out, perhaps you could simply point the way? I'm sure we'll find out what we need with just a direction to go on."
"I find it troubling that this is the second man I have tried to save, kupo, who has gone insane," Kupor adds, tiredly.
Azar chuckles and grins at the moogle, "Perhaps you should stop trying to save people who obviously don't wish to be saved?"
The man stands up still chuckling, "not insane, just don't care anymore. You let me go I still die, so why not." Cracknig a grin to the moogle, "So to the houses? down along the waterfront, bout half ahout walk. Otherway is the shipyards, good thing your avoiding that place.' Chuckling still."
A loud, exasperated sound exits Celeste's lips, before the sword she is holding slams point-first into the crate she'd previously been sitting on. The blade quivers in the air as she leaves it there, and she marches straight up to the man, coming to a stop right by his side. "I'mma gettin' *bored*," she snaps, "And yer ain' gonna like me when I'mma bored." She crosses her arms across her chest, and glowers down at him. "Y'gonna tell us what all houses t'go to'r what?"
"I do not know." The man states very firmly, "You think I am stupid enough to find out which houses belong to the cartel? Your madder then Saint Kefka, you are." The man is still quivering in his standing, trying his best to hide his fear.
Alistair's brow raises some as the man snaps like that... And he shakes his head some, looking at the others next, "I have a fairly good idea of which residences he is talking about. I would suggest leaving him here, in the company of a strong piece of rope, for the time being. If sir Kupor wishes to aid him, we can return to do so once our business with the Don is concluded."
"Enough." Between the negotiations and the upcoming festivities, Dietrich's patience is wearing thin, and it begins to creep into his voice. Looking to Alistair, the wolfkin nods once, hefting the strap securing his shield to his back. "Best we get on our way, then." Turning back to the man, he raises an eyebrow. "Think you can keep yourself secure for a few hours, mh?"
Azar just shrugs and heads back to the door, looking outside once more to make sure their exit is clear. "This has got to be one of the strangest days I've ever had the pleasure of being awake for."
Celeste stares down at the man, and gives him a long, hard look. And then she shrugs her shoulders, and turns to walk back to where she left her sword. "A'ight," she states, her tone gone back to being airy and pleasant. "So... where all we's off ter next, then?" She pushes the sword back into the scabbard it came from, and stretches her back until the vertebrae pop.
The man does not prevent himself from being tied up, only shaking his head slowly, "I hope he kills you all, slowly and painfully." As he sits there watching the party go.
<OOC> Marduke says, "YOu all heading out to the housing area then?"
<OOC> Alistair says, "Ja"
<OOC> Dietrich ayus.
<OOC> Azar nawds.
<OOC> Marduke says, "Anybody have a aversion to blood/gore I should be aware of before I proceed?"
<OOC> You say, "it's only words, words cannot hurt me unless you really start getting into some Saw/human centipede stuff or something. Then that's really more of a personal problem you should get help for"
<OOC> Alistair doesn't.
The party starts out of the warehouse and it is not more then two minutes after they leave that they hear a sharp cry of pain from behind them. The man they had just interogated and tied up if anybody heads back is found tied up and hung with his own intestines. A note pinned to his chest.
<OOC> Kupor Afk just a few more minutes.
<OOC> You say, "man does he employ ninjas we haven't even gone two blocks for you to screw over our decisions!"
<OOC> Azar chuckles.
Alistair had started to lead the group to where he believes this Don character might have hidden the stolen shipment, when he's given pause by that scream... And shows no hesitation then as he starts to head right back, letting anyone who wants to follow along do so. The man re-emerging inside the warehouse only to find the strung up corse... His nose crunching up a just a bit at the strong scent of blood as he studies the effects of the brutal murder with an otherwise clinical eye... Gaze soon dropping to that note.
The note has but one simple word on it. "Slate"
Azar shakes her head and shrugs, "Well, the man's fear was properly placed it seems. Another one for the Don to have to pay for, when the time for accounting comes."
THe mouse warrior likewise had rushed back into the room, spear drawn and ready; and... it would seem, not necessary for the moment. She keeps it in had for the time being, however. "...Well damn, there's killin' a man, an' then there's that," she observes, peeling her lips back in brief disgust. "T'ain' necess'ry fer *that*." She slowly approaches the slain man, and reaches out to pluck the note off his chest, and hand it to Azar. "Here... what all that sayin'?" After that, she swipes her spear to cut the man down; after he lands on the floor, she rolls him onto his back, and lays her spear down beside him as she carefully feeds his intestines back into his belly. "A little dignity," she murmurs.
<OOC> You say, "dangit"
<OOC> You say, "couldn't type fast enough"
"Truly?" Dietrich's muzzle wrinkles as he rounds the corner at Alistair's heels, catching sight of the grisly murder just long enough to identify the victim, then turning to place his hands over his nose. "*This* is what he deserved? Augh... I think I'd agree, Azar... and... that's.... kind of you, Celeste... but do wash your hands before we go on, yes?"
"Not just dignity, but we rob the Don of the message he wished to display. We might not get the chance, but if it comes to fighting, we ought to carve a bit of hide from the Don." Azar crosses her arms. "This city and her ways are starting to get to me."
For one moment, Celeste and Kupor are of one mind. He has his hand on his sword, about to leap and do exactly the same. But as Celeste does it, he nods.
-
Kupor approves (+50)
-
"No. I had hoped to alleviate his death, kupo." Kupor brings his hat down slightly as he bends over with Celeste's work. He says a brief 'Let the Light guide your soul' before he stands up again. "Let us continue. My patience for this city's dark ways draws thin."
<OOC> Kupor ugh. I need 10 minutes. Sorry. Be back as soon as possible.
"Deserved, not deserved, inconsequential. Punishment determined and execution completed." Offers a monotone voice from the office. The office starting on fire as the Rozzarian golem Slate steps out. "Quick to find area, impressive. Slate gives credit." The golem coming to a stop, "You disapprove?" The golem tilting its head slightly, "Proper punishment for unacceptable life. What would be proper?"
"And we've only spent but a pair of days in her arms," Dietrich grumbles, keeping to the mouth of the alley, until the rest finish their business. The new voice, however, has the wolfkin straightening sharply, turning to face the golem, eyes narrowing. "Slate, I presume?"
"He could have still provided information later. Also, there really was no point, he was a broken man. A waste of time to have killed him, especially in such a fashion." Azar looks to Dietrich, "Has it really been only two days. It feels more like a week."
Alistair searches his mind for the possible meaning of the word on the note. Slate; A fine-grained rock formed by the metamorphosis of clay, shale, etc, that tends to split along parallel cleavage planes, usually at an angle to the planes of stratification. Slate; A thin piece or plate of this rock or a similar material, used especially for roofing or as a writing surface. Slate; A dull, dark bluish gray ... Only to be distracted from this thought process by the sudden voice, turning towards it much like Dietrich does, his brows rising as he promptly studies the Golem before them.
"...Well well weeelll." Celeste dispenses with washing her hands and stands up instead, work completed. She hooks one foot under the haft of her spear and jerks it upwards, catching the weapon in oner bloody hand; her other smoothly pulls the shield off her back, and slips her arm through the straps. "If'n it ain' ol' rust bucket from'a negotiatin' table. An yer does speak afterall." She tilts her head to crack her neck, and moves smoothly forwards; nothing overtly hostile, but merely a positioning of herself between Slate and the rest of the group. "Yer mind givin some 'splanation?"
"Explination request of actions." The golem pauses as if thinking, "Request accepted. Attempt at distraction and misinformation. Removal of possible information leads to adversaries, emberstrand deligation. Method of execution, attempt at demoraliztion, emberstrand deligation. Task, completed." The golem turning to face the group, "Slate recommends vacating premises, fire spreading drugs offer inhospitale air to lesser beings." The golem starting for the door, "Will discuss further outside." The fire from the office spreading quickly.
The hair of Kupor's nape rises. "This fire could spread to other warehouses. To homes, kupo!" How did the golem do this all so damnably quick? He turns to the office, then puts his hand over his face as the fire blazes. "We must alert the guard quickly. I care nothing for the golem's self-servings, kupo. More people will die if this fire is not quickly contained."
Azar doesn't need to be asked three times, promptly turning and making her way outside. "Hmm, the moogle has a salient point. Anyone have water spells handy?"
"None to speak of, but the guard is a fine choice," Dietrich says, ushering the stragglers out the door in a hurry. "Quickly though, quickly. Plenty of time to chat once we've shaken the soot from our shoes."
Alistair shakes his head some, but offers no comment yet towards the Golem or anyone else, not before they all get out of the warehouse as that blaze starts spreading... The man quickly turning to follow Dietrich outside, no stress, worry or even fear showing on his face as he does so. Rather seeming to be deep in thought instead...
Celeste matches Slate's steps, keeping herself between the golem and the party. "Lesser beings me arse, but I do like sweet air, s'a'ight, out we go. But yer makes a move fer me friends an' I'mma show you who all's lesser." She follows out after the golem, and takes up a good and strategic position. "A'ight then. We's all out'ere. How 'bouts yer 'splainin' b'fore th'city be burnin' down 'round us?"
"Fire of no consequence. Spreading of little impact, local lives evaluation, calculating. Nominal." The golem turns to face the group once outside. "Inquiry: What further expliatnation is required? Stated purpose was to hinder and demoralize, emberstrand deligation. Emberstrand objective, weapons grade supply shipment of magicite. Purpose, to delay group while arrangements are made. Task, completed."
The moogle cares little for the golem's explanation or evaluation. It is better that he leaves to go find the guard to take care of this fire rather than stay around the Golem. He takes off in a dead sprint.
"Can we quote you on that?" Dietrich says, nodding at Kupor's back as the moogle speeds off to summon the guard. "I suppose we've our work cut out for us, then. Friends, let's hurry, shall we?"
Azar rubs her chin, "Yes, I think the moogle has the right idea." She takes off at a run, roughly following Kupor's path.
<OOC> You say, "How did the Rozzarian embassy arrive here by the way"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Airship"
<OOC> You say, "their own airship or carter"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Their own."
<OOC> You say, "yea I know where I'm getting my god damn airship"
<OOC> Dietrich XD
[Public] Azar says, "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIscLaYnECs"
Alistair actually offers the Golem a bit of a smile... And he nods at it then, simply remarking, "You did a fine job, I'm sure... Give my regards to miss Satori, will you?" And with that, he simply turns to follow after the others, to attempt to salvage the operation as best they can.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "JUSTICE MUTINY."
"No he ain', Kupor's got'a *wrong* idea," Celeste snaps, taking a step back from the golem. "He all off ter find'a guards fer'a fire, an' by a'time we got that sorted we gonna be too late fer th'weapons." She takes another step back, and glances over her shoulder at Dietrich. "T'hell wit'a warehouses. We gotta be lookin' out fer *Emberstrand*."
<OOC> Alistair prolly got the situation wrong. Was following to go find the Don, not deal with dumb fire.
<OOC> Alistair tired.
<OOC> Dietrich nods, that's what I was assuming too.
"Quote acceptable, bases of you word vs ours. Accusations of weaker group act as weakening point, please quote." Slate offers to Dietrich. Then turns to Celeste, "Accurate account. Guards not in slums, estimated resonse time for fire control at 48 minutes, 32 seconds. Estimated time to find guard, 1 hour, 12 minutes, 12 seconds. Time needed for completion of shipment extraction, 1 hour, 44 minutes and 13 seconds remaning. Inquiry, why were you headed the wrong way for shipment of goods? Slate assumes you knew proper location of goods at shipyards."
<OOC> You say, "There are six of us, I'm pretty sure you guys can handle him without me for a round or two."
<OOC> Azar says, "Ugh."
"It's not as though we can't raise the alarm *on the way,*" Dietrich notes, tugging on the rim of Celeste's shield as they hurry away from the golem. "Kupor, Azar! Get the call up, we're on a *tight schedule* now!"
Celeste says, "Feel free ter rust solid," Celeste says to Slate, quite cheerfully, before she turns to run after Dietrich. Spear and shield find their way to her back; her hands are still covered in blood however, and there doesn't seem to be much she can do about that... though she does eye the back of Dietrich's clothes for a moment. "...So were he tellin' a truth?" she asks, once they are a reasonable distance from the golem. "He mentioned a' Shipyard, but he might'a be lyin'. There'a two more places fer a visit left... I'mm thinkin' we splits again.""
Azar has reconnected.
<OOC> Azar says, "Still good, only switched spots because Chinese."
Azar waves in response to Dietrich's yell, and without bothering to look back, she begins to yell out, "Fire! Fire in the warehouses!"
<OOC> Marduke says, "which way you going, shipyards, or houses?"
<OOC> Celeste Is for splittin'.
<OOC> You say, "Indeed."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Very good idea :)"
<OOC> You say, "heeey, we had one good idea! woooooo"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Note that it was not 'jack the ROzarrian's ride' XD"
<OOC> Marduke says, "You have had a lot of good ideas."
<OOC> Dietrich says, "So who goes with whom?"
<OOC> You say, "We'll split the killbeasts"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Let me point out a few things to before you split."
<OOC> You say, "and dietrich and I should go in opposing groups as moral guidance"
<OOC> Azar says, "Because nothing has ever gone wrong when we split up."
<OOC> Marduke says, "The houses are a lot of houses. Several of them with water front and ship docks for a lot of them. The shipyards are smaller and more open so searching is much quicker. If you wish to split up let me know how and where everybody is going."
<OOC> Dietrich nod, hm.
<OOC> Marduke says, "I have also given you two clues >.>"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "You have!"
<OOC> Alistair is good with whichever.
<OOC> Celeste suggest she and Dietrich go to the docks, and Alistair takes Azar and Kupor to the houses.
<OOC> You say, "Sounds good."
<OOC> Dietrich nod.
<OOC> Azar says, "Hnn, sure!"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Alistair having a target among the houses makes that easier."
Slate shifts a moment seeing that the party is splitting up. "New objective. Slate moves towards Docks to warn of approaching interferance. Initiating objective." The golem takes one step forward, then suddenly is a blur of speed rushing right past Azar and Dietrich.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "Celeste."
<OOC> Azar says, "Now we should stick together. XD"
<OOC> You say, "IT WOULD BE GOOD IF SOMEONE COULD ROLL SENSE MOTIVE"
+-------------------------[ HP/MP/XP ]-------------------------+
| HP 153/153 | MP 22/22 | XP 84/352 |
+--------------------------[ DERIVED ]-------------------------+
| PATK 55 | RATK 34 | MATK 14 |
| DEF 24 | | MDEF 16 |
+---------------------------[ STATS ]--------------------------+
| Strength 20 | Dexterity 17 | Stamina 16 |
| Intelligence 12 | Insight 11 | Willpower 16 |
| Attunement 6 | Acuity 8 | Resilience 8 |
+--------------------------[ SKILLS ]--------------------------+
| Agility 18 | Alertness 9 | Athletics 18 |
| Brawl 18 | Empathy 6 | Endurance 12 |
| Fortitude 12 | Leadership 2 | Melee 24 |
| Performing 6 | Resistance 7 | Survival 4 |
| Vitality 10 | | |
+-------------------------[ ABILITIES ]------------------------+
| Active/Accumulate 6 || Active/Cover 8 |
| Active/Rend Attack 8 || Active/Rend Magic 7 |
| Support/Raise-HP 6 || Support/Toughen 6 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
<OOC> You say, "HINT HINT"
<OOC> Azar says, "Dude, really?"
<OOC> Kupor looks at Alistair
<OOC> Celeste says, "Yeessss?"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Kupor, the guy dropped the hint that the docks were dangerous. Nobody followed up with why. Second off, the golem stated that was the right direction second hit. Third hint, he is going ahead to warn people at docks. Three hints, without giving away the answer. If you wish to still icly split up, that is fine. else you can take the hints and head to the docks."
<OOC> Celeste says, "Marduke, can I try to do something about Slate rushing past us?"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Sure!"
<OOC> Dietrich says, "This golem is the worst mook ever. XD"
<OOC> Celeste is basically just gonna try to either take him off his feet with her spear, or else dige the blade in and go for a ride.
<OOC> Celeste Shall pose that, huhr.
<OOC> Azar says, "Best mook. We have no idea if he's telling the truth really. :P"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Is either one magically enforced?"
<OOC> Celeste says, "What do you mean?"
<OOC> Azar says, "I think he means enchanted."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Or tempered beyond normal hardness to prevent breaking."
<OOC> Celeste headshakes, not magic.
<OOC> Celeste says, "Good quality though."
<OOC> Marduke says, "Hai, pick your attack :)"
The mouse warrior's ears perk up at Slate's ramblings; Celeste spins around, coat whirling around her as she turns to face the golem full on. She sets her shield in front of her as she puts herself straight into Slate's path, and holds her spear behind her; she winds the weapon up for the attack, and with a fierce yell brings it around, aiming to slam the blade into the golem's side and puncture his metal self, while keeping her feet set to receive the charge full on with her own body.
"The Docks it is," Dietrich mutters, drawing in a breath. "Let's move!" Waving for the rest of the party to follow, the wolfkin unlimbers his shield and picks up the pace, hoping to catch up to Slate before he can bowl over Celeste, and drive the shield edge-on into the back of the golem's knee joint.
The golem is heavy, the golem is fast. It also seems to have a weakness in that very speed, lack of ability to react to a sudden change in situation. It charges forward, no vering, no alteration of course, and slams right into Celeste. The spear hits into the creatures side and pierces into the metal, then snaps the spear in half. The golem fortunetly hit the shield that bears the brunt of the hit. Celeste is crushed under the shield and into the ground several of her ribes cracking or broken and both her arms and left leg broken from the impact. The golem continues forward and now into the air, slamming into a building and through it into another and so forth going through five of the warehouses total before it comes to a crashing stop. The golem is shattered, pieces of him thrown about past the five warehouses. The golem is dead, a touch of mist escaping from its center and fading into the air. Dietrich is just a hair to late to try to help the mouse warrior.
<OOC> Dietrich says, "And this, children, is why you never hook up a brain to a locomotive."
Azar has dropped a connection.
<OOC> Celeste wonders if this is a good time to activate Regenerator? >.> <.<
<OOC> Marduke says, "Rollit"
<OOC> Azar says, "Heh."
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE GOLEM!"
Kupor grimaces. Is there no guard, even a light force here? Damn this city. As Azar calls out, it shall have to be enough. He turns to see the golem burst into motion. He twists, coiling his body to move. But it is Celeste that acts first. And her spear that brings the golem crashing through several warehouses. He blinks twice. "Kupo." He is not sure how to feel about this.
-
Resigned to leave the golem to his fate, he moves rapidly to Celeste instead to pry the shield off of her.
<OOC> Marduke says, "Heh, Golem was three things. Fast, silent, and 100% honest and obedient to its master. You found the easy way to kill it. I am impressed :)"
[Public] How to color Zhgir wheels Azar away.
[Public] (Legion) Raz Dva Tri! says, "Azar, you are not Brick, stop it. XD"
<OOC> Marduke says, "Stamina+Resistance+Reactive/Regenerator"
<OOC> Alistair dohs, dozed off. Not sure how long.
<OOC> Marduke says, "you are fine."
[Public] Azar says, "I AM BRICK, the PRETTIEST SIREN."
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE LEGION!"
[Public] Azar laughs.
[CHECK]: Celeste rolls (Stamina+Resistance+Reactive/Regenerator) result: 21
<OOC> Celeste Sorries for slowness.
[Public] Seloria is the reincarnation of...Seloria.
[Public] Seloria says, "Anybody got spare body parts?"
<OOC> Marduke nod nods, "It goes off. Your still beat up. Imagine being at 1 hp. three rounds will put you at 31% health basically :)
[Public] Seloria says, "I'm building a new mother."
The impact draws a deep wince from the running wolfkin, and as the golem passes over Dietrich scoops Celeste up on the run, hurriedly murmuring a brief healing incantation. [Cure] His newfound burden slows him some, but, to the shipyard he runs, intent on arriving before the deal is complete.
Azar slows to a stop as she runs past the moogle, turning in time to see the mouse-golem collision. She winces at the sound of each passage through a building the golem makes. "It couldn't have happened to a more deserving being, I think."
Alistair looks back at the sound of metal on flesh, only to watch Celeste be bowled over like that, the Detective in an instant noting it doesn't look at all good... And ignoring it as the Golem crashes into the nearby building, he heads towards the mouse warrior instead, to provide whatever aid he can.
[Public] Seloria says, "Raiding graves it is..."
<OOC> Alistair too slow.
[Public] Azar says, "I PUNCH THE GRAVE ROBBER."
[Public] Seloria says, "No, my face!"
[Public] Seloria says, "I'll never be able to compete for Miss Ivalice..."
[Public] Azar says, "... in the kidneys."
[Public] Seloria could not before, given her dress sense.
[Public] Nitro explodes the Puncher
[Public] Seloria says, "My kidneys..."
[Public] Azar says, "Yeah a towel and a scarf doesn't make for proper Miss Ivalice wear."
[Public] Seloria says, "I upgraded to a robe!"
[Public] Azar says, "A cape stolen from the spiderling."
<OOC> Marduke says, "After Celeste poses we are going to call it a night"
[Public] Seloria says, "I gave it to him..."
<OOC> Dietrich nodnod.
[Public] Seloria says, "Did I?"
[Public] Seloria might have burned it by accident.
( Celeste finds herself lieing on her back, staring up at the sky. The sharp cry that left her lips when the golem struck her goes wholly unremembered; in fact she finds herself quite unable to recall the previous fifteen seconds of her life. What does register, however, is that Slate is most certainly no longer within the realm of the living, and has gone to... wherever it is that golems go, along with the fact that she hurts. Significantly. Also of note is the massive dent in the middle of her shield, as well as the unfortunate condition her spear is is. Already, her wounds are working to knit together. "...I'mma need a new spear," she mutters, her voice raspy and strained. She winces and gasps as she's scooped up; her shield is dropped in the process, clattering across the ground, though she manages to keep ahold of the half of her spear that has the blades on it. "Thanks," she gasps once more, as the effects of the healing spell leave her in a much more favorable condition. ) [Spoofed By: Celeste]

Sid

2013-08-15T01:07:47Z

Kupor: Fixed

Sidarand Travis was a Master Engineer of Archadia, a name quickly gathering fame in the magitech circles. He was one of the bigger names in magitech design, one of the leaders in magitech engines. Sidarand Travis was said to be one of the people to revolutionize the Archadean Empire, hoping to use the engines to mass produce, to make steel cheaper, to make labor easier. To make men more than they are through the use of machines. He wanted to make a magitech suit.

Sidarand came from a long line of laborers. Men who died early, but worked hard to create a better world, men who built roadways, men who conquered mountains. Men who were buried their sons and wives.

Now, Sidarand is a traitor. On the eve of finishing his new compact magitech engine, one with which he would create a great magitech suit, one that could fulfill his vision of a new world, he learned of the weapons program to design the mist suit. With his greatwrench, he smashed his laboratory scant minutes before it would be seized. But that was not enough. He was human. He did the only thing he could think of. Bargaining through a summoner, Sidarand pleaded with Carbuncle. To rip away his memories. To put them where they cannot be found.

The Archadean Empire branded him a traitor of the people, claiming he is holding the nation's secrets to a mighty army from them. His colleagues struggle to find his notes. And the empire holds his wife, Rosilyn, and daughter, Charity, as prisoners of the state.

Only no one but Sid understands what he had done. In one final commitment of magic, he sacrificed all of his skill and knowledge, destroying any chance of remaking the magitech engine.

But now he is a refugee in Emberstrand, a fugitive, and worst of all, lacks all of the knowledge and skill that once made him a master engineer. Only the belief he can still make new more powerful magitech engines makes him a valuable target to Archadia. He must rescue his wife and daughter before his work is completed without him or the Empire finds out about his lack.

Sid

2013-08-15T00:39:13Z

Kupor: Under Construction

Sidarand Travis was a Master Engineer of Archadia. He was one of the bigger names in magitech design. Sidarand Travis was said to be one of the people to revolutionize the Archadean Empire, hoping to use the engine.

Now, Sidarand is a traitor. On the eve of finishing his new compact magitech engine, one promising to make the suits easier to produce and able to hold more spells at once, he destroyed it and fled Archadia. The Archadean Empire branded him a traitor of the people, claiming he is holding the nation's secrets to a mighty army from them. His colleagues struggle to find his notes. And the empire holds his wife, Rosilyn, and daughter, Charity, as prisoners of the state.

Only no one but Sid understands what he had done. In one final commitment of magic, he sacrificed all of his skill and knowledge, destroying any chance of remaking the magitech engine.

But now he is a refugee in Emberstrand, a fugitive, and worst of all, lacks all of the knowledge and skill that once made him a master engineer. Only the belief he can still make new more powerful magitech engines makes him a valuable target to Archadia. He must rescue his wife and daughter before his work is completed without him or the Empire finds out about his lack.

Character Biographies

2013-08-14T23:49:08Z

Kupor: /* Player Characters (PCs) */

=<big>'''Character Biographies'''</big>=

This page serves as a place to look at character biographies of both living, dead, and even NPCs. Please note that this information is not to be used in any way unless you have gone to the trouble to learn this through an In-Character method. This is meant for Out-of-Character enjoyment.

=='''Player Characters (PCs)'''==
* [[Agrin]] Corlan
* [[Alba]] DiVincenzi
* [[Alek]]
* [[Alistair]] Seaworth
* [[Amser]] Zhamanak
* [[Annabelle]] Brimmstone
* [[Archimedes]] Ashford
* [[Ashur]] Inanna Utu
* [[Azar]] Zareen
* [[Azel]] "Slum Rat" Ahel
* [[Ba'Naram]]
* [[Bradrock]]
* [[Caelus]] Lucent
* [[Celeste]] St Wallenrod
* [[Cori]]ander Jenson
* [[Daivat]]
* [[Dietrich]] Friedmann
* [[Donovan]] Kain
* [[Dunis]] Almeida
* [[Eleven]]
* [[Eris]]
* [[Ezekial]]
* [[Evja]] Aster
* [[Faruja]]
* [[Fate]]
* Ffamran mied Bunansa II, aka [[Mace]]
* [[Garamo]]
* [[Groat]]
* [[Grumm]] Stonebender
* [[Havoc]]
* [[Iskus]]
* [[Jenna]] Blackthorne
* [[Jocelyn]]
* [[Kahlua]] Reinhart
* [[Kal]]'tano Znka'erta
* [[Kier]] Ibrahim
* [[Kilic]] Tunbekar
* [[Kona]] Ronso of the Storm Rider Tribe
* [[Kupor]]
* [[Kyriana]] Cardell
* Lady [[Isabella]] Loxxlynn Herstal
* [[Lance]] Valdez
* "[[Lee]]"
* [[Leetle]] Rider
* Lord [[Ka'Len]] Herstal
* [[Maraxus]]
* [[Marduke]] Andorian, The Seeker
* [[Mazurek]]
* [[Moiraine]] McLeod
* [[Mordecai]]
* [[Nitro]]
* [[Niyol]]
* [[Nyx]] Shackle
* [[Oriana]] Yslana
* [[Penelope]] St. Gabriel
* [[Raziel]]
* [[Remi]]
* [[Rin]] Talassa
* [[Roja]] Santiago
* [[Ronan]] Gherard
* [[Russell]] Phoenix
* [[Sakari]]
* [[Sakimi]] Suneater, of the Sunrise Tribe
* Scholar 'Aden' [[Ainsley]]
* [[Seloria]] Gerrison
* [[Shiu]] Rhivin
* [[Sid]]arand 'Cid' Travis
* [[Silmeria]]
* [[Sizalia]] Tefkis
* [[Skadji]] of Qel'Anar
* [[Sunochi]] "Silverscale" Rinai
* [[Talen]] the Summoner
* [[Tanzi Eztova]]
* [[Thaylorn]]
* [[Thompson]] de Koneta
* [[Tristania]]
* [[Vazkor]]
* [[Viersia]] Shanaleigh
* [[Xyntrana]]
* [[Zhgir]]

=='''Inactive Characters (1 Yr or more)'''==
(This isn't a graveyard, rather it's a holding zone)

* [[Belius]]
* [[Elaine]] Spence
* [[Estebahn]]
* [[Felicity]] Greene
* [[Henri]]
* [[Kazuki]]
* [[Magsaadi Spiritforge]]
* [[Meragin]]
* [[Takeshi]], Crafter Extraordinaire
* [[Torry]] Ellis
* [[Zephyr]] McCormick

=='''Non Player Characters (NPCs)'''==
* [[Nakamora Noriko]]
* Lady [[Lenneth]] Herstal
* Lady [[Seipola]] Anath Getzrik
* Judge [[Perse]]
* The Grand Lethal, the Savage Dragon, [[Zhou]]

=='''Past Player Characters (PPCs)'''==
* Beregond Arod
* [[Jak]] Gotung
* [[Menace]] Ronso Wanderer
* [[Porterhouse]] Seville
* [[Sebastion]]
* [[Tarjn Alajrsdottir]]
* [[Toni]] Vanleer
* [[Yosh]] Thraex

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

Return to [[Main Page]]

Sid

2013-08-14T23:48:20Z

Kupor: Created page with 'Sidarand Travis was a Master Engineer of Archadia. He was one of the bigger names in magitech design, and one of the creators of the original magitech suits. Sidarand Travis was …'

Sidarand Travis was a Master Engineer of Archadia. He was one of the bigger names in magitech design, and one of the creators of the original magitech suits. Sidarand Travis was said to be one of the people to revolutionize the Archadean Empire, hoping to use the suits for peaceful heavy labor. Shortly after, he was brought into the team of engineers working for the Archadaen Army, where they produced a more streamlined Magitech Suit, capable of replacing several soldiers with one powered by magic to make them faster, stronger, and more durable.

Now, Sidarand is a traitor. On the eve of finishing his new compact magitech engine, one promising to make the suits easier to produce and able to hold more spells at once, he destroyed it and fled Archadia. The Archadean Empire branded him a traitor of the people, claiming he is holding the nation's secrets to a mighty army from them. His colleagues struggle to find his notes. And the empire holds his wife, Rosilyn, and daughter, Charity, as prisoners of the state.

Only no one but Sid understands what he had done. In one final commitment of magic, he sacrificed all of his skill and knowledge, destroying any chance of remaking the magitech engine.

But now he is a refugee in Emberstrand, a fugitive, and worst of all, lacks all of the knowledge and skill that once made him a master engineer. Only the belief he can still make new more powerful magitech engines makes him a valuable target to Archadia. He must rescue his wife and daughter before his work is completed without him or the Empire finds out about his lack.

Whisper War

2013-07-02T00:37:43Z

Kupor:

In 900 OV, a war began with a whisper. Two Empires were inexorably drawn into a conflict, repeating history once again. Chronicled within are those who were drawn, either as puppets or perpetrators of The Whisper War.

* A [[Late Courier]] : Information is critical when planning war, and one General dislikes tardiness.
* [[Opening Shots]] : The first shots are fired in a two pronged attack.
* [[Day Two of Captivity]] : A young woman finds out war plans while in captivity.
* [[Rook to Bishop]] : Word has reached Rozarrian ears regarding recent events in Emberstrand.
* [[World View]] : A young woman comes to grips with her world view when she speaks to her verbal sparring partner.
* [[Promotion/Day Five of Captivity]] : A young Captain gets promoted and learns a lesson.
* [[The Walker]] : Every journey starts with a single step.
* [[Temple Steps]] : A priestess, a warrior, and a nobleman discuss mercy and other things on the temple steps.
* [[Fireplace Whispers]] : One noble finds that even the pops and sizzles of flames hold secrets.
* [[Council Letters]] : Members of Emberstrand's ruling council receive a deluge of letters on policy.
* [[A Summoner's Call]] : Marduke travels to Bur-Omisace, hoping to drum up support for Emberstrand's plight.
* [[Day Twelve of Captivity]] : A young woman reflects on important things while in captivity.
* [[Dark Knight Rises]] : Four defend the farms of Emberstrand from a foul-mouthed and powerful Bangaa Dark Knight.
* [[Unconventional Warfare]] : Mordecai's crew and the strange Zhgir find out who has been capturing monsters out on Giza Plains.
* [[Interlude - Recovering Losses]] : Kulgkar Tuguf heads back to Giza Plains to pick up the pieces of his plan.
* [[Operation Gysahl]] : An Archadian military operation launched on Emberstrand's aerodrome is driven back.
* [[Personal Effects]] : Even Archadian officers have to see to their dead ... and to themselves.
* [[Emperor's Edict]] : The Archadian Emperor makes a decision after events that have transpired.
* [[Pawn to Knight]] : Rozarrian intelligence reports the aftermath of events.
* [[Airship Battles Are Metal]] : The Archadian Empire tries to intercede on Leetle's plans to unite the sky pirates.

Back to [[RP Logs]]

Airship Battles Are Metal

2013-07-02T00:36:30Z

Kupor: The Doodlebug Vs. The Ahriman, guest starring Black!

Location: The Skies.

Time: The World of Tomorrow.

The Doodlebug is skimming along the tops of the clouds, heading for a destination known to only a few of her crew. A floating island cast adrift during the Folly, and found by sky pirates shortly thereafter. Used to forge bonds between disparate crews, the meeting place has been kept a secret for generations. It is neutral ground, almost holy, and fights between Sky Pirates are to stay outside the island's airspace.

Leetle, the moogle cap'n, paces before the assembled crew, at least those supposed to go ashore. "This place is like sanctified ground for sky pirates, kupo." The moogle speaks clearly for once so that all might understand. "If you have any complaints, beefs, grudges or desire for revenge, you best leave them behind on the Doodlebug. We sky pirates do not take lightly to the violation of this island, so keep things to yourself, alright? Best behavior, please."

He pauses to puff heavily on a long cigar, blowing smoke rings through each other with a chuckle. Serious once more, he turns back to the crew. "We are going to try and convince as many sky pirates who ply the trade routes around Emberstrand, Archades and points in between to double their efforts on Archades targets. Scout camps, supply depots, lone warships if they dare... and cargo vessels running the Archades flag. I be talking to the captains if I can, and I hope that you, crew mates and mercenaries, can talk to those in similar positions. Get them excited and talking. The more social pressure we can bring, the more likely we'll get other sky pirates on board. Hah, pun intentional."

"...Then I shall watch the ship," the masked Viera says to her Captain, peering out at the city on the floating island. "Words are not my great proficiency." TUgging her shaggy fur wrap about her shoulders, she stands at the railing, apparently unwilling to budge from the ship.

Grumm somehow managed to get talked into a trip on an airship, and was fine, if a little nervous right up until it moved. He quickly got nauseus and anxious, even while hiding down below decks. Atleast he can't fall off from down here, right? He opens his mouth to respond, making an odd sound and quickly closes it as his cheeks puff out. A simple nod is directed at the captain as acceptance.

Celeste grins from where she's sitting on the railing, the mouse warrior having agreed to rejoin the crew for this particular outing, and listening to the Captain give his instructions. "Oh, I'mma talk," she drawls, "Y'ain' worry'n 'bout that none." Her whetstone scrapes softly against the blade of her spear as she works on sharpening it. "An' I'mma keep sober, no darn sill fight'n th'wrong folk."

Sometime after Leetle finishes his speech, a sudden 'snap' can be heard up. Then, rappeling down from one of the lines zipping up above, a black bundle appears hanging behind Leetle. "Zhgir is here, Zhgir is here! What did he miss?" He asks, as he tries to fight off the bundled cloth off him. His head finally peeks out, his four eyes peering curiously. "What is good behaviour?"

Leetle peers at Alba, "You would prefer to stay here, an' allow yer captain to wander ashore without watchin' his back?" He looks to Celeste, "Oh, well, drink or talk, yer choice. Try not to do both, kupo." The moogle offers a lopsided grin at Grumm, "Yer courage knows no bounds, Grumm. A pity ye are airsick, but it'll pass once ye get ashore." And then the spiderling appears. Leetle suppresses a shudder, barely, before turning around. "It means ye stay out o'trouble. No stealin'. No knocking people on th' noggin with blunt objects, kupo."

"Airships are metal," gravels a deep voice.

"N-no, airships are wood, mostly. The engine is metal," answers back a soldier.

Black turns his face. "No." He gestures. "They're metal." He considers, "You know, they are a flying machine with guns. It's..." His glowy eyes screw up, "It's hard to describe. It's like zapping people with lightning on dragon back, that's pretty metal."

The soldier leans over the railing with Black. Most people have shied away from Black since he is a homicidal and possibly defective ticking time bomb of magical energy. But the young man is willing to talk. "Oh. So." He thinks. "Like stabbing a man with a sword?"

Black, the blackest Black mage, shakes his head, "No, no, that's not brutal enough."

The soldier thinks. "One time I stabbed a man. And then when I tried to pull my sword out, I tripped his friend onto the other guy's sword. Got him right in the face."

The Black Mage nods appreciatively. "That's pretty metal." He pats the soldier's shoulder. "I don't hate you."

As the Doodlebug travels past one of the clouds, a wide wedge shape pull upward from the clouds. White sloughs off of it as the cloud recedes. It is marked the AAS Ahriman. A Heavy Cruiser class. A heavy ship with some speed and firepower, but meant for boarding actions rather than full on fire fights. There is no ask for surrender. Immediately, it begins to take shots at the Doodlebug's engines, cannon shot pounding away at it as it drifts closer. The Archadean soldiers on the deck are behind cover, waiting to get close enough to grapple over.

"Airship battles are metal." Black informs his soldier friend.

The fur puffs out around the moogle's neck as the AAS Ahriman breaks cover and begins to fire upon the Doodlebug. He squints as he charges for the pilot house. "Stand to, stand to! Prepare the port side cannons! To arms! To arms!", Leetle yells out, and is seen to pull hard on the wheel, the Doodlebug turning her engines out of the line of fire... bringing the port side in parallel to the advancing cruiser.

"....Captain," Alba says, as the first shots open up, "I do not think that it will be necessary to leave, to guard you." Throwing the edges of her cloak back, she turns to regard Celeste. "...Cousin. It would seem that battle yet trails in your wake." With that, she lopes toward the rope that Zhgir had descended on, crawling up at a relatively rapid clip.

Grumm is busy throwing up when the cannons start firing, not helping the situation at all. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks around. "Is great. Come for ride, they say. Is safe, they say." Grumbling he makes his way to the mast, as far away from the ariling as possible and preparing for a fight. "No bad 'nuff ta be up here. Now we's unner attack."

The mouse warrior's ears flick in the direction of cannonfire, and she jumps up from her spot, moving swiftly towards the middle of the ship. "Battle always follow'n me," Celeste calls back to Alba. "An' I wouldn' have'r any other way!" She takes up her shield from where she left it leaned up against a crate earlier on, but merely slings it across her back for the time being. She gazes out over the open skies at the AHriman, and cracks her knuckles, before finding something to hold on to and set her feet properly before the next volley.

Way before Alba goes to grab the rope, the arachnid is already scurrying along, further up onto towards the masts. The black bundle seemed to move quite fast when under a tangible threat!

The Ahriman pulls in close as the Doodlebug turns around. Soldiers man thick harpoon guns, two men on each harpoon. They lever the heavy harpoons carefully. Each soldier on the deck is winding a clockwork device, cranking it with trained effort, almost in unison, exactly ten times. Then they hold it in one hand, axe in the other, preparing to board. This isn't like any pirate crew. The dozen soldiers here are well trained, waiting for their moment as the harpoon guns fire one after the other at the Doodlebug, going high to hit anything above deck.

Black takes a long swig from his aleskin, belches, and swigs again.

Over the intercom, the moogle yells, "Watch yourselves, aim whatcha have at the soldiers with harpoons. Get those cannons up, kupo! Those on deck, prepare to repel boarders. Also, Imma going to try t'get closer." All along the port side, panels pop off, revealing cannon positions, the snubbed noses rolling forward. A rolling thunderous boom echos out, chains and grapeshot spat across the distance, deadly to crew, sail and delicate ship bits alike. The moogle hangs onto the wheel, trying to coax the Doodlebug to turn inside the heavier, hopefully slower, ship.

"Shoulda bring that fancy gun." Mutters Grumm as he grabs a rope, to keep his feet until the swinging of sharp sticks happens. Squinting, he fights through his nausea and locates a suitable target. Concentrating to channel mana, his hand starts to glow red as he extends it quickly with an open palmed strike, shooting a bolt of [fire] at a harpooner.

Curling her arms and legs around the rope, the Viera hangs on as cannonfire is received and answered, the rope shaking like a plucked guitar string. "SPIDERLING," she calls up to Zhgir, "'WARE THE BOARDERS. THEY SEEK CAPTURE, NOT DEATH."

Celeste strides up close to the railing once more, narrowing her eyes as she stares out across the decreasing expanse of void at the enemy ship. The mouse chants softly, and glowing, fiery runes flash around her free hand; they linger for a moment, before coalescing into a blast of flame, that sizzles across the intervening distance towards one of the harpooners. She watches it go for just a moment; she reaches over her shoulder, considering the shield, but ultimately opting against it still, for the time being. [Fire]

The spiderling seemed to be just fine with hanging onto the wildly undulating piece of rope as long as Alba was a good distance away from him. "IT'S FINE," He shouts back, curling around a mast top. IT'S ARACHNID !" He corrects, as he twists around in place and then colorful smoke suddenly explodes around him, making him quite the target. After a moment, the spider actually manages to let out a very [Annoying] cry. That is not at all like screaming like a little girl.

Heavy grapeshot hammers against the armoring of the Ahriman, slamming through sail, crashing into wood. But the soldiers are waiting behind a thickly armored section, hunkering down as grapeshot rains against them.

A ball rips through Black's companion's head, taking half of it off. Blood spurts from the spot where the upper half of it was. "Ahahah, oh man, that is pretty brutal." Black brings his aleskin up for another drink. It was ripped away from the spout by another wild shot of the grape shot. He looks down at it. "Hey!" He bellows into the air at the other ship. "HEY! WHICH ONE OF YOU DOUCHEBAGS RUINED MY ALE! HEY!" Black grips his fists. "Assholes, just because my magic is black." He lifts his hands over his head. The clouds around the airships begin to darken. Zhgir manages to attract someone's attention!

A huge dragon made of jagged lightning rips out of the clouds towards him.

Two of the four heavy harpoons shoot up wild upwards as one gunner on each is thrust away from his station by the burst of flame. The other two, however, streak towards the Doodlebug. Heavy steel cable lines spool out from behind the large heavy barbed iron shafts.

Leetle only shakes his head in wonder at the spiderling. "An extra dose o'crazy in that one.", he mutters... over an open comm. Seeing the heavy cables zipping towards the Doodlebug, he yells out over the comms once more, "Brace for maneuvers!" With a lurch and a tugging at everyone's stomachs (sorry Grumm!), the Doodlebug bounces upwards as the buoyancy in the ship's floatstone changes. The hard turn continues as the moogle tries to cross their T. The sounds of sporadic gunfire can now be heard as the Doodlebug's regular crew bring rifles to bear upon the Archadian ship. There /should/ be a small enough distance to jump...

"Stupid spiderling," Alba grumbles, as the ship begins to turn with Zhgir in midair... And the distinct possibility of nothing beneath him, when he falls. Gathering her legs underneath her, she hangs on tightly to the swaying mastrope, peering through her mask at the swiftly closing ship. Once the moment is right, and the rope is at its farthest back... She lets go, pushing against the rope, to launch herself into the air. If all is timed well, she'll come down on the Ahriman's deck. If not.... best to focus on all being timed well.

A chance for glory presents itself, and Celeste is hardly going to let that pass by un siezed upon. The mouse finally gets around to pulling her shield off her back, and shoves her arm through the straps; as she does this she backs up, before sprinting straight for the edge. Her last step is planted on the railing before she launches herself straight into the air, hurling herself airborne through the shrinking distance between the Doodlebug and the Ahriman. Her spear whistles through the air, and her lips peel back as she unleashes a mighty, joyous battle yell as she hurtles towards the enemy ship.

Even with the help of the rope, Grumm loses his footing and falls to the deck, one hand still clenched on the rope. After some flopping around, he eventualy gets to his feet, looking the wrong way. Hearing things behind him, he turns and looks for a new target. Without releasing the rope he moves enough to get a view of an unmolested haroonoer and channels mana again. With another thrust of his hand a bolt of [fire] shoots out.

The highly Annoying cry gains another pitch when that lightning dragon just appears in front of Zhgir. "UNFAIR !" He bellows out, as he does an emergency barrel roll out the smoke, and twists aside from the creature. "WHY NOT FIRE ...!" But his hands were already at work, hastily tying some rope onto the end of his polearm as he helds it horizontally against his body. He was steadily falling downwards in a circle around the two ships.

"LIGHTNING IS METAL!" Black shouts.

Airship battles are not easy. Many are won with weapons, not boarding actions. The addition of a Z axis ensures that.

The Doodlebug swings up hard and around. THe harpoons graze the side of the Doodlebug, but they don't do as much damage rifle fire does to the soldiers. They scramble for different cover as gunners and mages work to turn the boarding action into a fire fight as quickly as possible. Bullets rip into the armor of soldiers, pushing them down as the rifle fire is returned.

The harpoons begin to crank quickly, heavy clockwork mechanisms rolling them back into place and snapping them taut once more into the locks. But the harpooners take cover for the moment as well.

The Doodlebug being on top gives them the upper hand here. Boarding the Ahriman is easier than they can board in return. However, it does not have an open deck. It is covered by a canopy of steel armor. Getting onto the deck is certainly something that will rush your blood. Alba slides in amongst the canopy and has a moment to prepare her plan of attack as the soldiers who were about to board gather themselves up to repel borders. Celeste's alcohol probably makes it easier as she likely thinks less of hitting the canopy before she lands. All of them are armed with axes.

Grumm's fire misses one of the harpooners but the loosed fire bolt slams into the harpoon, setting fire to the gunpowder charge next to it with a roaring bang. It isn't enough to destroy the harpoon, but the harpooners are blasted away from it.

Meanwhile, Zhgir probably does the most important part. He distracts the Boss Level Blaster. Black brings his hands up, twisting the lightning dragon around to follow the spider. It's a damn big spell, too. But it is slow, as much of its power is in making it look like a dragon. And you know, the firepower to flay skin from bone. "Hey, get back here, you douchebag, get eaten by the dragon, YOU OWE ME A BEER!"

The Doodlebug's port side cannons fire once more, aimed farther back and over the heads of the Alba and Celeste. They're proper cannon shells this time, fired amongst the armor and soldiers huddling there. Several more of the Doodlebug's crew leap down upon the Archadian ship, backing up the two against the enemy soldiers. Some are armed with cutlass and saber, and wade into combat with flashing blade, while others hold the landing area, firing at solders that try to flank the melee component. "All ashore who's going ashore!", Leetle yells out.

Grumm blinks as his miss proves to be even more effective and it gives him an idea. "Ignite the powder!" He yells out as he he pulls his shield around to his hand and flips the axe from his belt into the other. "This be a bad idea." Two deeps breaths and he breaks into a run, leaping over the railing and aiming to land near Celeste. "Can' let ya fight 'lone."

Alba, historically, has never been one for carefully considered battle plans. Where some would see close to a dozen armed and armored soldiers, a pause for reflection might be in order. A *normal* person would stop to consider. Alba, however, is *far* from normal. Her knives out and streaming toxic, magical vapors, she looses a high, ululating scream, launching herself forward into the thick of the soldiers, happy enough to deliver several poisoned cuts across as many of the men as her knives can find.

By contrast to Alba, Celeste has a battle plan, though it turns out to be pretty simple. The moment she straightens from her crouch she wades straight in, rushing the enemy with her shield up in front of her as a mighty bulwark as she simply ploughs right into the nearest group of soldiers. She echoes her cousin's yell, even as Grumm is landing nearby; once she gets close she swings her shield in a wide arc, intent on bashing her foes off their feet, or even off the side of the ship; then her spear flashes out, lancing powerfully forwards to finish what she's started.

The arachnid continues to somehow cling into his dear life, whilst being chased by a huge dragon lightning. Was that even a thing? Could he even ride that thing? "HEY! ZHGIR'LL TRADE CH'TAGN FOR A RIDE ON IT!" He yells, before he spins his polearm out... and throws it through the air, trying to latch onto something, /anything/ on the assailant ship. Just so he doesn't veer off into the blank nothingess; and has something to pull himself into the safety. His arms were getting pretty damn tired by now.

The heavy fire fight begins now. With the Doodlebug up higher, the cannon shots rake the canopy. The more powerful cannonade shot warps and bends the armor, blowing chunks of it off. It's not made to take too much heavy cannon fire. With a full on fire fight going on, it suddenly cuts its engines, pulling rapidly away from the Doodlebug.

The soldiers all take to one knee, grabbing something nearby. The sudden shift gives Alba time to stab her poison daggers through the armor of one of the soldiers before he can take a swing at her with the short boarding axe. Green fires up underneath his armor along his body. His howl of pain is mostly lost on the wind. Anyone who has played Fire Emblem KNOWS that axes beat lances! The first soldier loops his arm around a bulkhead and uses the short axe to parry away the spear. A second soldier takes battle with the shield, getting hammered back by it. His grip is knocked loose.

Then the reason is apparent. The Ahriman slows down, then moves up. And gravity suddenly becomes a different direction. The deck of the Ahriman becomes a steep slope. All the soldiers are prepared for it, their axes ready against the likelihood of the others falling at them.

MEANWHILE.

The polearm digs into the side of the ship. Black stops the lightning dragon for a moment. He puts crackling gloves to where his chin might be. "WHAT'S A CH'WHATYOUSAID?" He bellows back.

"BRACE for maneuvers!", comes the cry from Leetle as he shifts the Doodlebug 'round to match the antics of the Ahriman. The Doodlebug shimmies to starboard, and climbs with the Ahriman, staying close by, but out of the path of the other airship... should she want to climb into the 'Bug. "Give me grapple an' lines!", calls out the Moogle captain, and crew begin rolling out lines and large grappling hooks. Two can play the boardsies game!

A veteran of many a harrowing airship flight, Alba's first instinct is to scramble *up* the tilting deck, planting a dagger into a convenient spot to keep her still. Flipping about, she looks down past her feet at the redied soldiers, a cackle floating up from behind her mask. "Truly," she says, voice light with vicious glee, "is it we, you wish to fight? Think," she says, producing a small man shaped figure, carved of rough wood, and cracking its head against the canted deck. "Think *hard.*" With that last word, shards of flashing, chaotic light flare toward one of the uninjured soldiers, scattering his wits, thickening his fear, and stripping away the ability to know friend from for. [COnfuse]

The landing sends Grumms stomach tumbling and his checks puff out, summoning all his will to not throw up. Settling enough to fight he charges towards the soldiers near Celeste only to have the ship shange course quickly, sending him off his feet, tumbling across the shroud. He chops the axe down several timea until it catches, halting his movement with is legs hanging off the edge from the knee down. "No again onna boat."

Celeste leans back as the ship pitches, tilting the slope beneaht her. "So yer wanna play *THAT* game," she drawls, even as she skids several feet forwards before regaining her balance; she's lived half her life on a ship, a tilting deck is hardly anything new. "A'ight then!" she snaps, as she keeps her shield between herself and the axes; she chants, her lips quirking up in a grin as the runs appear once more around her spear hand, and she lobs a blast of flame into the nearest axe wielder. Because being lit on fire is scary. [Fire]

Please catch onto something. Please catch onto something. Please and with a fierce yank, the arachnid kites around the ship, the rope pulled taut as he is knocked along by the wind. "BEER! BEER AND RUM FOR DRAGOON !" The flailing arachnid bellows over the fighting below, flapping his flag that he stole from Doodlebug. He wasn't very good at this.

As the Ahriman climbs, it fires forward cannons at the Doodlebug's side. Powerful mist shells rip out of the cannons with a thunderous detonation before it is above the other ship. Out of cannon range temporarily, the crew begins to reload the harpoons in an effort to return the boarding action and take part of the action to the other ship.

One of the soldier's draws a pistol. "Pretty sure." He answers Alba, firing up a shot at her. It doesn't come in time to stop the figure from smashing against the deck, however. The addled soldier brings his axe up and around, throwing himself at the other soldier. And he promptly falls to the back the ship, scrambling wildly.

The ship begins to level out again as they prepare the harpoons and the Ahriman gets height over the Doodlebug. This makes it easier for Grumm to stay hanging. It also gives one of the soldiers time to rush him, bringing his axe up and at the dwarf's hand that keeps him held to the deck.

Being lit on fire is indeed scary. He bellows briefly as the fire rips up his armor. But they are trained men. They know a magical fire only stays for so long. And the best way to combat it is to attack. With the fight in full force again, the axe soldiers disentangle their limbs and gang up on Alba and Celeste, one trying to keep Celeste's spear busy. The others concentrate on liberating Celeste's head from her neck.

MEANWHILE.

Black hrmms. "I do like rum." He waves a hand, the lightning dragon rearing towards Zhgir. "Alright, you have a deal." He says with a grin. Metaphorically.

Celeste, Alba and Grumm aren't alone on the deck, the nameless Doodlebug redshirts getting their bearing and footing under them before pressing the attack, two of them flanking Alba, while the third takes the sword blow meant for Celeste. Behind them, several rifles are aimed and fired, one poor sod from the Ahriman keeling over. "Stop aiming for the same guy!", one of them yells as they reload.

"BELAY the grapples! Open the starboard cannons! And BRACE for IMPACT!", comes a trio of orders from Leetle. The wings of the ship groan as they strain against the maneuver being performed, the ship turning much faster than before, creaking ominously. The six armed Moogle figurehead looks almost like he's cackling manically as the 'Bug lurches forward, her armored prow making for the stern of the Ahriman.

Grumm doesn't have time to get out of the way so he moves his shield to cover his hand, and deflect the attempt to take it off. He likes that hand. Before the soldier can swing again he scrambles to his feet, rushing forward with a shoulder toward the mans stomach, followed by raising his shield, trying to flip the soldier over top of him and hopefully off the edge.

Celeste may be facing trained men, but she's certainly no slouch herself. Her head is connected to her shoulders by a legally binding contract known as a 'spine', and she aims to keep it that way; her shield is brought up to ward off blows, but even with one of the Doodlebug's crewmen stepping in to help, she still catches an axe in the shoulder. The wound bites deep, and draws an impressive flow of blood, but almost immediately upon the weapon being removed the wound starts to close itself up once again. [Regenerator] The mouse warrior just grins, and shoves hard with her spear, to shake off the people trying to keep her busy. "Nah'bloody likely," she snaps, as she winds up with the weapon, and ploughs it down from on high at the man she just lit on fire, to hammer it straight into him, using her strength to her advantage. [Heavy Blow]

The bullet grazes across the Viera's thigh, drawing a pained snarl, but as the deck levels out, she gathers her feet underneath her. Launching herself back into the fray, she lashes out with tiny slices and cuts in rapid succession, her intent to drawing attention away from the redshirts, as much as poisoning Archadean soldiers.

"REALLY?!" Comes the incredulous reply. And for a moment, the arachnid seems to kite himself towards the dragon. Then he remembers its made out of lightning. "ZHGIR WILL RECONSIDER." The arachnid fiddles more whilst fighting against the wind but soon enough he rappels down towards the ship, the black flag continuing to pull the rope aloft. It would really suck if a lightning struck it now.

As the boarding party from the Doodlebug joins the attack, the harpooners give up trying to hit the other ship and go for their weapons instead. The Ahriman begins to move, however. With the Doodlebug's crew on its deck, the captain of the ship takes a chance. The Ahriman moves, descending in a spiral to get back into a firing match with the Doodlebug. But this time, it is careful to keep the side the boarders are on to the Doodlebug's cannons.

The soldier oofs as he struggles with Grumm, slamming his axe down at the shield. The short dwarf gets him up and over and the soldier goes over the railing with a Wilhelm Scream, tumbling into the clouds below.

With the boarding crew helping, the battle begins to turn back around. Rather than being able to simply gang up on the two, the crew begins to block and keep the weapons at bay. It gives Celeste enough room to move and jam the spear down through the neck of the man's armor and out the back, plowing down through his body. It gives Alba time to start giving cuts all about rather than focus on a single target. The attacks begin to slow, but they focus solely on Alba, trying to hammer at her with their axes to pin her down.

"YOU DOUCHEBAG, THAT'S IT!"

The sky suddenly grows black. Both up and down. Black lifts his hands up, then pushes them out to either side. The air thrums with a deep bass beat. Power crackles out from around him. The dragon disappears into the clouds, roiling from simply a Thundaga spell, to a Thundaja.

"GIVE ME THE DAMN RUM, YOU TINY BASTARD!"

Smoke rises from parts of the Doodlebug, and some crew are sent scrambling, going for water stores to put the fires out as quickly as possible. The Doodlebug comes on though, her cannons silent while the Moogle captain does course corrections, the 'Bug following the Ahriman down in that same spiral. "Aw no ya don't, I be ramming yer precious, kupo!", he calls out, the intercom plainly heard over the din of battle.

The two crewmen with Alba follow her into the general melee, taking jabs and slashes at those who focus on Alba, perhaps happy that it is not their shirts currently made red. The one, bleeding crewman next to Celeste tries his best to fend of sword blows aimed at him, and her, while holding his arm to his side. Behind the melee crew, the rifles are brough up again, this time spreading their fire around more effectively. Another crewman makes his way to Grumm's side, wielding pistols and aiming into those wishing to harm the Dwarf.
Grumm nods at the pistoleer and takes a moment to get a good look around. "Too many around Alba." He thinks and charges in to assist her and using his size as an advantage. Ducking below the weapons of their enemies he hacks at legs and stomachs while they're distracted by the much taller viera.

Axes are slow, heavy weapons, but even with aid and distractions, enough make it through that it becomes clear that slow, heavy weapons *hurt* when they connect. Luckily, at least in Alba's thinking, the magics that course through her blood do their part to mitigate the damage, slowing bleeding, sluggishly closing wounds as they open, and allowing her to retain the strength to pay back what she's given.

Enough is enough. Celeste grits her teeth as she receives another axe wound, that starts sealing up immediately, but bleeds and hurts just the same. "Get b'hind me," she snaps at her wounded ally beside her, "Ain' no use gettin' y'self dead." As she speaks, she hammers her shield forwards once again, battering her enemies back and away from herself; in the wake of it, she wings her spear around and swings it in a wide arc, letting the long blade do its work on as many foes as possible. She grins, pressing forwards once more, as she presses to advance towards the crazed, black mage captain of the Ahriman.

Zhgir made it, he made it! Slamming onto the steel canopy, on all fours. It felt good. But not as good as high tailing from the 'Aja. But, unlike most sensible things, he starts to scramble towards the black mage. "Zhgir is not tiny! Zhgir is just not thunder resistant!" Hopping onto a nearby convenient protrusion, he waves his hands at the mage. "Turn it into fire instead...!"

The Ahriman tries to stay on top, trying to do everything to get the Doodlebug out in front of its guns, anywhere to start the fire fight they were sure would end this. The airships speed up. The Ahriman moves fractionally with each turn, trying to get its side to the Doodlebug long enough for the side cannon, more solid iron rounds rather than mist shells, to rake the other airship. The Ahriman itself has taken pretty good fire from the Doodlebug.

Fire Emblem doesn't cover axes versus daggers. Alba can weave around the blows easily. Her assailants are starting to get sluggish. Their blows get slower as the poison works through their veins. One of them simply drops right to the ground. But that gives the riflemen room to use their bayonets. It is getting to be a knockdown brawl. Leetle better do something soon. The addition of Grumm slows the fight in Alba's favor again, once more giving her room to work. A dagger slices up a man's cheek, scar turning black quickly.

The Black Mage is most certainly NOT the captain of the airship, but he is probably the biggest threat. By the looks of that big ass spell he is slinging about. The wide swing of the spear starts to batter Celeste's attackers back, making them work harder to get in around her. They give blow for blow, swinging axe at her shield with each swipe of the spear, but the slashes of spear across armor and flesh push them back.

Black provides for Zhgir.

The dragon turns into an enormous figure of cold, made entire of shards of ice. It slowly looms down at the Doodlebug and the Ahriman.

Shit is about to hit the fan.

The Doodlebug will have nothing of it, but the the standoff continues. "Hhhf, hang on to something.", comes a resigned sigh over the comms. There's a bang, followed by a roar, and the Doodlebug lurches forward suddenly. Her ramprow nose comes up just as the 'Bug impacts the very rear of the ship, both ships shuddering from the blow. Creaks and groans accompany the loud crunch, as the two ships lurch and begin to twist about. Theres a snap that sounds like a large whipcrack, the Doodlebug's ram snapping in two, leaving the rear of the Ahriman impaled. "FIRE!" yells the Moogle, clinging desperately to the helm of the ship.

The 'Bugs cannons belch fire and cannonshell, though a fully half miss, passing behind the ship as the two drift still from the impact. The other half are aimed right at the rear half of the ship though.

The cries and yells of the Doodlebug's boarders can be heard over the sounds of battle, being thrown to their feet by the impact, shots going wide and blades definitely missing their intended targets.

Grumm working low with Alba above is effective, both having openings left by the distrations of the other. Atleast until the bayonets come into play with the longer reach. A slight change of tactics as he steps under her arm, moving around behind and punching out his fist that's gripping the axe haft. The fist glows red and a stream of [fire] jets out towards one of the riflemen just in time for the impact which knocks him off his feet.

The bayonets are a clear irritation, and it shows in the set of the Viera's ears as she fights to pull herself and Grumm out of the melee... only to have the bulk of her work done for her, by the ramming of the Doodlebug. Hurled off her feet, she scrabbles up as soon as she can, grabbing hold of Grumm's shirt and pulling him to his feet as well. "THE MAGE!" she roars over the din of fighting, magic, and tangled airships. "WE MUST KILL THE MAGE, QUICKLY!"

Shield and spear clatter across the deck, as Celeste is flung off her feet by the impact of ship against ship. She doesn't bother to get up, at first; she instead lances her spear forwards, at one of her likewise fallen foes. Then she gets up. Her ear flicks to the sound of Alba's voice, and she looks towards the stern, where Black is busy... doing his thing. "ALBA!" she shouts, howling at the top of her lungs to be heard, "WATCH ME BACK!" With that the mouse wades forwards once more, bashing people out of the way with her shield and stabbing them whenver she has the opportunity with her spear. Bayonet and rifle bullet clang off her shield and armor, sometimes finding her flesh and drawing blood as the mouse rushes forwards aggressively, carving a line as swiftly as she may towards the mage.

Zhgir dares to look behind himself. Then he gazes back towards the mage. "That's not fire." He says, flatly, before he continues on scrambling along the scaffolding with all six limbs of his; barely hanging on few times, as explosions and the sudden collisions knocks him off his footing. But he was already headed towards the mage, digging in his pocket for a small container. "Here, take this!" And the arachnid tosses the bottle towards the mage. Unfortunately, it was only a half empty paint canister. [Annoy]

Shit hits the fan.

The Ahriman struggles to do the same thing the Doodlebug did, trying to pour on a final bit of speed and rip away from the moogle's airship. The ship's collide slightly offcenter, but it does no less damage. The deck of the Ahriman heaves under the two crews. Black adjusts himself like it isn't no thing, because he's drunk. He doesn't give a shit.

The Ahriman's mist engines falter at the ram. Then the cannons fire. It takes the damaged back of the ship full on, spinning it slightly as it hits off center, making it whirl drunkenly in the sky as the cannonade explodes through one of the mist engines. The ship bursts into flames underdeck. Smoke begins to pour everywhere. The ship slowly begins into a nose dive.

Fire rips through the ranks of the rifleman. Grumm's small burst is enough to ignite the powder prematurely, firing a wild shot. Alba moves. Celeste moves. And all the attackers against the three don't get in their way. They give up the fight, quickly moving out of the way and around to try and get to Mist Bikes around the sides of the ship and dive into them. They do this as orderly as they can, but some of their discipline is lost by the fact this is now become a losing battle.

Black sits at the back of the ship, clenching one leather fist, staring wild eyed at the Spider, crazed rage filling his glowing eyes. He catches the paint can. "THIS IS A PAINT CAN, YOU DON'T PUT RU YOU KNOW WHAT."

Pure magic flows out from Black's robe. It crackles around his head, out of the sleeves. His body arches as he floats up into the air. He lifts one mighty hand upward, then slams it down towards the Ahriman, right where Zhgir is standing. The enormous Iceaja spell in dragon form roars down at Zhgir. And the Ahriman. If Zhgir doesn't move, he is going to meet the fate of the rest of the Ahriman, ripped in half.

Black seems to realize that floating off a moving ship is not a good idea. He plummets into the clouds.

Good news: The Ahriman is probably going to explode!

Bad News: You are still on it.

The Doodlebug creaks and groans once more, turning around in a fairly small circle, moving up along side before the Ahriman has fallen too far. Ropes are thrown over the side, dangling down to the sticken ship below. The rest of the Doodlebug's crew begins to line the rail, rifles pointed down, but not firing, at the enemy soldiers below. "Doodlebug's crew first. Then any sailor who doesn't want to implode, explode or plummet to their death, drop your weapons, and climb aboard. You may have sanctuary, and may return to your homes once this is all over." This said, loudly over the intercom.

Grumm is pulled along the deck for several feet before getting to his feet. "Aye, lass." Is all he can think to say and starts charging towards Black and gets knocked off his feet again be the explosions. Mastering understatement, he looks up at Alba as the ship starts to go critical and says. "Tha's no good." Scrambling to his feet yet again, he breaks into a run towards the Doodlebug stowing the shield and axe as he grabs a rope, pulling himself up slowly with the use of his legs.

"No," ALba murmurs, "no it is not. ZHGIR! FLEE OR DIE!" Knives stowed, she turns to lope toward the massed soldiers, and the Doodlebug's railing beyond. The Captain's words are not lost on her, but she finds some relief from her fury in the small cruelty of looming over the rail, until Zhgir appears or is dead for certain.

Well, hell. Celeste finds herself standing on the deck of a very large bomb with an uncertain fuse. The Doodlebug has ropes deployed, but they're very far away, after her headlong charge towards Black, who has in the meantime managed to just bugger off before the mouse could put her spear into him. She slings her shield and spear across her back in record time, as she makes her way straight for the nearest skybike; she grabs the soldier attempting to ride it by the collar, and hurls him off. "Get a rope," she instructs, before hopping up onto the bike herself. Power switch? Ahh, there it is. The mouse sets her feet, grabs on tight to the handlebars, and punches the throttle with an impressive roar of engines.

Zhgir just stares a bit dumbly towards the black mage, getting back onto his feet from yet another tumble. "Really? Zhgir thought " He begins as he starts to open his satchels but the arachnid was already running at the end of his rope. The appearance of the dragon, makes the rogue take in a deep breath and leap away but unfortunately, he is not as swift as he would enjoy at the moment. The ice blasts close enough to graze his hide, and he lets out definitely an inhuman cry as he tumbles down along the cracked steel carapace; apparently knocked out for the effect.

Many of the soldiers are stunned by this. Some try to get to the bikes, but there are fewers bikes than soldiers. Some of them take the ropes quickly as the mist engine begins to burn.

The ice dragon roars through the Ahriman, steadily plowing through the back of it, cutting it off from its engine. The floatstone begins to crack underneath the stress. They are rather eager in their urgency to get to the other ship. One soldier staggers back as his bike is taken and he runs in a hurry for the ropes as the deck starts to crack apart.

But who will go back for Zhgir?

The fleeing soldiers are definitely made to drop their weapons, under threat of cannon and rifle. The Moogle captain peers out from the pilot house, watching the situation closely, trying to keep the 'Bug level with the ailing ship. "Celeste... go an'grab the arachnid, an' quickly lass, that ship is gonna blow. Just keep as level as ye can, I'll bring the Doodlebug to ye, once I've taken all I can. Alba, iffn ye could board the 'Bug, please?", comes out over the comms." The horn of the 'Bug blares out loudly now, doing a quick succession of notes indicating a ship in distress."

Streaking away from the stricken ship, Celeste navigates her way through the cluster of soldiers and sailors who all have the same idea as she does; once she's clear, she wheels around, gaining some altitude and looking back at the impending destruction, as much to make sure that the Doodlebug is clear as anything else, not that there's much she can do about it. She looks carefully for Alba; there, her cousin is at the ropes. She breathes a sigh of relief, and relaxes some of the tension from her muscles as she eases back on the throttle. Her ears perk up as she hears Leetle's voice over the loudspeakers, giving instructions; she sits up straighter, and scans the Ahriman, pursing her lips as she looks with urgency for Zhgir... Ahh, there he is. The mouse hits the throttle once more, and rushes down at breakneck speed towards the Ahriman, to where the arachnid is sliding off the edge. As she approaches she leans over, tilting the bike hard to the side; her knee skims just an inch or two away from the ship beneath her, and she stretches, reaching with her left hand to snatch at Zhgir. The act of catching him would've torn a weaker mortal's arm from their socket, but Celeste mearly snarls at the strain, and hauls the spider up into the air with her as she speeds away, driving the bike one handed in the time it takes her to cross the Doodlebug's deck and deposit her charge there. After throttling down enough that he doesn't get turned into salsa upon landing, of course.

"....Hn," Alba grunts, hopping from Ahriman to Doodlebug, stepping away from the soldiers and allowing those able to board, to do so. Leaning over the railing, she tracks Celeste's progress on the skybike, keeping watch until it's certain that Zhgir is in safe hands.

Grumm grabs onto the railing and pulls his feet up, stopping to look back. The unmistakable body of Zhgir is laying motionless and summons up the last of his courage, turning around and preparing to leap. He's not going to leave a companoin behind, regardless of how annoying that might be. Saved by the order to Celeste as he bends his legs and leans forward, almostt falling when he aborts the jump. With a grunt he pours himelf over the railing, onto the deck and crawls towards a hatch so he can get back below decks.

Celeste pulls away from the Ahriman with Zhgir in tow. The last soldier pulls away from the Ahriman and scrambles up onto the Doodlebug, giving it scant seconds to get up into the air as the Mist Engine gives a thunderous crackle and goes up. It takes most of the Ahriman with it, debris falling away. The burst of height and air rolls over the Doodlebug and Celeste's skybike as the detonation rocks the rock.
Slowly, the magic infusing the clouds dissipates, bringing it back to white, and the sun once more shines down on the somewhat intact crew of the Doodlebug.

Zhgir's barely conscious by the time Celeste grabs him, his arms just hanging limply off his savior. Still, despite being zinged in so many ways, his eyes roll in their sockets. "Look too pretty... for a dragon... Zhgir..." And then his head flops onto Celeste, his mouth open.

After dropping Zhgir off on the deck, Celeste speeds off into the sky once more; she watches the destruction of the Ahriman, and scans the sky for any other survivors who might have made it to neither skybike nor rope. Seeing none, she wheels about, and brings the bike in more slowly to make a gentle, careful landing on the deck of the Doodlebug. There, she goes about powering down the engines, and jumps off to get some rope and secure the vehicle safely. "Careful w'me baby," she sternly instructs a sailor who comes to help her.

Whisper War

2013-06-18T22:50:35Z

Kupor:

Interlude - Recovering Losses

2013-06-18T22:49:36Z

Kupor: Created page with '"By the sweat of Hades, he was actually one of the smart ones." Kulgkar kicks Trigger's bullet ridden body over, reaching down to pull off one of his pouches. "Good thing whoever…'

"By the sweat of Hades, he was actually one of the smart ones." Kulgkar kicks Trigger's bullet ridden body over, reaching down to pull off one of his pouches. "Good thing whoever it was hightailed it after the fire." He stuffs the pouch into a bag and takes a swig from his aleskin. He turns his head slightly towards the sickly bangaa and sneers at the tubes coming out of the back of his head. "Not like YOU. Can't do a damn thing right. All you had to do is help!"

He picks up one of Trigger's bombs. It begins to rust and corrode in his hand. He lifts it over his head to hurl. Jitters brings his arms over his head and cowers. "I'm sorry, Boss! They had this big guy in armor! He didn't even feel a thing, he was like some big monster! Just crushed Fatback's head in without even a blink!"

Kulgkar starts walking away from Trigger. He tosses the iron sphere behind him. The volatile mix inside it begins to shift from the aura of Kulgkar's corruption, and it bursts into flames ontop of the other bangaa. Every step Kulgkar takes turns the grass black underneath him. Luckily it doesn't seem to affect ale if he drinks it quickly enough. Or maybe he just doesn't mind the taste of shitty ale.

The Dark Knight takes stock of his group. Four soldiers dead. Two Irregulars dead. "By Mephistopheles' Balls, they are going to dock my pay for these deaths. They are going to dock YOUR pay. Because I ain't losing my leisure money." Jitters moans briefly until Kulgkar scowls at him. Then he quickly goes to work piling the somewhat burned soldiers onto a corpse wagon. Kulgkar makes his way over, kicking at Fatback's heavy form with a boot. "Throw him on there too. I know a guy."

He then takes a finger towards Jitters. "And you pull your shit together. I got you out of a life sentence. All you had to do is take a few insane mist experiments. And look at you. Instead of rotting in a dungeon, you are a soldier. I don't care if you are some damn experiment, I'll be happy to let you fall off a wagon by accident. Now get this tub of lard onto the wagon. And careful of his skull, we need it. What's left of it. Then we are headed back to the city on the next airship supply run."

"Where are we going boss?" He asks, since Lucky, the headless bangaa sniper, cannot.

"Prison. I got some space in the gang I need to fill up."

Whisper War

2013-06-18T22:31:42Z

Kupor:

In 900 OV, a war began with a whisper. Two Empires were inexorably drawn into a conflict, repeating history once again. Chronicled within are those who were drawn, either as puppets or perpetrators of The Whisper War.

* A [[Late Courier]] : Information is critical when planning war, and one General dislikes tardiness.
* [[Opening Shots]] : The first shots are fired in a two pronged attack.
* [[Day Two of Captivity]] : A young woman finds out war plans while in captivity.
* [[Rook to Bishop]] : Word has reached Rozarrian ears regarding recent events in Emberstrand.
* [[World View]] : A young woman comes to grips with her world view when she speaks to her verbal sparring partner.
* [[Promotion/Day Five of Captivity]] : A young Captain gets promoted and learns a lesson.
* [[The Walker]] : Every journey starts with a single step.
* [[Temple Steps]] : A priestess, a warrior, and a nobleman discuss mercy and other things on the temple steps.
* [[Fireplace Whispers]] : One noble finds that even the pops and sizzles of flames hold secrets.
* [[Council Letters]] : Members of Emberstrand's ruling council receive a deluge of letters on policy.
* [[A Summoner's Call]] : Marduke travels to Bur-Omisace, hoping to drum up support for Emberstrand's plight.
* [[Day Twelve of Captivity]] : A young woman reflects on important things while in captivity.
* [[Dark Knight Rises]] : Four defend the farms of Emberstrand from a foul-mouthed and powerful Bangaa Dark Knight
* [[Unconventional Warfare]] : Mordecai's crew and the strange Zhgir find out who has been capturing monsters out on Giza Plains

Back to [[RP Logs]]

Unconventional Warfare

2013-06-18T22:30:47Z

Kupor: 6-17 Scene

LOCATION: The Giza Plains

PEOPLE: Maraxus, Zhgir, Ka'Len, Mordecai

TIME: Right Now.

"So there's I was, about to gut this moogle right? And he looks at me with those moogle eyes and I says to myself 'Fatback,' I says, 'Fatback, it might be wrong, but you have to eat and this tavern serves terrible food. So I bring my axe up and I carve into his bloo "

"Fatback!" shouts a gangly bangaa. He is a sickly green color, several large metal tubes stuck through the back of his skull and spine. He appears to prepetually have the shakes. "Hey, Fatback!"

"What?" The fat shirtless Seeq turns away from the bangaa, addressing a tree. He has two eyepatches on. He has a great deal of battlescars over his flabby torso. "I was just getting to the good part!"
"The other way!"
"I'm blind, not deaf." He spins around again, "What."

The sickly bangaa puts a hand on his nose. "You got something on your face. Right here."

The seeq puts his hand to his cheek. IT isn't a hand. It is an axe. The Seeq has axes instead of hands. He also has axes instead of feet. Kulgkar's gang is awful. The axe drags a bloody trail through his face.
"No, higher!"
"Here?" A bloody swath.
"No, keep going, down... no left... no your other left!"

A second Bangaa turns around putting his finger to his lips. "Shhh. Will you two assholes shut up?" The three are in a sparsely wooded area, since monsters are attracted to trees. Archadean soldiers are hanging monster bait from various branches. One of the soldiers fires a bolt at a Giza Rabbit to scare it off. There are five wagons all strewn around the small clearing. Four are full covered with thick tarps. One is empty.

The second Bangaa is wrapped in thick fire proofing leathers. He has bandoliers across his chest, harnesses, and bags. The bombs in those harnesses and the goggles on his face are dead giveaways of an engineer. "These are very sensitive wagons."

Mordecai's new ship, the Redemption, has been quietly landed someways off... The older ex mercenary deciding this mission requires some measure of stealth at first, to safely get to the enemy's position and plan their subsequent action. Currently low crawled behind a fallen tree, he pauses there, pump action shotgun safely tucked against his body, and he glances back below the brim of his hat to see how the other two of his crew are faring, silently waiting for them to catch up to him... Having decided to take this job as his new crew's very first test, a baptism by fire of sorts, to hopefully start off a long string of succesful guerilla engagements against the forces threatening Emberstrand...

Ka'len keeps to cover not too far from where Mordecai has positioned himself. The young man shoots a look to the fellow before quietly drawing his blade with his right hand and in the other a small pistol. The young man tosses a quick nod towards Mordecai and sneaks a little closer before flicking a glance back towards their targets.
Maraxus would of pointed out to the captain, that ammunition for the ship is also very limited. The Lunarian though is not built or even equiped for stealth, wearing a full set of plate and carrying a massive war hammer built for his seven foot frame. The look he offers explains everything when he is told stealth. Still he follows behind, well behind to keep the other two from noticeing as they make their through the woods, offering the occasional clank of metal and thud of a heavy boot.

"Why?" The question hangs in the air momentarily; mostly because it didn't from the trio. Not even from the archadian soldiers. No, it came from up one of the trees left unattented; a branch of which a dark clad strange was hanging and curiously staring towards the engineer. Few of the monster baits hang off Zhgir's polearm, held sideways behind his body for support, while one of his idle hands hold his hood atop his head. Some people take stealth too seriously.

Mordecai nods back at Ka'Len, even as he pushes himself up into a low crouch to peer across the downed tree he's taking cover behind, slinging his shotgun up to rest atop it, the stock pressed into his shoulder, the ring sights flipped up, ready to be put on a foe's center mass... And he waits like that, for the big, clunky, armored form of Maraxus to catch up, glancing back at the man once he does... And then motioning both of them a bit closer still, though lowering himself again and slipping back some as well, obviously wanting to discuss some strategy.

"Sensitive? Fatback's a very sensitive gent. I always talk to me mum every year on 'er birthday!"
"Fatback, yer mum's /dead/."
"Aye, I digs her up and drag her to the Jagd bone witch and she wakes her up and we has tea. Then I torture her spirit until she tells me where the damn gold is!" Fatback sighs wistfully. "Ah, my mum was a grand woman. Seven hundred pounds and she could kill a man at five hundred paces with her cleaver. Dad never saw it coming."

The bomb laden Bangaa glares. He points a gloved finger that is covered in flint claws at the other two. "Fatback. Jitters. Shut the hell up. I'll tell you WHY. It's because w "

Everyone in the clearing stops and turns towards the tree.

Except Fatback who is looking the other way.

The engineer bangaa nods casually. "Well, you see, we are going to take these wagons an KILL THAT SON OF A BRAINDEAD GOAT!" He picks up an iron sphere from one of his belts. The soldiers in the clearing take their crossbows. The bangaa strikes his flint claw harshly across the iron. Sparks fly, lighting the fuse. Crossbow bolts fly up at Zhgir with well trained precision. The bangaa waits for the spider kin to react to the bolts first before hurling the explosive.

Fatback holds up his axe, stopping 'Jitters' from moving. "Hold on, lassy. I smells a noise." The sickly bangaa looks like he is going to protest about being called female and the absurdity of Fatback 'smelling a noise', but he turns towards where Fatback is smelling and where Maraxus is coming.

Mordecai nods back at Ka'Len, even as he pushes himself up into a low crouch to peer across the downed tree he's taking cover behind, slinging his shotgun up to rest atop it, the stock pressed into his shoulder, the ring sights flipped up, ready to be put on a foe's center mass... And he waits like that, for the big, clunky, armored form of Maraxus to catch up, glancing back at the man once he does... And then motioning both of them a bit closer still, starting to slip back a bit again to meet them... But then, he's forced to pause, his gaze snapping forward again as he hears the shouting up ahead, together with the movements visible through the tree line... The man frowning, before he motions at the both of them, and then starts moving forward in a low crouch, his shotgun held at the ready as he angles away from that group of heavies, towards one of the carts instead Pointing Ka'Len the opposite way as he does, indicating a flanking position, but then pointing Maraxus forward, straight at the group... Knowing the man is built for direct engagements.

As the quesiton is asked Len looks at the tree and his brow shoots up. Stifling an amused snort Ka'len takes it as a queue to move while they're distracted. He circles around to the otherside where he was motionsed and after slipping behind another tree he sticks his head out long enough to locate a target. And while 'Fatback' is smelling his noise the young man takes aim at 'Jitters' with the pistol before he fires off a volley, his hand pulling to the side so that the high only is likely to wing the guy.

Maraxus smiles to himself, the need for stealth over. He glances to Mordecai and shakes his head, "Now ye be remember how I fight, cover me." He hefts his heavy war hammer and starts straight towards the group. There is no attempt at stealth on his part, uncaring if they know he is charging in. As he clears into the clearing he swings his hammer in a wide arc towards the nearest enemy.

"Whoops." Zhgir lets out as the first of the bolts whirl past him; the anarchid quickly rolling atop the branch. And then around the tree, to another branch, casually peeking around the bark. For a while, it literally looks like he thought being used as target practise was a casual thing for the day. He points at one of the arrows embedded in the tree, jerking it out with a bit of a twist and waving it at the soldiers. "Did you want these back? Maybe they aRGH !" And then he takes a bolt square to his shoulder; the force of which knocks the arachnid off the branch, and down onto grass below with a surprisingly satisfying thud. " malfunctioning..." Faint groan. [Annoy]

There are quite a few soldiers here. A good dozen in addition to the three 'heavies'. They seem to be giving orders. One could conclude they are the big deal. Or that they are idiots.

Or both.

Jitters wheels as he is hit with the shot across his shoulder. He never saw it coming. It spins him around a full revolution, blood blossoming from the flesh wound. He grabs it with one free hand. "Trigger! TRIGGER! It's a set up! TRIGGER!" Jitters reaches down, sticking his hands into a pair of punching daggers. He lifts them up slightly and staggers back, seeing only the big man. He holds the cestusescestises? Cesti? in front of him like he barely knows how to use them.

Mordecai gets to one of the covered carts. It feels a bit warm. There's a rough snoring growl coming from it.

Fatback, meanwhile, hears Maraxus coming. He turns his blind eyes towards him with a... well okay, not a gleam, a smell? His bulk twists out of the way, catching a glancing blow across his torso. "Ha hah! Ol' Fatback doesn't need any tin can to fight! Come on, ya son of a spider infested moogle!" He bellows a berserker's shout, hurling himself with both great axe hands at Maraxus, slamming them fiercely into his armor. He is strong.

Zhgir falls out of the tree. Trigger's bomb lands next to him with a 'thunk'.

It explodes.

Maraxus is a old man when it comes to combat, a hundred or so years will do that. He doesn't seem to really pay attention to the blind guy at the moment. he charges right past him, and spins around keeping the arc of hammer flowing. The axes will slam into his armor and leave some nice marks, but will not cut all the way through. The armor is old, but the metal and durability are the reason Maraxus keeps it and repairs it. He continues the swing of his hammer, twisting it around to arc at Trigger! Leaving Fatback alone for the moment, and a very potential target for somebody to shoot him with a clear shoot.

Mordecai doesn't pause long at the cart, only briefly taking note of that snoring before he takes one hand away from the front of his shotgun, and digs it into a leather satchel at his side instead... Soon pulling it back out again, tightly clutching a ceramic sphere of sorts, a small cord sticking out of it... Which is promptly clenched between his teeth, and yanked out. Causing a low fizzing sound to emit from that sphere, even as he rolls it right below the cart, and without skipping a beat, moves on and away from it, passing the other carts, and manuevering to emerge in a more target rich enviroment once his little surprise goes off... [Grenade]

Ka'len ducks back behind the tree he'd selected to hide behind as the explosion goes off. Biting off a curse the young man slips both his weapons away and his hands lift, motes of white energy beginning to swirl about his fingers as he grumbles quietly to himself, "healing spiders now.. what's this world coming to.." A shake of the head is given and then Len turns sharply and steps out of cover long enough to get direct line of sight with Zhgir's fallen form and launch off the healing spell towards him [Cure].

Zhgir's only saving grace was that he landed flat onto the ground. Which meant that much of the shrapnel from the bomb just flew past his head. It still didn't mean it didn't hurt. Or that his already ragged clothing didn't catch flames. Which is all the more reason why he grabs one of the baits off his polearm, and tosses it back at Trigger, slowly getting back up to his feet. "For miss !" He gasps out, mouth full of grass, blood and bit of the monster bait. [Annoy]

"TRIGGER!"

"WHAT YOU WHINY PIECE OF " Trigger turns, thoroughly distracted by Zhgir. He sees Maraxus coming. The hammer blow twists around with a mighty heave and hammers into the engineer's side. There's a thorough crunching of bone as he goes down. He spits up a bit of blood, "Who the fuck."

Then the cart explodes. Trigger's eyes widen. He starts scrambling back. He drops a bomb behind him as he staggers up to his feet, hoping to distract Maraxus from another swing. And distract him from the Seeq leaping at his back, both axes coming down at his armor. "Ah hah! Ya can't get away from Fatback! I was an expert tracker when I had both me eyes! I could track a fairy by her farts for forty leagues!"

Trigger sees Zhgir and turns his staggering run towards him. "'Ey! ey! I need those! Get back here." He pulls out an autocrossbow that appears to be made to shoot tiny bombs and runs after the spider man.
Jitters continues to back up into a tree. "Triiiiggeeeeer!" he practically whines out.

With Zhgir's...skills elsewhere, the other soldiers in the clearing are starting to get their bearings. With explosives going around, half of them start slapping chocobos attached to wagons, getting them going. The other half are well trained in situations like this. TWo crossbowmen begin reloading their crossbows. The other four swordsmen immediately charge at Len with swords drawn. Always take out the healer first.

Meanwhile, the cart's debris and flames slowly part. And the wild eyed split mawed gape of a red orb is bearing quickly down on Mordecai. It is a bomb. And it looks /royally/ pissed.

Mordecai rounds around one of the other carts, and pauses to lean against it, tugging that shotgun sharply into his shoulder as he plants the sights squarely on the group of running swordsmen, hoping to cut down at least a couple of them with a good blast of buckshot... But before his finger can squeeze all the way through on that trigger, he can't help but be distracted by the creature emerging behind him... Briefly glancing over his shoulder at that gaping maw coming right at him, followed right after by his entire body whipping around, swiveling the barrel of that shotgun right towards that evil face, and without a second thought starting to rapid fire right one it, his hand a blur as he works the pump action after every shot... [Fanning]

The thing about Len? He's not just a healer. The blade is once again drawn and he flashes a quick grin towards the quartet rushing towards him. The young man steps out of cover so that his attackers need do the same and then he starts to spar with the closest one while the other hand draws out the gun and he starts to aim it at the others, not pulling the trigger just yet, but attemping to keep them from leaping in too quickly.

Maraxus offers no show of emotion as his hammer connects with Trigger. Letting the hammer continue to swing wide as he steps foward towards the bomb on the ground. Where most people with a lot of battle experiance would duck, cover, and get away as quickly as possible he is getting close. Those who know Maraxus, knows he tends to fight like he has nothing to lose. Keeping one hand on the hammer letting is still swing and land into the ground with a thud, the other picks up the bomb. Leaving him open as the axes land into his armor, one scrapes off leaving only a scratch, the other gets into a exposed section under his shoulder and meets flesh. Blood starts to flow out, but the Lunarian shows no reaction to the pain at all, like he doesn't feel it. Turning he thrust the bomb into Fatback's face, "Smell this."

Zhgir brushes off the dirt from his persona, his clothing still simmering from fire in an utterly defeated fashion. He turns his head towards the charging bangaa, tilting his head like a doe caught in headlights. "Zhgir?" He asks, as his eyes try to catch up with the events unfolding. Then all he can see is the Bomb. "Here, take this!" He quips to Trigger as he throws the rest of his pilfered baits at the man's face, before shouting towards the Bomb, waving his hands as he keeps tossing things, all the things, at the creature. "Ker'blang, here! Over here, biiig shiny...!" [Annoy]

Bullets pound into the strange fiery flesh of the bomb. Spurts of fiery fluid pour out of the wounds. The soldiers trying to get the cart moving suddenly turn and bolt when they see Mordecai and the bomb get near it. It is struggling to get to Mordecai fast enough to chomp into his delicious gunslinger flesh. Zhgir draws its attention, but its wounds are heavy from Mordecai and the beating it took to capture the thing. It shortly decides it cannot get there. So it explodes in a great combustion of itself, flesh tearing open and the fiery core of its magical being exploding out. The chocobos are struggling at the brakes of the cart. The blast of the explosion rocks the cart and blows off the tarp.

It reveals another Bomb.

That Bomb explodes in rage.

Ka'Len gets a good dueling ground going. The first soldier is using both hands on his longsword, hammering at Ka'Len's parries while the others spread out, trying to surround Ka'len on all sides. This could get ugly in a minute. And it does. When the second cart explodes, the whole side of it rips towards the five, smashing and scattering them about. Ka'Len goes down under a slightly fiery beam while the others look dazed.

"That's a bomb that is," Fatback comments. Then he headbutts it into Maraxus. The explosion drives the Seeq back a good twenty feet.

Only three more covered carts are left, the chocobos struggling to get away from the souds of battle. "Hurry!" Trigger bellows! "Get 'em out of here before they all go up!" He mutters, pulling into one of his bags. "Now, where did I put that mist thingam " He takes an armful of bloody meat to the face, staggering him back. "Wh " He points the crossbow at Zhgir, firing little explosive balls at him. "Stop jumping around you stupid bastard!"

Jitters is hiding behind a tree a little.

Maraxus gets thrown back a good ten feet himself, the heavier armor keeping him from being thrown as far. Getting back to his feet, he still shows no signs of being in pain. His left hand hanging at his side for the moment, blood dripping off it and the gauntlet tattered in pieces. The metal is still solid, but the leather that was holding it together is shredded. His face is covered in cuts and several trickles of blood. Starting to walk forward, one hand reaching up brush the blood out of a eye, the other reaching into a bag at his side. Casually throwing it at Fatback. [grease]

Mordecai goes flying when both Bombs go off near him, throwing the man at least fifteen feet, back towards the nearby tree line, where he lands among some bushes and rotting leaves in a somewhat smoldering heap... His oilskin hat lost somewhere in the underbrush, his tan coat ripped, ragged, and burned, his shotgun cracked, its barrel slightly bent, rendered useless... And he remains like that for several moments, blood dripping from cuts, scrapes and punctures, staining his clothes and the forest floor below... Before he suddenly stirs again, and starts to push himself up. Old leaves clinging to the side he landed on as he wobbles for a moment, muttering between clenched teeth, "... Son of a whore." Even as his hands throw that damaged coat open, and promptly yank out the two sixguns holstered below each armpit, crossdrawing them and thumbing the hammers back, while he begins moving again, pushing the many pains and aches he feels to the back of his mind, focused on rejoining the battle... Those twin revolvers going up as soon as targets present themselves to him past the flaming wreckage of those carts.

Zhgir covers his face when the bomb explodes; then snarls as the other bomb go up; half leaping, half blasted away from the scene. And he was still smoking. "Zhg'tang!" He hisses, as things continue to explode around him, the arachnid continuing to roll away from the Trigger and his exploding ways. "I'm done, I'm done!" He shouts, as he continues to hiss every now and then as more of the blasts burn his skin. "Can't we just discuss this like rational people?" He asks as he continues to run; to try and catch onto one of the intact carts.

Fatback's face is pretty bad. It's scarred and bloody because this is Final Fantasy and people don't get up with all their flesh flayed from their face by explosions. His entire upper body is burned. But he still stands up with a great bellow of laughter. "Ah, you muck filled son of a motherless viera! You fight like a real man! All Fatback usually gets are the baby gunslingers and all de summoners! Fatback joined this gang for de blood and guts. And I am going to kills ya if my name ain't Fatback J Fatback!" He flourishes his axes in front of him, before he charges towards Maraxus. "Come on, ya big bastard, I WILL TREAT YAS TO A PINT IN THE EMBRACE OF HAD "

The grease bag explodes. Fatback slips back onto his back. Axe feet are not the most well concieved limb replacements. A bullet rips open his side.

The soldiers on Ka'Len turn. Mordecai's pistols find two in the chest, dropping them into gasping crouches. The other two duck behind the tree, taking a moment to clear their heads before they go after the gunslinger. Ka'Len is left under the pinning beam. The soldiers trying to push carts away stagger and scatter as bullets start to fill the clearing wildly. This place is rapidly turning into a mad house.

And what is a madhouse without Zhgir. The chocobos driving the cart ignore Zhgir. The man driving the cart looks back at him as they start to pull away from the clearing. In his eyes is a look of pleading, begging Zhgir not to do anything stupid.
Maraxus still offers no emotion on his face. The solid grimm expression telling it all, at least to those who can see. He continues forward while listening to Fatback's rant. His hands grabbing his hammer as he steps past it. "The moons shadow take you." Is all he offers, a prayer of sorts. The hammer coming up in a wide overhead arc. There is no mercy in the Lunarian, only doing what needs to be done. The hammer attempting to come down with full force onto the Seeq while he is on the ground covered in grease.

Mordecai rounds the flaming wreckage of those exploded carts, one of his revolvers trained on the swordsmen as they still continue to be a threat to Ka'Len, while the other tracks for alternate targets, perhaps one of the crossbow men still at large... Leaving Fatback for Maraxus' warhammer for now. And with two of the swordfighters already down, he promptly fires at the two who fell back to take cover, hoping to at least make them retreat even more, if not outright killing or wounding them. The man shouting towards Maraxus as he does, "Plant your hammer in that fat fuck's skull and be done with it." Only to watch him swing the weapon down to do just that...

Zhgir hoists himself atop the cart, and then he looks back at the driver. There is a momentary pause, as some sort of understanding develops between the two men but the arachnid tilts his head, a grim expression on his face. "Not today." He says and spits blood out of his mouth before leaping at the driver, swining his polearm in an arc in an effort to knock the man off the chocobo so he can turn the cart towards the others. Or at least make him rear up. Or well, truth to be told, just because.

Fatback groans from his back. But he isn't out. He reaches his axe arms up and grabs at the Hammer as it comes down on him, directing it into his prodigious beer gut. It hammers into muscle with a meaty thunk and Fatback coughs up a great gout of blood. It didn't break his spine. But it might have broken everything else. He groans, grabbing at his gut, staggering. "Trigger! Aye, where are ya. I can't see ya... the pale of death is clouding my eyes."

"You are blind, you fat fuck!" Trigger bellows. He turns to watch Zhgir is mild horror.

Zhgir comes down. The man pitches from the cart and lands on the ground with a pair of thumps, bouncing with bone cracking noises. He lands heavily and groans. Zhgir grabs the reins of the chocobos and brings them towards the other cart. The man driving that one turns. The chocobos panic. He leaps from the back of the cart as the carts crash heavily into each other, wood splintering. Wheels rip and fly apart. The carts hit the ground.

Then they both go up in a great explosion.

Trigger grunts, "Balls. Gonna have to save that fat ass." He turns around, pulling out a grenade. He hurls it over towards Maraxus as he runs for Fatback. The cannister hits the ground and starts to billow out smoke.

The crossbowman sees the gun on him and decides to take his chances with some cover rather than try to outshoot a gunslinger. Most people who take up the gun are quite accurate. It's really not fair. Shots rip bark off the sparse trees. The two swordsmen duck out into the trees, trying to bob and weave away from Mordecai. Jitters is nowhere to be seen.

Mordecai switches his aim again as each previous target retreats... The man smoothly bringing both guns together, right next to eachother, even as his gaze turns towards Trigger... The man briefly watching that thick smoke billow, about to obscure the running figure, and forced to act quick in response. Those two sixguns swiveling right towards the man, both front sights centered on the moving target, aimed center mass... And promptly pulling those hair triggers then, twice on the left gun, once on the right, spitting out that heavy grain lead. [Fanning]

Maraxus grunts as his hammer is misdirected from landing squarely on Fatback's face. A look of pity crosses his face, "Why take the slow death?" yet he is not hesitating or slowing down really. The smoke has not detured him in the least, in face he leaves his hammer sitting on top of Fatback's gut. He knows where the gut is from that. His heavy plated boot coming up, then slaming down in a attempt to crush in the man's face. "Die with some dignity." His hands still on the hammer and keeping it there for now, a few coughs from the smoke as it gets up to his face.

Zhgir, for his own part, attempts to leap off the carts before they collide and worse, explode. They end up doing so while he is midair, sending the arachnid flying even further than intented, causing the man roll and tumble, and finally end up face first with a plop. "Hngh. Zhg'tang." He mutters as he attempts to crawl towards the shelter of burning wreckage. He wasn't hiding, not really. Just taking a tactical pause. While trying to fan out the flames that were burning off his fur.

Trigger keeps running towards Fatback. He looks like he might actually care. Then a bullet slams into his side. He staggers as the blood sprouts from his leather. Then another bullet rips into his shoulder, forcing a blaze of fire through his brain. He twists in his charge, lobbing another smoke bomb ahead of him and racing into it, juking as he runs into it to one side, then running in the opposite direction.

As the clearing clears, Fatback lies there. "Oy, you stupid fucker. Fatback J Fatback ain't need no DIGNITY." He spits blood at Maraxus.

But because he's blind and he spits far to the left. The smoke covers the sight of Fatback's head being driven to the ground, but not the sound.

Only one cart makes it out of the clearing, men rushing out from the trees to escape the utter chaos.

Maraxus pulls out his axe, and steps backwards to get himself out of the smoke. The axe being dragged as he does so, the man clearly spent after that fight. The blood still drips from his hand, his face, and from the side where the axe got into the opening. He spits out a bit of blood, "He can take that thought to Hades." His boots offering thuds along the ground, not even bothered to be scrapped off and leaving a trail of blood, bone fragment, and grey matter.

Mordecai sees that he scored at least one hit before the smoke obscures his view of Trigger entirely... And then he's on the move, sprinting forward, right into that smoke, towards where he last saw the man. Squinting his eyes against the irritating smoke as he passes right by Maraxus and the fallen Fatback, exclaiming as he passes, "See if you can get any stragglers!" And then continues his hunt, sweeping his weapons this way and that, keeping his senses alert to the best of his ability as he moves in the general direction of where he last saw Trigger running off to, the blinding smoke doing nothing to stop his pursuit, his skills having been forged in worse, more confusing battles than this.

Zhgir continues to creep along the wreckage, using his polearm to poke at the bodies. Just in case they decided to get up and suddenly leap at him. Or worse, explode. Eventually, he winds up behind Maraxus. "Zhgir thought Hades wasn't interested in thoughts." He asks from the man, whilst slapping his simmering hood at the bloodied armored hide. It was appropriate solid surface to try and snuff out the flames from the cloth. Slap, slap.

Trigger runs.

The Gunslinger follows.

Running through the trees at a full lope, Trigger turns his goggled face back towards the sound of footsteps coming after him. He turns his head forward. He needs to get out of here and get out of here bad. He grabs the bandolier from his chest and removes the line of bombs off the buckle with a tug. He scrapes the flint hard against the iron spheres and sparks fly. With fuses lit, he hurls the last of his bombs back behind him into the trees, running for his life.

Mordecai emerges from the smoke, covered by its soot, only to see that loping figure weaving through the trees ahead of him... The man skidding to a halt, and putting one arm up, bent at the elbow, before he props up one of his revolvers across his forearm. The hammer cocked back, and one eye closing as he squints along the sights, subtly shifting that weapon as he centers on his aim on the escaping Trigger... And after just a moment, pulls the man's namesake, sending a single, accurate shot to hopefully thud in the man's back. [Long Shot] ... But it's then, just a moment afterwards, that his gaze is drawn to the object thudding into the forest floor near him... The man just having enough time to peer at it, before he forces himself to move... Sprinting briefly, followed by hurling himself forward, as that bandoleer explodes behind him, sending dirt and wood splinters right across his prone form as he lands, and curls himself up protectively, gritting his teeth at the pain of being caught in yet another explosion the story of his life, it seems.

Maraxus grunts to Mordecai, and finishes making his way out of the smoke. Looking around for anybody else to smash his hammer into and finding very little in the way of targets. So instead he finds himself a tree, turns his back against it, and lands with a thud resting for the moment. Looking to his hand to see the damage, still not seeming to really be bothered by the pain. "Glove will take some work to repair, all the pieces are there at least." Glancing to the spider and smiling faintly, "Oh just a expression, a man's last thoughts are his own. In death you take them with you as you travel to the death realm. Hades doesn't care, but the person carrying them does."

Zhgir holds his hood up from one of the frayed ends, the heavy bells at the ends long lost into the frey. He then firmly prods the bigger man into the forehead. "Zhgir thinks you are too grave." He chides, before raising his hands all four of them with flexoring fingers. "Do you need help?" He eyes the heavily armored man. Pointedly looking down at any more potential pouches with bacon grease.

Trigger doesn't look at bullets. This is, unfortunately, not as epic as not looking at explosions. Or as helpful. It rips into his back and the bangaa goes down onto his knees in the long distance before hitting the ground hard.

The clearing has several corpses. It is also on fire. But at least everyone is mostly alive. And the Archadeans got away with only one Bomb! And the party took down two of Kulgkar's gang.

Maraxus smiles to the spider, "Me and death, are old friends. Still we should move before we become closer friends." Looking at the fire, and pushing hismelf back up to his feet. The pouch on his side is very easy to get to, but all it is filled is with grease. It is not bacon grease, it is the kind you use to oil machines with. The lunarian starting his way back towards the Redemption.
Kupor has given Maraxus a vote.

Mordecai pushes himself up again, gruntingly, and in pain a few wood splinters visibly sticking from his back... And as he finishes clambering back to his feet, slightly unsteady, he first glances back towards the clearing, to see how Maraxus, the spider, and even Ka'Len are faring, before he looks towards where Trigger fell... And then starts heading that way, thumbing the hammer back on one of his revolvers again as he goes, and his expression set slightly grim as he moves to the task of putting one last bullet in the man's head, to make sure he meets King Tonberry and Hades appropiately, and won't come back to cause problems later... Only moving back to the clearing to check on his crew, as well as the mysterious present Zhgir, once that task is done.

Zhgir lifts his greasy hand and wrinkles his nose at the smell. Nope... Not today. He wipes the grease off onto the tree before hopping after Maraxus. "Hey! Listen!" He shouts out after the lunarian, "What about that hunter with all the pretty colors? And the bombs? And the chocobos, won't you please think about the chocobos?"

Maraxus glances back to the spider, "Ye be mad? Dah carts destroyed, dah chocobo's canna be runnin on der own. Dah soldiers be deserven to ba burned. Nuff said." Letting the subject drop just like that. His hammer lifted and put over his shoulder and humpfs, "Captain, dah task bein done. Needa ta be restin, took a wee bit o damage der."

Dark Knight Rises

2013-06-13T04:05:58Z

Kupor: I SHOULD PROBABLY LEARN TO SHOW PREVIEW

LOCATION: Emberstrand Farms

People: Alba, Grumm, Marduke, Talen

Time: THE LEGENDARY GO TIME.

Protecting farms is not an easy job. Without some kind of early warning system, and with transportation by chocobo fast, but not terribly fast, getting to a farm before the mayhem starts isn't going to happen.

The farm grows ice grapes. Ice grapes are exactly what you think they might be. They grow only in the coldest parts of winter, when the plant thrives on the water inside of it being turned into ice. It baffles science, but it makes a damn fine wine. The ones in Giza Plains aren't quite as good as the ones grown in the mountains, but they are more plentiful. Regardless, they are also a form of sustanence, and an army requires sustanence.

It's also on fire.

That's probably bad for the grapes.

From a distance, it can be seen that Archadian footsoldiers are loading up a wagon with barrels of wine and juice waiting to be fermented while part of a work building burns.

Marduke has a habit of wondering the country side. The summoner is able to handle most things, but is probably going to get himself killed one of the days, war and all. He pauses as he see's the smoke and frowns a moment. "It was so peaceful to." He turns and picking up his pace starts running towards the rising smoke and the farm.

As open as the plains are, the rising smoke from burning structures are a fairly simple thing to spot from a distance, and which seem to have put paid to another hunting trip for the Viera couple. Her blades out in hand, heavy fur cloak rippling behind her as she lopes toward the village, the masked woman grumbles, all the way there. "Stupid soldiers, raiding so close to the city. If they remain, they will earn a great many lengths of steel in the belly. Do wetlanders believe this nonsense to be daring? Faugh."

Grumm is taking a day off rom mining to try something else, prospecting at the river. A shovel and a pick are carrier over one shoulder with a large bucket in his other hand. He stops after seeing smoke, wondering if it's normal. "Too much smoke, for a festival and too cold. Must be a building." Is said to himselg in dwarfish as he sorts it out. The tools are swung down to both hands for a better grip and he starts running towards the source.

Talen trails along beside the female viera, and nods grimly. "Sadly, this is what war comes to, for an army marches on its stomach. I doubt they think it daring, it is just something they do. But I do think they should earn some steel in the belly, and fire in the face, yes? I'll keep them from your back."

Murder makes a wonderful date. As the sun begins to rise, everyone works their way hard to the farms. Archadian riflemen are few here, it is mostly rabble, swordsmen and crossbowmen who are busy loading wagons with barrels. There are only a few barded chocobos to show officers overlooking this affair. They are being held by a private. One of the chocobos is green.

Not specially imbred green to denote a special ability. No, its feathers are falling out. It looks sick.

A few crossbowmen are holding the locals at bay, keeping them from getting any ideas. The young men look like they are having ideas. Stupid ideas.

Then comes the loud bellow. A tall powerfully built bone white Bangaa points a heavily gauntletted finger at a bearded hume, his other hand gripping a barrel. "You call this wine? I've tasted piss better than this, you fat /fuck/." A few snickers come around him. He snaps his head around, "What are you laughing at?!"

Soldiers snap to attention quickly. "Nothing, Dark Knight Tuguf," one offers quickly.

The heavily armored bangaa turns his gaze around towards a bangaa holding a long bushman's rifle. "What about you, Lucky? You find something FUNNY?" The bangaa shrugs. He cannot talk. He doesn't have a head. Finally, the Bangaa Dark Knight turns back to the man, reaching out his hand to grab him by his rough spun tunic. "What about you, lard gut? You must have been laughing? Tell me what's so damn funny?"

Marduke slows to a walk as the building comes into view and he is able to survey the scene. Keeping himself low and trying to stay hidden for now. "Hmmm, to many against me. Still." A twist of a smile crosses his face before he goes back to a frown. "Lets see how smart they are." Whispering a few words as as he holds up his hands before him, "Come forth lights of death and rebirth." With a pass of his hand four rainbow colored lights fade into view and start to float around him, pyreflies. "Lets cause some miscief."

"Shaman," murmurs Alba as the pair close on the burning village, "perhaps it would be wise to place fear within their hearts. Have you magics that would allow this?" As she speaks, she scrapes her blades against the scorpion stinger affixed to the sheaths at her belt, and venomous green energy begins to stream from the bluish mythril. Leaping onto the top rail of the fence around the vineyard, the masked Viera crouches low, then launches herself at one of the crossbowmen keeping the villagers at bay.

Talen hmmms and chuckles, "I have one but you may wish to cover your ears." The male viera begins whispering words of magic, and an ominous pressure builds up. He gestures at one of the henchmen standing behind Dark Knight Tuguf, a down slash, which is followed quickly by a bright electrical discharge, and a rolling thunderclap. [Thunder]

Grumm slows as he sees what's going on and devises a uick plan, cut off their means of escape, inspire the farmers, and hope for reinforcements. He drops the shovel and bucket, wielding the mining pick with both hands. "Father taught me to be more prepared." After moving around behind buildings to remain unseen, the pick is raise high above his head and brought down on the private, trying to bury it deep in his chest.

Archadian soldiers are probably at least smarter than Stormtroopers. They work efficiently. Rather than, say, slouching around and drinking wine. Like the Dark Knight appears to be. His fingers around the man begin to glow black. They suck in light. And they seem to suck some of the healthy color out of the man. Boils are just starting to appear before the lighting strike rips into one of the privates behind him, knocking the swordsman clean off his feet.

'Lucky', as the headless Bangaa appears to be called, brings up his rifle swiftly. Kulgkar Tuguf drops the fat man into the barrel of wine and spins around, "Spirits DAMMIT do they have mages here?" He grasps the man by the hair and starts hauling him out.

Alba gets up damn close to them before the crossbowman turns his weapon around. He lets out a brief curse before Alba lands down on top of him. It probably won't end well for him. He batters at her with the crossbow butt.

Dwarves are not stealthy. But everyone is distracted enough to ignore Grumm. Kulgkar points into the grape vineyards where the short curse came from. "Over there! Get over there, you three assholes, come on!" Kulgkar lifts the man by the hair out of the wine, the poor stuff dribbling from his face. From his back, the bone white bangaa lifts a large sawtoothed two handed battle axe. He places it up against the man's neck. "Alright, mage, get yer pansy bones out here or I turn this man into one headless plague corpse."

Lucky's shoulders sag a little. Memories.

"Yield," whispers the voice behind the faceless, laughing eyed bone mask, the bruises raised by the crossbow butt glimmering white and beginning to heal, even as the weapon is pulled away. Her own blades, pressed against the poor private's neck, a foot rising to press down on the boy's forehead, pushing his head into the dirt. "Yield, soldier, or die frothing and bubbling and glad that never your mother will know how her child put a family to torch and plague to feed a sorry, puling Captain." One ear flicks outward, tracking the clomping progress of the three incoming soldiers, but her shaded eyes stay locked upon the boy.

Marduke starts walking forward coming into full view of the enemy. A touch of a smile, "mage? I do not recall being a mage." He doesn't know where the lightning came from, but he is going to try to play it off. Letting the pyreflies circle around him lazily, and add to his effect. Pyreflies are well believed to be associated with death. "But you did say Spirits. Shall I introduce you to some? Here like this little one." Holding up his hand as one of the pyreflies starts to circle around it, "Here." Pointing at the Dark Knight, the pyrefly zipping foward in a attempt to explode in white element energy.

Talen hmmphs, faced with an interesting dilemma. He steps into view, and holds up his hands, words already dribbling from his mouth in preparation. "How do I know you won't kill him anyways? Archadeans aren't known for their mercy, are they?" The male viera suddenly thrusts his hands forward in a fan like pattern, and all around the Captain's feet and legs a mini Blizzard rages, icing up the ground and battering at his footing. The spell sputters momentarily as a pyrefly streaks into view, but Talen grunts and holds it together.

Grumm burries the pick deep into the poor lad and stops, hunched over him, looking around for whatever mage is being talked about. He pulls the pick free and swats the chocobos on the rump with it to scare them off before looking for the next target. Compassion is for those that deserve, not scavengers like these soldiers. Rushing towards a crossbowman he tries for a repeat of the last stroke. "Take out the support to weaken the rest." Rattles around in his head, echoes of training.

He struggles against the viera until the crossbow gets pulled away. He has a dagger that he goes for, but when the blade is at his neck, he stops immediately. His hand goes up, very slowly, fingers spread, in submission. "I'm just following orders." He has further explanations, but he decides not to voice them. The soldiers are two swordsmen and a crossbowman. They aren't going for stealth. They have weapons out.

Most Dark Knights are not dark enough to be suspectible to the element of light itself.

Kulgkar Tuguf is not most Dark Knights. He sees the pyrefly and immediately shouts, "Hades' BALLS!" He throws the man back away from the barrel to grab it and throw it at the pyrefly. It explodes in a great gout of steam and fruity smells, just barely out of the way of Kulgkar. He scoops up a helmet near by. It is black to match the rest of his armor, long like his face, in the shape of a dragon's skull. He slams it down on his head, the eye guards glowing red. "Shoot h DIABOLOS' TITS!"

Another mage. "Shoot the spirit guy. I got the furry one." The bangaa lifts one foot up high and then slams it down. A wave of corruption rips up from the ground, carving a path through the ice and charging forward. It isn't just darkness, it seems like the embodiment of unhealth, of plague, of death, a great black fin of energy that sunders the ground on its way to Talen. "GET THEM!"

The soldiers aren't endless, but there are three left, two more swordsmen and a crossbowman that kneels and is about to fire at Marduke when Grumm spooks a chocobo. He jerks his head up and gets a pickaxe in the face for his luck. It hammers through skull with a meaty and unpleasant sound and rush of blood.

Lucky, the headless Bangaa, lifts his rifle up to his shoulder and takes aim. He takes a shot at Marduke's shoulder, trying to put him off balance. Lucky, somehow, is a crack shot. The two other swordsman drive forward, both bearing down on Grumm from opposite sides.

Most adventurers, when facing the superior training, efficiency, and general poor odds of a three on one fight against trained military personnel, would rather fight dirty, or retreat and seek some other advantage. Most adventurers, however, have not spent their formative years where monsters are only one of a host of dangers, most originating from the pitiless dunes of the Sandsea itself. Which is why, when Alba rudely shoves the private's head back into the ground in her wild, careless leap toward the trio of soldiers, she *is* fighting to her advantage; where most fighters have armor, tactics, and strength on their side, Alba simply acts as a veritable buzzsaw of poisoned blades, preternatural speed, and semi intelligible taunts.

Marduke watches the reaction and hmms a bit, "You have fallen far. Hades has a special place for souls like yours. I will perform the sending personally." Holding up his hands and claping them together as the call is made to attack him. He whispers one word, "Pyreguard." A skill that allows him to use all of his remaining pyreflies to form a shield. The bullet slamming into the shield and knicking his shoulder with only a bruse. The power of the shield diminished, but still holding and may be able to take a few more shoots. Eyes glancing to Lucky, watching him for the moment.

Talen's ears perk high as the black energy rumbles through the ground towards him like a negative version of the humble shark. "Oh bollocks.", he mutters, and bolts away from the spell, his long legs stretching out as the viera heads for the cover of the vineyards. More words are muttered, each one beginning to circle the viera's head as he goes. [Spell Burst]
In a page pose to you, Marduke heh, cool.

Grumm looks up, with blood splattered on his face and clothes, pulling the pick free. "I was think I was only one." He stares at Lucky, amazed that it can still move around, more so that it can find a target to shoot. The approaching swordsmen snap him out of it and he leaps with a roll, scrambling to get some distance. "Look like I got they's 'tention."

The private's head hits hard with a grunt to the ground under Alba's heel. They are trained, but they aren't well blooded like Alba is. When she comes at them like a barbarian, one of them quails at her. The crossbowman is kneeling, lining up his shot, trying to get a good one and not hit his buddies. The other soldier grabs the first by the arm. "Come on, it's just a psycho viera, put her down, just like those junkies. All bark, no bite!" He uses the superior reach of his long sword to try and take out Alba before she gets in for dagger fighting.

Kulgkar snarls at Marduke. "Fuck you and your holier than thee marlboroshit. Did you get raised in the slums, have to beat the shit out of bigger kids to get your food?" The red in the helmet flares. "Did YOU have to give the Green Plague to a man just because he wouldn't give you some damn FOOD? Life is tough. So I decided to learn to violate its /mother/." Lucky turns slightly towards Kulgkar. Kulgkar snaps at him. "SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING HIM!" Kulgkar looks back. "Fuck, where did he go."

"Come out come out, where ever you aaaare." Kulgkar snaps at the vineyards. "Oh, he's in there. How EVER will I see him?" Slowly, the bangaa draws in a deep breath. He then breathes it out slowly over the vineyard. It's like a Marlboro's breath, only more dark aligned. The vineyard shrivel up and blacken. A ground squirrel caught in it turns inside out and then explodes into a bloody mass.

Lucky, seeing his chance with Marduke, snaps the lever action on the rifle and aims again, taking another shot. That shield is tough, but Lucky is patient and his hand is steady. He seems so damn impassive without an expression to read.

The swordsmen on Grumm's feet stomp after him quickly. They split up, trying to circle around and catch him on either side rather than face him one by one.
The truly worrying thing, when fighting 'just another psycho Viera,' is that when the psycho's very blood courses with healing magics, wounds tend not to remain as serious as they once were. And when the psycho Viera slaps a hand over the glimmering furrow dug out of her side, and the white magics turn dark, life eating, and *call* to the blood of the swordsman that wounded her... That tends to be when things go past worrying, and edge towards truly frightening. [Drain]

Marduke glances back over impassivly to Kulgkar, "you desire to appeal to me with excusses?" His hands are steady as he holds up his staff starting to chant another spell. "It only shows your inability to overcome, your own weakness. Pathetic." Perhaps he is trying to rile Kulgkar, or at least distract him to give Talen a easier opening. "Come forth flames of passion and fury. Child of the flames, burn away the flith that is before us." Starting to chant the arcane words of summoning quickly now. Four globes of crimson flame fade into view circling around him and gathering in intensity. Holding up his staff he calls out, "Come forth, Elenaor of the Crimson Flame!" The orbs shoot off into the sky fading from view. A ball of flame suddenly falling down from the sky landing in front of Marduke, which will act as a new shield for Marduke as his pyreguard fades spend. "Hi hi Mardy!" Eleanor offers with a giggle, then turns, crouches down drawing two swords of flame, and dashes straight towards Lucky.

Talen puts new effort into his run, hearing the dry rustle of the wilting vines, and feeling more than hearing the splat of the stricken squirrel. He bursts out into the three soldiers, running in front of the crossbowman, but behind the two swordsmen. As he does so, he whispers the final words to his spell, gesturing at the group of soldiers as he speeds past. Three streaks of fire zip at the soldiers, one for each of them. "We need to finish this quickly!" he calls out, to Alba. "If you're going to do something, NOW'S the time! Fight or run!" That said in the direction of the villagers. [Fire, with Spell Burst]

Grumm isn't as experienced as Alba, or the others, probably not even as much as these soldiers, so instead he relies on what his father taught him. "Use your size and the terrain to your advantage." He thinks as he rushes past one swordsman and swings the pick to hook a leg and trip him and keeps moving past, going for the wagon and sliding underneath.

The wound on Alba's side disappears. It reappears under thick padded leather armor with a sudden gash of blood. "Guh, she's a mage!" He staggers, grabbing at his side. Mages are scary. You never know what they are capable over. Not everyone wears the robes of certain colors like they are supposed to. The second swordsman brings up his sword in defense, waiting this time for Alba to strike first. And that gives the crossbowman the perfect moment to fire a bolt. Until fire suddenly explodes on him. Screams of pain come from all three and the bolt goes wild. The young swordsman staggers back, hitting the ground hard, dropping his sword.

Lucky seems to notice the spirit. His shoulders jerk back, maybe in surprise. His rifle comes up. He fires once, snaps the lever, then fires again, then begins to run. He pumps one last bullet out, wheeling backwards, before he begins to leg it from the summon. Summons are scary shit.

Kulgkar stomps after Talen, his axe in both hands. "YEA, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW I OVERCOME WEAKNESS! Get back here, longears, I'll turn your fucking liver into jelly!" He swings his axe down then upward, like a mighty shovel. Another huge wave of darkness rips forward. He cares little if it actually hits a soldier.

The villagers are not stupid. They are already getting the hell out of here once all the crossbowmen were distracted. The fat man has scrabbled away back to his house. The swordsman swings down for Grumm at the same time. But while he is trying to give Grumm a hefty slice on the back, Grumm is going for something less conventional, and regardless of the outcome of the slice, rips the man off his feet. The other soldier vaults over him with a grunt.

"Thank you, my Shaman," Alba murmurs, ears tipping backwards from the sudden explosion of fire skirling in front of her face. Dipping to one side, she snarls faintly, as their leader bellows his challenge, and lopes toward the origin point of the wave of black energy, one hand flicking out to swat Talen's eartip in passing. The energies wreathing her blades fade, supplanted by flickering white fire as she closes in on the Kulkgar. "Puling bag of filth," she crows, "whining and sobbing, your water is tainted! Come to me, then, I shall cure the disease that burns within you!"

Talen grins at the swat to his ear, and he turns, running back the way he came. Leaping atop one of the burning soldiers, Talen leaps over the wave of energy this time, landing with a roll. Swatting at the flames that lick at his robes, he follows Alba back towards Kulkgar. "You want my liver so bad, come and take it!"

"Oooh, a race?" Eleanor shouts, chasing after the headless Bangaa, her feet leaving smoking spots of char where they touch ground, crimson fires swirling away from her. "Careful, if ya can't watch where you're going you're gonna hit something!" This, as if an errant fence is the least of Lucky's concern.

Not fast enough, Grumm recieves a diagonal slice across his back. The pain causes him to hesitate under under the wagon, in safety and look out, the soldier is still down. "Can' wai'." With a pained grunt he comes back out from under the wagon, charging at the chasing swordsman with a swing of the pick towards his ribs.

"Doomtrain's chapped /ass/, do all you assholes have weapons of holy?!" Kulgkar looks at least wary of Alba. His stance has gone from 'do you even lift' to 'maybe she lifts a /little/.' He grips his axe. He doesn't seem afraid of two against one. But he does the math. How many of his guys did he see taken out? The alleyway bully in Kulgkar seems to waver as the odds are turning. Don't get in a fight you can't win in superior numbers. Still...

How tough can Alba /be/?

He blows out from his helmet onto his axe. Darkness clings to the axe like a film. He hoists it up over his head and takes a step forward to cleave at Alba. Now, Kulgkar is not skilled at the axe, not terribly. Not like some men. But he is strong. Hella strong. The axe might be able to cleave a man in half on a good day. And the darkness seeks Alba's life. A Dark Sword, in the form of an axe.

Lucky runs. You can't hear him cursing. Because he doesn't have a mouth. He vaults the fence, as if he were able to see it. He pulls out a pistol with two barrels and four revolver chambers. He turns around again, pumping out two shots, before spinnig around again. There might be panic.

The swordsman is ready to meet Grumm however. He brings his sword down at the pick, grunting as it he tries to force it downward for a moment. Then he uses his other fist to slug Grumm in the face.

Agile Alba might be, possessed of preternatural speed and keen reflexes... but even the most skilled of fighters is going to take a hit now and again, and even a grazing strike by such a weapon could be life threatening. A deep gash is carved across the Viera's belly, and even as her personal magics go to work closing the wound it's clear that if she hadn't clapped her arms over her stomach as she came to rest, the result would have been a good deal.... messier. Black veins radiate away from the covered gash, and somehow the hate in her eyes behind the mask is palpable, a low snarl rising as one of the charms around her wrist, a beaded silkworm's coccoon, begins to glow, dim gray threads of magic lashing out to encircle the massive Dark Knight in tendrils of distorted, slowed time.

Talen's ears flatten backwards to his head at seeing the slash connect. The viera calls upon his magics ones more, a white glow encompassing his hand and forearm. He skids to a stop behind Alba, and places his hand upon the small of her back, the white glow rushing from his hand to sink into the female viera. He waits just long enough to ensure the spell is taking hold, before he scampers to one side. "Hey, I thought you were trying to take my liver, bangaa butt. What, now you're picking on girrrrls? Who's got a chapped as now eh?"

Eleanor squees with delight as Lucky jumps the face, "Ahh you got over the fence!" As she approaches the fence herself he doens't jump it, but instead jumps up into the air. Wings of flame sprouting from her back and takes to the air, doding the shoots aimed at her at the same time. "Missed me!" The spirit having way to much fun with this. She reaches the zeneth of her jump, and tilts foward to dive straight for Lucky, blades first, "Look out below!"

Grumm didn't expect the parry, or the punch and his head snaps back from the impact with his jaw, stopping his charge. He recovers and pushes in close to the swordsman, using the pick's head to hold the sword away from his body and slides his hands up the handle before swinging the end of the handle up between the mans legs as hard as he can.

Kulgkar Tuguf doesn't evade magic. He tanks it. He doesn't really evade attacks either. He soaks them in. The slow magic works into him, threads of slow weaving across his armor, acting like ethereal bounds that hold him down. The big bangaa works against the magic bonds. They hold him tight, but they might not last as long as usual. He slowly pries up his hand and points it at Talen. Just as Talen's hand was white, his is black. He makes good on his promise.

The magic that flows from Kulgkar is practiced, but not trained. Kulgkar is a Dark Knight Savant. Dark magics from childhood, fueled by a petty and remorseless bastard, carved into crude but effective tools. He begins to slowly curl his fingers, extending the magic out to Talen's insides. It is like a targeted jacked up version of a Marlboro's breath, as if he were trying to give Talen every known disease at once. "Yea, you a tough guy, buttercup?"

Lucky wheels to one side, evading one blade. The other digs down into his flesh through padded leather, burying harshly. He shoves away with a throw of his arms, his armor now blackened around the hole. He staggers drunkenly, nearing a wagon. He grabs a chocobo and leaps up into it quickly. The chocobo isn't having any of Eleanor and books it.

The swordsman goes overhead as Grumm goes underhand. Grumm has a shorter distance to go. While the arm is padded, it is not that padded, and the brief flash of pain distracts the soldier long enough that his slash goes wide.

"He is tough," Alba says, levering herself to her feet... and what was one a life threatening gash, now a sickly, jagged black furrow dug across her middle. "*I,* likewise, tough. The Sandsea demands no less, pustulent snake, and its harshest lesson: Many will walk, where one may fall." Dropping into a low crouch, she springs forward, knives streaming white fire as they arc down toward the Bangaa's armored collar.

Eleanor lets go of the sword that digs into Lucky, the blade fading shorly after. "Ahh I dont want to roast a choco! Meanie." Putting her hands at her hips as she hovers there. "Guess you got lucky! Bye bye!" Eleanor offers with a giggle. Seems Lucky is a secondary target, and the fire spirit turns towards the Dark Knight, "You need a breath mint!" Though she isn't going charging in, instead she holds up a hand and tosses a ball of fire at the Dark Knight, a secondary type of attack for her. Melee is her primary skills with some ranged. With one last giggle she fades from view, "Have fun Mardy!" At which point Marduke is making his way back in heading towards the Vieras and Dark Knight.

A gurgled cough is the viera male's reply, a sickly grey drool running out of his mouth. His hand flares white once more, a ragged white flame engulfing his hand and forearm. "T..tough? You'll die before I will.." Talen gags and sinks to his knees, the spell arcing out to touch Alba, and then curling back to bathe the male in white light. He looks a little better, but not by much.

The engagament started off well for Grumm, it's not going nearly as well anymore. "I need to atleast keep them busy so the others can fight." He thinks as he continues to push the swordsman and swings the pick down to hook a leg. "Bring em, down ta me size." Is grunted out as he stops moving and pulls hard on the pick, trying to get the solider off his feet.
Two viera Kulgkar is pretty sure he can handle.

Two viera and a summon? This is getting pretty HOT to handle. He sees Lucky wheeling away too. "GET BACK HERE YOU HEADLESS ASSHOL glurk." The knives dig through the black armor. Not quite as if it were paper, but they slide through more easily than they should. They dig into the meat of his shoulders and chest. "FUCK!" He bellows, throwing one arm out to wrestle Alba off of him. So she is out of the way just in time for the ball of fire to hammer into him.

He tanks it, one arm up. It scorches the dry grass around him and burns deep into his arm, getting a snarl of pain from the bangaa. He points his axe at Talen. "You'll die a nice long death." He swings his axe once around him, then throws it upward, making a huge ring of darkness around him. But rather than bother staying to try and make SURE it hits Alba, he uses it as a barrier to leg it to another one of the wagon chocobos.

The twist and trip works well for Grumm, especially with his low stature. He gets the man's legs out from under him and he goes toppling over just like the other.
Marduke holds up his hand as he chants a spell, powerful white energies forming around his hand. "Talen, for you." Pointing at the Viera, "Esuna." One of the most powerful status removal spells around, a gift from the spirits. "Actually, I do not think he will be dying at all. Now, die so I can send you to Hades." Planting his staff into the ground, getting ready to prepare another spell.

"Run!" Alba calls as she rolls to her feet, hurling herself through the darkness toward the Bangaa's pounding feet, heedless of the damage wrought to her body. At her wrist, the silkworm charm glows again, threads of magic unraveling and launching toward the fleeing Dark Knight. "*Run for your mockery of life,* shambling pile of cowardly foetor! DIE WATERLESS AND PLEADING!"

Talen is rolled along by the bangaa's last spell, and comes to rest upon his back. "Uhhf. Yeah... you do that run thing. I'm just going to lay here and bleed a little while." Talen coughs a few times, wiping away grime and blood. "Euugh, so that's what cancer tastes like."

"It work!" Call out Grumm, a bit surprised but doesn't get distracted from what he set out to do. He suckes in a deep breath as the mining pick is raised high above his head, but not relly very high and brings it down on the prone soldier with everything he can muster.

Kulgkar swings up onto the chocobo, slouching from his wounds. The chocobo is already starting to look a little sickly from just the aura of Kulgkar Tuguf. "WHAT BY DOOMSHIP'S HOARY FEET IS A FOETOR!" He doesn't stay for the answer. With most of the Archaedaen soldiers incapitated and Lucky gone, he isn't about to try and take the three of them by himself. The three around Alba are wasted. Kulgkar's black ring seems to have withered them away in their armor.

The worst thing is. He might have.

Grumm finishes off the one who hasn't given up in a rather gruesome manner. The pick hurtles down into him, the sharp end digging hard into the man's chest with a sickening crunch and a spurt upward of blood.

The sound left now is the last soldier whispering 'don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me' and the frightened 'wark' of the last chocobos.

Marduke glances around the battlefield, shaking his head slowly. "You did well Grumm." Smiling over towards the dwarf, "Gather the wounded, me and Talen can do some healing." Turning to start walking towards Talen, chanting his spell again, "Esuna." Sending the energies Talen's way, "Good with that or need another?" Looking over the Viera with concern. Eyes glancing to Alba, and offering her a nod before looking back to Talen.

Alba pushes her mask up to snarl at the back of the Bangaa's sickly chocobo, turning... with a slight weave, as the trauma of the magics wracking her body catches up with her, and makes her slow, unsteady way back toward Talen, the feather charm on her bracelet already beginning to glow. Marduke's nod is returned, and she touches her eartips to Talen's her own, much weaker curative magics going to work behind Marduke's spell. "With fortune, they will not return," she murmurs. "Weaker prey to be found, elsewhere. When all is finished, here, perhaps it will be seen what remains of the farm that may be salvaged."

Talen takes in a deep breath, a rattle and gurgle sounding deep in his lungs as he does so. Esuna helps quite a bit, and as Alba leans to touch her ears to his, Talen casts a spell of his own, bright white light flowing between the two viera. "With luck... they'll keep running til they see Archades' gates. Uhhhhnn." Groaning, he slowly sits up, shaking with the effort. "Are you sound, my hunter?" His eyes shift over to Marduke, "Give me a few moments more. That guy uses some pretty evil mojo."

Grumm leaves the pick where it's, running over to pick up a crossbow and look for bolts, finding some on the guy that got a pick in the face. "I no good with these." He mutters as he pulls the string back, loading a bolt. Several deep breaths are taken as he tried to relax and line up a shot with the Kulgkar before he can get away. The string twangs and the bolt whistles through the air when the trigger is pulled, too late he's out of range. He nods at Marduke and moves off slowly, breathing heavily, looking for wounded villagers. A long gash across his back can be easily seen when he turns away.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The villagers are starting to come back and peak just a little. They probably will not be kind to the last man alive. But at least Emberstrand got itself a couple sets of padded armor and crossbows and swords!

Marduke nods slowly at that, "Just let me know. I still got a bit of energy left." Glancing around the battlefield, and shaking his head. "No, a man like that will be back. He will make a show, he will want to fight us again. He will make sure he believes he has the upper hand as well, pulling in what tricks he has. He will be back, prepare yourselves." Looking to the Viera, "That is the kind of man he is." He glances to Grumm and frowns, chanting another spell, "Cura!" Giving out the area healing spell himself now. Making sure Grumm gets some of the healing magic.

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Back to [[Whisper War]]

Dark Knight Rises

2013-06-13T04:05:13Z

Kupor:

LOCATION: Emberstrand Farms

People: Alba, Grumm, Marduke, Talen

Time: THE LEGENDARY GO TIME.

Protecting farms is not an easy job. Without some kind of early warning system, and with transportation by chocobo fast, but not terribly fast, getting to a farm before the mayhem starts isn't going to happen.

The farm grows ice grapes. Ice grapes are exactly what you think they might be. They grow only in the coldest parts of winter, when the plant thrives on the water inside of it being turned into ice. It baffles science, but it makes a damn fine wine. The ones in Giza Plains aren't quite as good as the ones grown in the mountains, but they are more plentiful. Regardless, they are also a form of sustanence, and an army requires sustanence.

It's also on fire.

That's probably bad for the grapes.

From a distance, it can be seen that Archadian footsoldiers are loading up a wagon with barrels of wine and juice waiting to be fermented while part of a work building burns.

Marduke has a habit of wondering the country side. The summoner is able to handle most things, but is probably going to get himself killed one of the days, war and all. He pauses as he see's the smoke and frowns a moment. "It was so peaceful to." He turns and picking up his pace starts running towards the rising smoke and the farm.

As open as the plains are, the rising smoke from burning structures are a fairly simple thing to spot from a distance, and which seem to have put paid to another hunting trip for the Viera couple. Her blades out in hand, heavy fur cloak rippling behind her as she lopes toward the village, the masked woman grumbles, all the way there. "Stupid soldiers, raiding so close to the city. If they remain, they will earn a great many lengths of steel in the belly. Do wetlanders believe this nonsense to be daring? Faugh."

Grumm is taking a day off rom mining to try something else, prospecting at the river. A shovel and a pick are carrier over one shoulder with a large bucket in his other hand. He stops after seeing smoke, wondering if it's normal. "Too much smoke, for a festival and too cold. Must be a building." Is said to himselg in dwarfish as he sorts it out. The tools are swung down to both hands for a better grip and he starts running towards the source.

Talen trails along beside the female viera, and nods grimly. "Sadly, this is what war comes to, for an army marches on its stomach. I doubt they think it daring, it is just something they do. But I do think they should earn some steel in the belly, and fire in the face, yes? I'll keep them from your back."

Murder makes a wonderful date. As the sun begins to rise, everyone works their way hard to the farms. Archadian riflemen are few here, it is mostly rabble, swordsmen and crossbowmen who are busy loading wagons with barrels. There are only a few barded chocobos to show officers overlooking this affair. They are being held by a private. One of the chocobos is green.

Not specially imbred green to denote a special ability. No, its feathers are falling out. It looks sick.

A few crossbowmen are holding the locals at bay, keeping them from getting any ideas. The young men look like they are having ideas. Stupid ideas.

Then comes the loud bellow. A tall powerfully built bone white Bangaa points a heavily gauntletted finger at a bearded hume, his other hand gripping a barrel. "You call this wine? I've tasted piss better than this, you fat /fuck/." A few snickers come around him. He snaps his head around, "What are you laughing at?!"

Soldiers snap to attention quickly. "Nothing, Dark Knight Tuguf," one offers quickly.

The heavily armored bangaa turns his gaze around towards a bangaa holding a long bushman's rifle. "What about you, Lucky? You find something FUNNY?" The bangaa shrugs. He cannot talk. He doesn't have a head. Finally, the Bangaa Dark Knight turns back to the man, reaching out his hand to grab him by his rough spun tunic. "What about you, lard gut? You must have been laughing? Tell me what's so damn funny?"

Marduke slows to a walk as the building comes into view and he is able to survey the scene. Keeping himself low and trying to stay hidden for now. "Hmmm, to many against me. Still." A twist of a smile crosses his face before he goes back to a frown. "Lets see how smart they are." Whispering a few words as as he holds up his hands before him, "Come forth lights of death and rebirth." With a pass of his hand four rainbow colored lights fade into view and start to float around him, pyreflies. "Lets cause some miscief."

"Shaman," murmurs Alba as the pair close on the burning village, "perhaps it would be wise to place fear within their hearts. Have you magics that would allow this?" As she speaks, she scrapes her blades against the scorpion stinger affixed to the sheaths at her belt, and venomous green energy begins to stream from the bluish mythril. Leaping onto the top rail of the fence around the vineyard, the masked Viera crouches low, then launches herself at one of the crossbowmen keeping the villagers at bay.

Talen hmmms and chuckles, "I have one but you may wish to cover your ears." The male viera begins whispering words of magic, and an ominous pressure builds up. He gestures at one of the henchmen standing behind Dark Knight Tuguf, a down slash, which is followed quickly by a bright electrical discharge, and a rolling thunderclap. [Thunder]

Grumm slows as he sees what's going on and devises a uick plan, cut off their means of escape, inspire the farmers, and hope for reinforcements. He drops the shovel and bucket, wielding the mining pick with both hands. "Father taught me to be more prepared." After moving around behind buildings to remain unseen, the pick is raise high above his head and brought down on the private, trying to bury it deep in his chest.

Archadian soldiers are probably at least smarter than Stormtroopers. They work efficiently. Rather than, say, slouching around and drinking wine. Like the Dark Knight appears to be. His fingers around the man begin to glow black. They suck in light. And they seem to suck some of the healthy color out of the man. Boils are just starting to appear before the lighting strike rips into one of the privates behind him, knocking the swordsman clean off his feet.

'Lucky', as the headless Bangaa appears to be called, brings up his rifle swiftly. Kulgkar Tuguf drops the fat man into the barrel of wine and spins around, "Spirits DAMMIT do they have mages here?" He grasps the man by the hair and starts hauling him out.

Alba gets up damn close to them before the crossbowman turns his weapon around. He lets out a brief curse before Alba lands down on top of him. It probably won't end well for him. He batters at her with the crossbow butt.

Dwarves are not stealthy. But everyone is distracted enough to ignore Grumm. Kulgkar points into the grape vineyards where the short curse came from. "Over there! Get over there, you three assholes, come on!" Kulgkar lifts the man by the hair out of the wine, the poor stuff dribbling from his face. From his back, the bone white bangaa lifts a large sawtoothed two handed battle axe. He places it up against the man's neck. "Alright, mage, get yer pansy bones out here or I turn this man into one headless plague corpse."

Lucky's shoulders sag a little. Memories.

"Yield," whispers the voice behind the faceless, laughing eyed bone mask, the bruises raised by the crossbow butt glimmering white and beginning to heal, even as the weapon is pulled away. Her own blades, pressed against the poor private's neck, a foot rising to press down on the boy's forehead, pushing his head into the dirt. "Yield, soldier, or die frothing and bubbling and glad that never your mother will know how her child put a family to torch and plague to feed a sorry, puling Captain." One ear flicks outward, tracking the clomping progress of the three incoming soldiers, but her shaded eyes stay locked upon the boy.

Marduke starts walking forward coming into full view of the enemy. A touch of a smile, "mage? I do not recall being a mage." He doesn't know where the lightning came from, but he is going to try to play it off. Letting the pyreflies circle around him lazily, and add to his effect. Pyreflies are well believed to be associated with death. "But you did say Spirits. Shall I introduce you to some? Here like this little one." Holding up his hand as one of the pyreflies starts to circle around it, "Here." Pointing at the Dark Knight, the pyrefly zipping foward in a attempt to explode in white element energy.

Talen hmmphs, faced with an interesting dilemma. He steps into view, and holds up his hands, words already dribbling from his mouth in preparation. "How do I know you won't kill him anyways? Archadeans aren't known for their mercy, are they?" The male viera suddenly thrusts his hands forward in a fan like pattern, and all around the Captain's feet and legs a mini Blizzard rages, icing up the ground and battering at his footing. The spell sputters momentarily as a pyrefly streaks into view, but Talen grunts and holds it together.

Grumm burries the pick deep into the poor lad and stops, hunched over him, looking around for whatever mage is being talked about. He pulls the pick free and swats the chocobos on the rump with it to scare them off before looking for the next target. Compassion is for those that deserve, not scavengers like these soldiers. Rushing towards a crossbowman he tries for a repeat of the last stroke. "Take out the support to weaken the rest." Rattles around in his head, echoes of training.

He struggles against the viera until the crossbow gets pulled away. He has a dagger that he goes for, but when the blade is at his neck, he stops immediately. His hand goes up, very slowly, fingers spread, in submission. "I'm just following orders." He has further explanations, but he decides not to voice them. The soldiers are two swordsmen and a crossbowman. They aren't going for stealth. They have weapons out.

Most Dark Knights are not dark enough to be suspectible to the element of light itself.

Kulgkar Tuguf is not most Dark Knights. He sees the pyrefly and immediately shouts, "Hades' BALLS!" He throws the man back away from the barrel to grab it and throw it at the pyrefly. It explodes in a great gout of steam and fruity smells, just barely out of the way of Kulgkar. He scoops up a helmet near by. It is black to match the rest of his armor, long like his face, in the shape of a dragon's skull. He slams it down on his head, the eye guards glowing red. "Shoot h DIABOLOS' TITS!"

Another mage. "Shoot the spirit guy. I got the furry one." The bangaa lifts one foot up high and then slams it down. A wave of corruption rips up from the ground, carving a path through the ice and charging forward. It isn't just darkness, it seems like the embodiment of unhealth, of plague, of death, a great black fin of energy that sunders the ground on its way to Talen. "GET THEM!"

The soldiers aren't endless, but there are three left, two more swordsmen and a crossbowman that kneels and is about to fire at Marduke when Grumm spooks a chocobo. He jerks his head up and gets a pickaxe in the face for his luck. It hammers through skull with a meaty and unpleasant sound and rush of blood.

Lucky, the headless Bangaa, lifts his rifle up to his shoulder and takes aim. He takes a shot at Marduke's shoulder, trying to put him off balance. Lucky, somehow, is a crack shot. The two other swordsman drive forward, both bearing down on Grumm from opposite sides.

Most adventurers, when facing the superior training, efficiency, and general poor odds of a three on one fight against trained military personnel, would rather fight dirty, or retreat and seek some other advantage. Most adventurers, however, have not spent their formative years where monsters are only one of a host of dangers, most originating from the pitiless dunes of the Sandsea itself. Which is why, when Alba rudely shoves the private's head back into the ground in her wild, careless leap toward the trio of soldiers, she *is* fighting to her advantage; where most fighters have armor, tactics, and strength on their side, Alba simply acts as a veritable buzzsaw of poisoned blades, preternatural speed, and semi intelligible taunts.

Marduke watches the reaction and hmms a bit, "You have fallen far. Hades has a special place for souls like yours. I will perform the sending personally." Holding up his hands and claping them together as the call is made to attack him. He whispers one word, "Pyreguard." A skill that allows him to use all of his remaining pyreflies to form a shield. The bullet slamming into the shield and knicking his shoulder with only a bruse. The power of the shield diminished, but still holding and may be able to take a few more shoots. Eyes glancing to Lucky, watching him for the moment.

Talen's ears perk high as the black energy rumbles through the ground towards him like a negative version of the humble shark. "Oh bollocks.", he mutters, and bolts away from the spell, his long legs stretching out as the viera heads for the cover of the vineyards. More words are muttered, each one beginning to circle the viera's head as he goes. [Spell Burst]
In a page pose to you, Marduke heh, cool.

Grumm looks up, with blood splattered on his face and clothes, pulling the pick free. "I was think I was only one." He stares at Lucky, amazed that it can still move around, more so that it can find a target to shoot. The approaching swordsmen snap him out of it and he leaps with a roll, scrambling to get some distance. "Look like I got they's 'tention."

The private's head hits hard with a grunt to the ground under Alba's heel. They are trained, but they aren't well blooded like Alba is. When she comes at them like a barbarian, one of them quails at her. The crossbowman is kneeling, lining up his shot, trying to get a good one and not hit his buddies. The other soldier grabs the first by the arm. "Come on, it's just a psycho viera, put her down, just like those junkies. All bark, no bite!" He uses the superior reach of his long sword to try and take out Alba before she gets in for dagger fighting.

Kulgkar snarls at Marduke. "Fuck you and your holier than thee marlboroshit. Did you get raised in the slums, have to beat the shit out of bigger kids to get your food?" The red in the helmet flares. "Did YOU have to give the Green Plague to a man just because he wouldn't give you some damn FOOD? Life is tough. So I decided to learn to violate its /mother/." Lucky turns slightly towards Kulgkar. Kulgkar snaps at him. "SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING HIM!" Kulgkar looks back. "Fuck, where did he go."

"Come out come out, where ever you aaaare." Kulgkar snaps at the vineyards. "Oh, he's in there. How EVER will I see him?" Slowly, the bangaa draws in a deep breath. He then breathes it out slowly over the vineyard. It's like a Marlboro's breath, only more dark aligned. The vineyard shrivel up and blacken. A ground squirrel caught in it turns inside out and then explodes into a bloody mass.

Lucky, seeing his chance with Marduke, snaps the lever action on the rifle and aims again, taking another shot. That shield is tough, but Lucky is patient and his hand is steady. He seems so damn impassive without an expression to read.

The swordsmen on Grumm's feet stomp after him quickly. They split up, trying to circle around and catch him on either side rather than face him one by one.
The truly worrying thing, when fighting 'just another psycho Viera,' is that when the psycho's very blood courses with healing magics, wounds tend not to remain as serious as they once were. And when the psycho Viera slaps a hand over the glimmering furrow dug out of her side, and the white magics turn dark, life eating, and *call* to the blood of the swordsman that wounded her... That tends to be when things go past worrying, and edge towards truly frightening. [Drain]

Marduke glances back over impassivly to Kulgkar, "you desire to appeal to me with excusses?" His hands are steady as he holds up his staff starting to chant another spell. "It only shows your inability to overcome, your own weakness. Pathetic." Perhaps he is trying to rile Kulgkar, or at least distract him to give Talen a easier opening. "Come forth flames of passion and fury. Child of the flames, burn away the flith that is before us." Starting to chant the arcane words of summoning quickly now. Four globes of crimson flame fade into view circling around him and gathering in intensity. Holding up his staff he calls out, "Come forth, Elenaor of the Crimson Flame!" The orbs shoot off into the sky fading from view. A ball of flame suddenly falling down from the sky landing in front of Marduke, which will act as a new shield for Marduke as his pyreguard fades spend. "Hi hi Mardy!" Eleanor offers with a giggle, then turns, crouches down drawing two swords of flame, and dashes straight towards Lucky.

Talen puts new effort into his run, hearing the dry rustle of the wilting vines, and feeling more than hearing the splat of the stricken squirrel. He bursts out into the three soldiers, running in front of the crossbowman, but behind the two swordsmen. As he does so, he whispers the final words to his spell, gesturing at the group of soldiers as he speeds past. Three streaks of fire zip at the soldiers, one for each of them. "We need to finish this quickly!" he calls out, to Alba. "If you're going to do something, NOW'S the time! Fight or run!" That said in the direction of the villagers. [Fire, with Spell Burst]

Grumm isn't as experienced as Alba, or the others, probably not even as much as these soldiers, so instead he relies on what his father taught him. "Use your size and the terrain to your advantage." He thinks as he rushes past one swordsman and swings the pick to hook a leg and trip him and keeps moving past, going for the wagon and sliding underneath.

The wound on Alba's side disappears. It reappears under thick padded leather armor with a sudden gash of blood. "Guh, she's a mage!" He staggers, grabbing at his side. Mages are scary. You never know what they are capable over. Not everyone wears the robes of certain colors like they are supposed to. The second swordsman brings up his sword in defense, waiting this time for Alba to strike first. And that gives the crossbowman the perfect moment to fire a bolt. Until fire suddenly explodes on him. Screams of pain come from all three and the bolt goes wild. The young swordsman staggers back, hitting the ground hard, dropping his sword.

Lucky seems to notice the spirit. His shoulders jerk back, maybe in surprise. His rifle comes up. He fires once, snaps the lever, then fires again, then begins to run. He pumps one last bullet out, wheeling backwards, before he begins to leg it from the summon. Summons are scary shit.

Kulgkar stomps after Talen, his axe in both hands. "YEA, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW I OVERCOME WEAKNESS! Get back here, longears, I'll turn your fucking liver into jelly!" He swings his axe down then upward, like a mighty shovel. Another huge wave of darkness rips forward. He cares little if it actually hits a soldier.

The villagers are not stupid. They are already getting the hell out of here once all the crossbowmen were distracted. The fat man has scrabbled away back to his house. The swordsman swings down for Grumm at the same time. But while he is trying to give Grumm a hefty slice on the back, Grumm is going for something less conventional, and regardless of the outcome of the slice, rips the man off his feet. The other soldier vaults over him with a grunt.

"Thank you, my Shaman," Alba murmurs, ears tipping backwards from the sudden explosion of fire skirling in front of her face. Dipping to one side, she snarls faintly, as their leader bellows his challenge, and lopes toward the origin point of the wave of black energy, one hand flicking out to swat Talen's eartip in passing. The energies wreathing her blades fade, supplanted by flickering white fire as she closes in on the Kulkgar. "Puling bag of filth," she crows, "whining and sobbing, your water is tainted! Come to me, then, I shall cure the disease that burns within you!"

Talen grins at the swat to his ear, and he turns, running back the way he came. Leaping atop one of the burning soldiers, Talen leaps over the wave of energy this time, landing with a roll. Swatting at the flames that lick at his robes, he follows Alba back towards Kulkgar. "You want my liver so bad, come and take it!"

"Oooh, a race?" Eleanor shouts, chasing after the headless Bangaa, her feet leaving smoking spots of char where they touch ground, crimson fires swirling away from her. "Careful, if ya can't watch where you're going you're gonna hit something!" This, as if an errant fence is the least of Lucky's concern.

Not fast enough, Grumm recieves a diagonal slice across his back. The pain causes him to hesitate under under the wagon, in safety and look out, the soldier is still down. "Can' wai'." With a pained grunt he comes back out from under the wagon, charging at the chasing swordsman with a swing of the pick towards his ribs.

"Doomtrain's chapped /ass/, do all you assholes have weapons of holy?!" Kulgkar looks at least wary of Alba. His stance has gone from 'do you even lift' to 'maybe she lifts a /little/.' He grips his axe. He doesn't seem afraid of two against one. But he does the math. How many of his guys did he see taken out? The alleyway bully in Kulgkar seems to waver as the odds are turning. Don't get in a fight you can't win in superior numbers. Still...

How tough can Alba /be/?

He blows out from his helmet onto his axe. Darkness clings to the axe like a film. He hoists it up over his head and takes a step forward to cleave at Alba. Now, Kulgkar is not skilled at the axe, not terribly. Not like some men. But he is strong. Hella strong. The axe might be able to cleave a man in half on a good day. And the darkness seeks Alba's life. A Dark Sword, in the form of an axe.

Lucky runs. You can't hear him cursing. Because he doesn't have a mouth. He vaults the fence, as if he were able to see it. He pulls out a pistol with two barrels and four revolver chambers. He turns around again, pumping out two shots, before spinnig around again. There might be panic.

The swordsman is ready to meet Grumm however. He brings his sword down at the pick, grunting as it he tries to force it downward for a moment. Then he uses his other fist to slug Grumm in the face.

Agile Alba might be, possessed of preternatural speed and keen reflexes... but even the most skilled of fighters is going to take a hit now and again, and even a grazing strike by such a weapon could be life threatening. A deep gash is carved across the Viera's belly, and even as her personal magics go to work closing the wound it's clear that if she hadn't clapped her arms over her stomach as she came to rest, the result would have been a good deal.... messier. Black veins radiate away from the covered gash, and somehow the hate in her eyes behind the mask is palpable, a low snarl rising as one of the charms around her wrist, a beaded silkworm's coccoon, begins to glow, dim gray threads of magic lashing out to encircle the massive Dark Knight in tendrils of distorted, slowed time.

Talen's ears flatten backwards to his head at seeing the slash connect. The viera calls upon his magics ones more, a white glow encompassing his hand and forearm. He skids to a stop behind Alba, and places his hand upon the small of her back, the white glow rushing from his hand to sink into the female viera. He waits just long enough to ensure the spell is taking hold, before he scampers to one side. "Hey, I thought you were trying to take my liver, bangaa butt. What, now you're picking on girrrrls? Who's got a chapped as now eh?"

Eleanor squees with delight as Lucky jumps the face, "Ahh you got over the fence!" As she approaches the fence herself he doens't jump it, but instead jumps up into the air. Wings of flame sprouting from her back and takes to the air, doding the shoots aimed at her at the same time. "Missed me!" The spirit having way to much fun with this. She reaches the zeneth of her jump, and tilts foward to dive straight for Lucky, blades first, "Look out below!"

Grumm didn't expect the parry, or the punch and his head snaps back from the impact with his jaw, stopping his charge. He recovers and pushes in close to the swordsman, using the pick's head to hold the sword away from his body and slides his hands up the handle before swinging the end of the handle up between the mans legs as hard as he can.

Kulgkar Tuguf doesn't evade magic. He tanks it. He doesn't really evade attacks either. He soaks them in. The slow magic works into him, threads of slow weaving across his armor, acting like ethereal bounds that hold him down. The big bangaa works against the magic bonds. They hold him tight, but they might not last as long as usual. He slowly pries up his hand and points it at Talen. Just as Talen's hand was white, his is black. He makes good on his promise.

The magic that flows from Kulgkar is practiced, but not trained. Kulgkar is a Dark Knight Savant. Dark magics from childhood, fueled by a petty and remorseless bastard, carved into crude but effective tools. He begins to slowly curl his fingers, extending the magic out to Talen's insides. It is like a targeted jacked up version of a Marlboro's breath, as if he were trying to give Talen every known disease at once. "Yea, you a tough guy, buttercup?"

Lucky wheels to one side, evading one blade. The other digs down into his flesh through padded leather, burying harshly. He shoves away with a throw of his arms, his armor now blackened around the hole. He staggers drunkenly, nearing a wagon. He grabs a chocobo and leaps up into it quickly. The chocobo isn't having any of Eleanor and books it.

The swordsman goes overhead as Grumm goes underhand. Grumm has a shorter distance to go. While the arm is padded, it is not that padded, and the brief flash of pain distracts the soldier long enough that his slash goes wide.

"He is tough," Alba says, levering herself to her feet... and what was one a life threatening gash, now a sickly, jagged black furrow dug across her middle. "*I,* likewise, tough. The Sandsea demands no less, pustulent snake, and its harshest lesson: Many will walk, where one may fall." Dropping into a low crouch, she springs forward, knives streaming white fire as they arc down toward the Bangaa's armored collar.

Eleanor lets go of the sword that digs into Lucky, the blade fading shorly after. "Ahh I dont want to roast a choco! Meanie." Putting her hands at her hips as she hovers there. "Guess you got lucky! Bye bye!" Eleanor offers with a giggle. Seems Lucky is a secondary target, and the fire spirit turns towards the Dark Knight, "You need a breath mint!" Though she isn't going charging in, instead she holds up a hand and tosses a ball of fire at the Dark Knight, a secondary type of attack for her. Melee is her primary skills with some ranged. With one last giggle she fades from view, "Have fun Mardy!"

At which point Marduke is making his way back in heading towards the Vieras and Dark Knight.
A gurgled cough is the viera male's reply, a sickly grey drool running out of his mouth. His hand flares white once more, a ragged white flame engulfing his hand and forearm. "T..tough? You'll die before I will.." Talen gags and sinks to his knees, the spell arcing out to touch Alba, and then curling back to bathe the male in white light. He looks a little better, but not by much.

The engagament started off well for Grumm, it's not going nearly as well anymore. "I need to atleast keep them busy so the others can fight." He thinks as he continues to push the swordsman and swings the pick down to hook a leg. "Bring em, down ta me size." Is grunted out as he stops moving and pulls hard on the pick, trying to get the solider off his feet.
Two viera Kulgkar is pretty sure he can handle.

Two viera and a summon? This is getting pretty HOT to handle. He sees Lucky wheeling away too. "GET BACK HERE YOU HEADLESS ASSHOL glurk." The knives dig through the black armor. Not quite as if it were paper, but they slide through more easily than they should. They dig into the meat of his shoulders and chest. "FUCK!" He bellows, throwing one arm out to wrestle Alba off of him. So she is out of the way just in time for the ball of fire to hammer into him.

He tanks it, one arm up. It scorches the dry grass around him and burns deep into his arm, getting a snarl of pain from the bangaa. He points his axe at Talen. "You'll die a nice long death." He swings his axe once around him, then throws it upward, making a huge ring of darkness around him. But rather than bother staying to try and make SURE it hits Alba, he uses it as a barrier to leg it to another one of the wagon chocobos.

The twist and trip works well for Grumm, especially with his low stature. He gets the man's legs out from under him and he goes toppling over just like the other.
Marduke holds up his hand as he chants a spell, powerful white energies forming around his hand. "Talen, for you." Pointing at the Viera, "Esuna." One of the most powerful status removal spells around, a gift from the spirits. "Actually, I do not think he will be dying at all. Now, die so I can send you to Hades." Planting his staff into the ground, getting ready to prepare another spell.

"Run!" Alba calls as she rolls to her feet, hurling herself through the darkness toward the Bangaa's pounding feet, heedless of the damage wrought to her body. At her wrist, the silkworm charm glows again, threads of magic unraveling and launching toward the fleeing Dark Knight. "*Run for your mockery of life,* shambling pile of cowardly foetor! DIE WATERLESS AND PLEADING!"

Talen is rolled along by the bangaa's last spell, and comes to rest upon his back. "Uhhf. Yeah... you do that run thing. I'm just going to lay here and bleed a little while." Talen coughs a few times, wiping away grime and blood. "Euugh, so that's what cancer tastes like."

"It work!" Call out Grumm, a bit surprised but doesn't get distracted from what he set out to do. He suckes in a deep breath as the mining pick is raised high above his head, but not relly very high and brings it down on the prone soldier with everything he can muster.

Kulgkar swings up onto the chocobo, slouching from his wounds. The chocobo is already starting to look a little sickly from just the aura of Kulgkar Tuguf. "WHAT BY DOOMSHIP'S HOARY FEET IS A FOETOR!" He doesn't stay for the answer. With most of the Archaedaen soldiers incapitated and Lucky gone, he isn't about to try and take the three of them by himself. The three around Alba are wasted. Kulgkar's black ring seems to have withered them away in their armor.

The worst thing is. He might have.

Grumm finishes off the one who hasn't given up in a rather gruesome manner. The pick hurtles down into him, the sharp end digging hard into the man's chest with a sickening crunch and a spurt upward of blood.

The sound left now is the last soldier whispering 'don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me' and the frightened 'wark' of the last chocobos.

Marduke glances around the battlefield, shaking his head slowly. "You did well Grumm." Smiling over towards the dwarf, "Gather the wounded, me and Talen can do some healing." Turning to start walking towards Talen, chanting his spell again, "Esuna." Sending the energies Talen's way, "Good with that or need another?" Looking over the Viera with concern. Eyes glancing to Alba, and offering her a nod before looking back to Talen.

Alba pushes her mask up to snarl at the back of the Bangaa's sickly chocobo, turning... with a slight weave, as the trauma of the magics wracking her body catches up with her, and makes her slow, unsteady way back toward Talen, the feather charm on her bracelet already beginning to glow. Marduke's nod is returned, and she touches her eartips to Talen's her own, much weaker curative magics going to work behind Marduke's spell. "With fortune, they will not return," she murmurs. "Weaker prey to be found, elsewhere. When all is finished, here, perhaps it will be seen what remains of the farm that may be salvaged."

Talen takes in a deep breath, a rattle and gurgle sounding deep in his lungs as he does so. Esuna helps quite a bit, and as Alba leans to touch her ears to his, Talen casts a spell of his own, bright white light flowing between the two viera. "With luck... they'll keep running til they see Archades' gates. Uhhhhnn." Groaning, he slowly sits up, shaking with the effort. "Are you sound, my hunter?" His eyes shift over to Marduke, "Give me a few moments more. That guy uses some pretty evil mojo."

Grumm leaves the pick where it's, running over to pick up a crossbow and look for bolts, finding some on the guy that got a pick in the face. "I no good with these." He mutters as he pulls the string back, loading a bolt. Several deep breaths are taken as he tried to relax and line up a shot with the Kulgkar before he can get away. The string twangs and the bolt whistles through the air when the trigger is pulled, too late he's out of range. He nods at Marduke and moves off slowly, breathing heavily, looking for wounded villagers. A long gash across his back can be easily seen when he turns away.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The villagers are starting to come back and peak just a little. They probably will not be kind to the last man alive. But at least Emberstrand got itself a couple sets of padded armor and crossbows and swords!

Marduke nods slowly at that, "Just let me know. I still got a bit of energy left." Glancing around the battlefield, and shaking his head. "No, a man like that will be back. He will make a show, he will want to fight us again. He will make sure he believes he has the upper hand as well, pulling in what tricks he has. He will be back, prepare yourselves." Looking to the Viera, "That is the kind of man he is." He glances to Grumm and frowns, chanting another spell, "Cura!" Giving out the area healing spell himself now. Making sure Grumm gets some of the healing magic.

--------------
Back to [[Whisper War]]

Whisper War

2013-06-13T04:04:42Z

Kupor: Added log for

Dark Knight Rises

2013-06-13T04:02:34Z

Kupor:

LOCATION: Emberstrand Farms

People: Alba, Grumm, Marduke, Talen

Time: THE LEGENDARY GO TIME.

Protecting farms is not an easy job. Without some kind of early warning system, and with transportation by chocobo fast, but not terribly fast, getting to a farm before the mayhem starts isn't going to happen.

The farm grows ice grapes. Ice grapes are exactly what you think they might be. They grow only in the coldest parts of winter, when the plant thrives on the water inside of it being turned into ice. It baffles science, but it makes a damn fine wine. The ones in Giza Plains aren't quite as good as the ones grown in the mountains, but they are more plentiful. Regardless, they are also a form of sustanence, and an army requires sustanence.

It's also on fire.

That's probably bad for the grapes.

From a distance, it can be seen that Archadian footsoldiers are loading up a wagon with barrels of wine and juice waiting to be fermented while part of a work building burns.

Marduke has a habit of wondering the country side. The summoner is able to handle most things, but is probably going to get himself killed one of the days, war and all. He pauses as he see's the smoke and frowns a moment. "It was so peaceful to." He turns and picking up his pace starts running towards the rising smoke and the farm.

As open as the plains are, the rising smoke from burning structures are a fairly simple thing to spot from a distance, and which seem to have put paid to another hunting trip for the Viera couple. Her blades out in hand, heavy fur cloak rippling behind her as she lopes toward the village, the masked woman grumbles, all the way there. "Stupid soldiers, raiding so close to the city. If they remain, they will earn a great many lengths of steel in the belly. Do wetlanders believe this nonsense to be daring? Faugh."

Grumm is taking a day off rom mining to try something else, prospecting at the river. A shovel and a pick are carrier over one shoulder with a large bucket in his other hand. He stops after seeing smoke, wondering if it's normal. "Too much smoke, for a festival and too cold. Must be a building." Is said to himselg in dwarfish as he sorts it out. The tools are swung down to both hands for a better grip and he starts running towards the source.

Talen trails along beside the female viera, and nods grimly. "Sadly, this is what war comes to, for an army marches on its stomach. I doubt they think it daring, it is just something they do. But I do think they should earn some steel in the belly, and fire in the face, yes? I'll keep them from your back."

Murder makes a wonderful date. As the sun begins to rise, everyone works their way hard to the farms. Archadian riflemen are few here, it is mostly rabble, swordsmen and crossbowmen who are busy loading wagons with barrels. There are only a few barded chocobos to show officers overlooking this affair. They are being held by a private. One of the chocobos is green.

Not specially imbred green to denote a special ability. No, its feathers are falling out. It looks sick.

A few crossbowmen are holding the locals at bay, keeping them from getting any ideas. The young men look like they are having ideas. Stupid ideas.

Then comes the loud bellow. A tall powerfully built bone white Bangaa points a heavily gauntletted finger at a bearded hume, his other hand gripping a barrel. "You call this wine? I've tasted piss better than this, you fat /fuck/." A few snickers come around him. He snaps his head around, "What are you laughing at?!"

Soldiers snap to attention quickly. "Nothing, Dark Knight Tuguf," one offers quickly.

The heavily armored bangaa turns his gaze around towards a bangaa holding a long bushman's rifle. "What about you, Lucky? You find something FUNNY?" The bangaa shrugs. He cannot talk. He doesn't have a head. Finally, the Bangaa Dark Knight turns back to the man, reaching out his hand to grab him by his rough spun tunic. "What about you, lard gut? You must have been laughing? Tell me what's so damn funny?"

Marduke slows to a walk as the building comes into view and he is able to survey the scene. Keeping himself low and trying to stay hidden for now. "Hmmm, to many against me. Still." A twist of a smile crosses his face before he goes back to a frown. "Lets see how smart they are." Whispering a few words as as he holds up his hands before him, "Come forth lights of death and rebirth." With a pass of his hand four rainbow colored lights fade into view and start to float around him, pyreflies. "Lets cause some miscief."

"Shaman," murmurs Alba as the pair close on the burning village, "perhaps it would be wise to place fear within their hearts. Have you magics that would allow this?" As she speaks, she scrapes her blades against the scorpion stinger affixed to the sheaths at her belt, and venomous green energy begins to stream from the bluish mythril. Leaping onto the top rail of the fence around the vineyard, the masked Viera crouches low, then launches herself at one of the crossbowmen keeping the villagers at bay.

Talen hmmms and chuckles, "I have one but you may wish to cover your ears." The male viera begins whispering words of magic, and an ominous pressure builds up. He gestures at one of the henchmen standing behind Dark Knight Tuguf, a down slash, which is followed quickly by a bright electrical discharge, and a rolling thunderclap. [Thunder]

Grumm slows as he sees what's going on and devises a uick plan, cut off their means of escape, inspire the farmers, and hope for reinforcements. He drops the shovel and bucket, wielding the mining pick with both hands. "Father taught me to be more prepared." After moving around behind buildings to remain unseen, the pick is raise high above his head and brought down on the private, trying to bury it deep in his chest.

Archadian soldiers are probably at least smarter than Stormtroopers. They work efficiently. Rather than, say, slouching around and drinking wine. Like the Dark Knight appears to be. His fingers around the man begin to glow black. They suck in light. And they seem to suck some of the healthy color out of the man. Boils are just starting to appear before the lighting strike rips into one of the privates behind him, knocking the swordsman clean off his feet.

'Lucky', as the headless Bangaa appears to be called, brings up his rifle swiftly. Kulgkar Tuguf drops the fat man into the barrel of wine and spins around, "Spirits DAMMIT do they have mages here?" He grasps the man by the hair and starts hauling him out.

Alba gets up damn close to them before the crossbowman turns his weapon around. He lets out a brief curse before Alba lands down on top of him. It probably won't end well for him. He batters at her with the crossbow butt.

Dwarves are not stealthy. But everyone is distracted enough to ignore Grumm. Kulgkar points into the grape vineyards where the short curse came from. "Over there! Get over there, you three assholes, come on!" Kulgkar lifts the man by the hair out of the wine, the poor stuff dribbling from his face. From his back, the bone white bangaa lifts a large sawtoothed two handed battle axe. He places it up against the man's neck. "Alright, mage, get yer pansy bones out here or I turn this man into one headless plague corpse."

Lucky's shoulders sag a little. Memories.

"Yield," whispers the voice behind the faceless, laughing eyed bone mask, the bruises raised by the crossbow butt glimmering white and beginning to heal, even as the weapon is pulled away. Her own blades, pressed against the poor private's neck, a foot rising to press down on the boy's forehead, pushing his head into the dirt. "Yield, soldier, or die frothing and bubbling and glad that never your mother will know how her child put a family to torch and plague to feed a sorry, puling Captain." One ear flicks outward, tracking the clomping progress of the three incoming soldiers, but her shaded eyes stay locked upon the boy.

Marduke starts walking forward coming into full view of the enemy. A touch of a smile, "mage? I do not recall being a mage." He doesn't know where the lightning came from, but he is going to try to play it off. Letting the pyreflies circle around him lazily, and add to his effect. Pyreflies are well believed to be associated with death. "But you did say Spirits. Shall I introduce you to some? Here like this little one." Holding up his hand as one of the pyreflies starts to circle around it, "Here." Pointing at the Dark Knight, the pyrefly zipping foward in a attempt to explode in white element energy.

Talen hmmphs, faced with an interesting dilemma. He steps into view, and holds up his hands, words already dribbling from his mouth in preparation. "How do I know you won't kill him anyways? Archadeans aren't known for their mercy, are they?" The male viera suddenly thrusts his hands forward in a fan like pattern, and all around the Captain's feet and legs a mini Blizzard rages, icing up the ground and battering at his footing. The spell sputters momentarily as a pyrefly streaks into view, but Talen grunts and holds it together.

Grumm burries the pick deep into the poor lad and stops, hunched over him, looking around for whatever mage is being talked about. He pulls the pick free and swats the chocobos on the rump with it to scare them off before looking for the next target. Compassion is for those that deserve, not scavengers like these soldiers. Rushing towards a crossbowman he tries for a repeat of the last stroke. "Take out the support to weaken the rest." Rattles around in his head, echoes of training.

He struggles against the viera until the crossbow gets pulled away. He has a dagger that he goes for, but when the blade is at his neck, he stops immediately. His hand goes up, very slowly, fingers spread, in submission. "I'm just following orders." He has further explanations, but he decides not to voice them. The soldiers are two swordsmen and a crossbowman. They aren't going for stealth. They have weapons out.

Most Dark Knights are not dark enough to be suspectible to the element of light itself.

Kulgkar Tuguf is not most Dark Knights. He sees the pyrefly and immediately shouts, "Hades' BALLS!" He throws the man back away from the barrel to grab it and throw it at the pyrefly. It explodes in a great gout of steam and fruity smells, just barely out of the way of Kulgkar. He scoops up a helmet near by. It is black to match the rest of his armor, long like his face, in the shape of a dragon's skull. He slams it down on his head, the eye guards glowing red. "Shoot h DIABOLOS' TITS!"

Another mage. "Shoot the spirit guy. I got the furry one." The bangaa lifts one foot up high and then slams it down. A wave of corruption rips up from the ground, carving a path through the ice and charging forward. It isn't just darkness, it seems like the embodiment of unhealth, of plague, of death, a great black fin of energy that sunders the ground on its way to Talen. "GET THEM!"

The soldiers aren't endless, but there are three left, two more swordsmen and a crossbowman that kneels and is about to fire at Marduke when Grumm spooks a chocobo. He jerks his head up and gets a pickaxe in the face for his luck. It hammers through skull with a meaty and unpleasant sound and rush of blood.

Lucky, the headless Bangaa, lifts his rifle up to his shoulder and takes aim. He takes a shot at Marduke's shoulder, trying to put him off balance. Lucky, somehow, is a crack shot. The two other swordsman drive forward, both bearing down on Grumm from opposite sides.

Most adventurers, when facing the superior training, efficiency, and general poor odds of a three on one fight against trained military personnel, would rather fight dirty, or retreat and seek some other advantage. Most adventurers, however, have not spent their formative years where monsters are only one of a host of dangers, most originating from the pitiless dunes of the Sandsea itself. Which is why, when Alba rudely shoves the private's head back into the ground in her wild, careless leap toward the trio of soldiers, she *is* fighting to her advantage; where most fighters have armor, tactics, and strength on their side, Alba simply acts as a veritable buzzsaw of poisoned blades, preternatural speed, and semi intelligible taunts.

Marduke watches the reaction and hmms a bit, "You have fallen far. Hades has a special place for souls like yours. I will perform the sending personally." Holding up his hands and claping them together as the call is made to attack him. He whispers one word, "Pyreguard." A skill that allows him to use all of his remaining pyreflies to form a shield. The bullet slamming into the shield and knicking his shoulder with only a bruse. The power of the shield diminished, but still holding and may be able to take a few more shoots. Eyes glancing to Lucky, watching him for the moment.

Talen's ears perk high as the black energy rumbles through the ground towards him like a negative version of the humble shark. "Oh bollocks.", he mutters, and bolts away from the spell, his long legs stretching out as the viera heads for the cover of the vineyards. More words are muttered, each one beginning to circle the viera's head as he goes. [Spell Burst]
In a page pose to you, Marduke heh, cool.

Grumm looks up, with blood splattered on his face and clothes, pulling the pick free. "I was think I was only one." He stares at Lucky, amazed that it can still move around, more so that it can find a target to shoot. The approaching swordsmen snap him out of it and he leaps with a roll, scrambling to get some distance. "Look like I got they's 'tention."

The private's head hits hard with a grunt to the ground under Alba's heel. They are trained, but they aren't well blooded like Alba is. When she comes at them like a barbarian, one of them quails at her. The crossbowman is kneeling, lining up his shot, trying to get a good one and not hit his buddies. The other soldier grabs the first by the arm. "Come on, it's just a psycho viera, put her down, just like those junkies. All bark, no bite!" He uses the superior reach of his long sword to try and take out Alba before she gets in for dagger fighting.

Kulgkar snarls at Marduke. "Fuck you and your holier than thee marlboroshit. Did you get raised in the slums, have to beat the shit out of bigger kids to get your food?" The red in the helmet flares. "Did YOU have to give the Green Plague to a man just because he wouldn't give you some damn FOOD? Life is tough. So I decided to learn to violate its /mother/." Lucky turns slightly towards Kulgkar. Kulgkar snaps at him. "SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING HIM!" Kulgkar looks back. "Fuck, where did he go."

"Come out come out, where ever you aaaare." Kulgkar snaps at the vineyards. "Oh, he's in there. How EVER will I see him?" Slowly, the bangaa draws in a deep breath. He then breathes it out slowly over the vineyard. It's like a Marlboro's breath, only more dark aligned. The vineyard shrivel up and blacken. A ground squirrel caught in it turns inside out and then explodes into a bloody mass.

Lucky, seeing his chance with Marduke, snaps the lever action on the rifle and aims again, taking another shot. That shield is tough, but Lucky is patient and his hand is steady. He seems so damn impassive without an expression to read.

The swordsmen on Grumm's feet stomp after him quickly. They split up, trying to circle around and catch him on either side rather than face him one by one.
The truly worrying thing, when fighting 'just another psycho Viera,' is that when the psycho's very blood courses with healing magics, wounds tend not to remain as serious as they once were. And when the psycho Viera slaps a hand over the glimmering furrow dug out of her side, and the white magics turn dark, life eating, and *call* to the blood of the swordsman that wounded her... That tends to be when things go past worrying, and edge towards truly frightening. [Drain]

Marduke glances back over impassivly to Kulgkar, "you desire to appeal to me with excusses?" His hands are steady as he holds up his staff starting to chant another spell. "It only shows your inability to overcome, your own weakness. Pathetic." Perhaps he is trying to rile Kulgkar, or at least distract him to give Talen a easier opening. "Come forth flames of passion and fury. Child of the flames, burn away the flith that is before us." Starting to chant the arcane words of summoning quickly now. Four globes of crimson flame fade into view circling around him and gathering in intensity. Holding up his staff he calls out, "Come forth, Elenaor of the Crimson Flame!" The orbs shoot off into the sky fading from view. A ball of flame suddenly falling down from the sky landing in front of Marduke, which will act as a new shield for Marduke as his pyreguard fades spend. "Hi hi Mardy!" Eleanor offers with a giggle, then turns, crouches down drawing two swords of flame, and dashes straight towards Lucky.

Talen puts new effort into his run, hearing the dry rustle of the wilting vines, and feeling more than hearing the splat of the stricken squirrel. He bursts out into the three soldiers, running in front of the crossbowman, but behind the two swordsmen. As he does so, he whispers the final words to his spell, gesturing at the group of soldiers as he speeds past. Three streaks of fire zip at the soldiers, one for each of them. "We need to finish this quickly!" he calls out, to Alba. "If you're going to do something, NOW'S the time! Fight or run!" That said in the direction of the villagers. [Fire, with Spell Burst]

Grumm isn't as experienced as Alba, or the others, probably not even as much as these soldiers, so instead he relies on what his father taught him. "Use your size and the terrain to your advantage." He thinks as he rushes past one swordsman and swings the pick to hook a leg and trip him and keeps moving past, going for the wagon and sliding underneath.

The wound on Alba's side disappears. It reappears under thick padded leather armor with a sudden gash of blood. "Guh, she's a mage!" He staggers, grabbing at his side. Mages are scary. You never know what they are capable over. Not everyone wears the robes of certain colors like they are supposed to. The second swordsman brings up his sword in defense, waiting this time for Alba to strike first. And that gives the crossbowman the perfect moment to fire a bolt. Until fire suddenly explodes on him. Screams of pain come from all three and the bolt goes wild. The young swordsman staggers back, hitting the ground hard, dropping his sword.

Lucky seems to notice the spirit. His shoulders jerk back, maybe in surprise. His rifle comes up. He fires once, snaps the lever, then fires again, then begins to run. He pumps one last bullet out, wheeling backwards, before he begins to leg it from the summon. Summons are scary shit.

Kulgkar stomps after Talen, his axe in both hands. "YEA, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW I OVERCOME WEAKNESS! Get back here, longears, I'll turn your fucking liver into jelly!" He swings his axe down then upward, like a mighty shovel. Another huge wave of darkness rips forward. He cares little if it actually hits a soldier.

The villagers are not stupid. They are already getting the hell out of here once all the crossbowmen were distracted. The fat man has scrabbled away back to his house. The swordsman swings down for Grumm at the same time. But while he is trying to give Grumm a hefty slice on the back, Grumm is going for something less conventional, and regardless of the outcome of the slice, rips the man off his feet. The other soldier vaults over him with a grunt.

"Thank you, my Shaman," Alba murmurs, ears tipping backwards from the sudden explosion of fire skirling in front of her face. Dipping to one side, she snarls faintly, as their leader bellows his challenge, and lopes toward the origin point of the wave of black energy, one hand flicking out to swat Talen's eartip in passing. The energies wreathing her blades fade, supplanted by flickering white fire as she closes in on the Kulkgar. "Puling bag of filth," she crows, "whining and sobbing, your water is tainted! Come to me, then, I shall cure the disease that burns within you!"

Talen grins at the swat to his ear, and he turns, running back the way he came. Leaping atop one of the burning soldiers, Talen leaps over the wave of energy this time, landing with a roll. Swatting at the flames that lick at his robes, he follows Alba back towards Kulkgar. "You want my liver so bad, come and take it!"

"Oooh, a race?" Eleanor shouts, chasing after the headless Bangaa, her feet leaving smoking spots of char where they touch ground, crimson fires swirling away from her. "Careful, if ya can't watch where you're going you're gonna hit something!" This, as if an errant fence is the least of Lucky's concern.

Not fast enough, Grumm recieves a diagonal slice across his back. The pain causes him to hesitate under under the wagon, in safety and look out, the soldier is still down. "Can' wai'." With a pained grunt he comes back out from under the wagon, charging at the chasing swordsman with a swing of the pick towards his ribs.

"Doomtrain's chapped /ass/, do all you assholes have weapons of holy?!" Kulgkar looks at least wary of Alba. His stance has gone from 'do you even lift' to 'maybe she lifts a /little/.' He grips his axe. He doesn't seem afraid of two against one. But he does the math. How many of his guys did he see taken out? The alleyway bully in Kulgkar seems to waver as the odds are turning. Don't get in a fight you can't win in superior numbers. Still...

How tough can Alba /be/?

He blows out from his helmet onto his axe. Darkness clings to the axe like a film. He hoists it up over his head and takes a step forward to cleave at Alba. Now, Kulgkar is not skilled at the axe, not terribly. Not like some men. But he is strong. Hella strong. The axe might be able to cleave a man in half on a good day. And the darkness seeks Alba's life. A Dark Sword, in the form of an axe.

Lucky runs. You can't hear him cursing. Because he doesn't have a mouth. He vaults the fence, as if he were able to see it. He pulls out a pistol with two barrels and four revolver chambers. He turns around again, pumping out two shots, before spinnig around again. There might be panic.

The swordsman is ready to meet Grumm however. He brings his sword down at the pick, grunting as it he tries to force it downward for a moment. Then he uses his other fist to slug Grumm in the face.

Agile Alba might be, possessed of preternatural speed and keen reflexes... but even the most skilled of fighters is going to take a hit now and again, and even a grazing strike by such a weapon could be life threatening. A deep gash is carved across the Viera's belly, and even as her personal magics go to work closing the wound it's clear that if she hadn't clapped her arms over her stomach as she came to rest, the result would have been a good deal.... messier. Black veins radiate away from the covered gash, and somehow the hate in her eyes behind the mask is palpable, a low snarl rising as one of the charms around her wrist, a beaded silkworm's coccoon, begins to glow, dim gray threads of magic lashing out to encircle the massive Dark Knight in tendrils of distorted, slowed time.

Talen's ears flatten backwards to his head at seeing the slash connect. The viera calls upon his magics ones more, a white glow encompassing his hand and forearm. He skids to a stop behind Alba, and places his hand upon the small of her back, the white glow rushing from his hand to sink into the female viera. He waits just long enough to ensure the spell is taking hold, before he scampers to one side. "Hey, I thought you were trying to take my liver, bangaa butt. What, now you're picking on girrrrls? Who's got a chapped as now eh?"

Eleanor squees with delight as Lucky jumps the face, "Ahh you got over the fence!" As she approaches the fence herself he doens't jump it, but instead jumps up into the air. Wings of flame sprouting from her back and takes to the air, doding the shoots aimed at her at the same time. "Missed me!" The spirit having way to much fun with this. She reaches the zeneth of her jump, and tilts foward to dive straight for Lucky, blades first, "Look out below!"

Grumm didn't expect the parry, or the punch and his head snaps back from the impact with his jaw, stopping his charge. He recovers and pushes in close to the swordsman, using the pick's head to hold the sword away from his body and slides his hands up the handle before swinging the end of the handle up between the mans legs as hard as he can.

Kulgkar Tuguf doesn't evade magic. He tanks it. He doesn't really evade attacks either. He soaks them in. The slow magic works into him, threads of slow weaving across his armor, acting like ethereal bounds that hold him down. The big bangaa works against the magic bonds. They hold him tight, but they might not last as long as usual. He slowly pries up his hand and points it at Talen. Just as Talen's hand was white, his is black. He makes good on his promise.

The magic that flows from Kulgkar is practiced, but not trained. Kulgkar is a Dark Knight Savant. Dark magics from childhood, fueled by a petty and remorseless bastard, carved into crude but effective tools. He begins to slowly curl his fingers, extending the magic out to Talen's insides. It is like a targeted jacked up version of a Marlboro's breath, as if he were trying to give Talen every known disease at once. "Yea, you a tough guy, buttercup?"

Lucky wheels to one side, evading one blade. The other digs down into his flesh through padded leather, burying harshly. He shoves away with a throw of his arms, his armor now blackened around the hole. He staggers drunkenly, nearing a wagon. He grabs a chocobo and leaps up into it quickly. The chocobo isn't having any of Eleanor and books it.

The swordsman goes overhead as Grumm goes underhand. Grumm has a shorter distance to go. While the arm is padded, it is not that padded, and the brief flash of pain distracts the soldier long enough that his slash goes wide.

"He is tough," Alba says, levering herself to her feet... and what was one a life threatening gash, now a sickly, jagged black furrow dug across her middle. "*I,* likewise, tough. The Sandsea demands no less, pustulent snake, and its harshest lesson: Many will walk, where one may fall." Dropping into a low crouch, she springs forward, knives streaming white fire as they arc down toward the Bangaa's armored collar.

Eleanor lets go of the sword that digs into Lucky, the blade fading shorly after. "Ahh I dont want to roast a choco! Meanie." Putting her hands at her hips as she hovers there. "Guess you got lucky! Bye bye!" Eleanor offers with a giggle. Seems Lucky is a secondary target, and the fire spirit turns towards the Dark Knight, "You need a breath mint!" Though she isn't going charging in, instead she holds up a hand and tosses a ball of fire at the Dark Knight, a secondary type of attack for her. Melee is her primary skills with some ranged. With one last giggle she fades from view, "Have fun Mardy!"

At which point Marduke is making his way back in heading towards the Vieras and Dark Knight.
A gurgled cough is the viera male's reply, a sickly grey drool running out of his mouth. His hand flares white once more, a ragged white flame engulfing his hand and forearm. "T..tough? You'll die before I will.." Talen gags and sinks to his knees, the spell arcing out to touch Alba, and then curling back to bathe the male in white light. He looks a little better, but not by much.

The engagament started off well for Grumm, it's not going nearly as well anymore. "I need to atleast keep them busy so the others can fight." He thinks as he continues to push the swordsman and swings the pick down to hook a leg. "Bring em, down ta me size." Is grunted out as he stops moving and pulls hard on the pick, trying to get the solider off his feet.
Two viera Kulgkar is pretty sure he can handle.

Two viera and a summon? This is getting pretty HOT to handle. He sees Lucky wheeling away too. "GET BACK HERE YOU HEADLESS ASSHOL glurk." The knives dig through the black armor. Not quite as if it were paper, but they slide through more easily than they should. They dig into the meat of his shoulders and chest. "FUCK!" He bellows, throwing one arm out to wrestle Alba off of him. So she is out of the way just in time for the ball of fire to hammer into him.

He tanks it, one arm up. It scorches the dry grass around him and burns deep into his arm, getting a snarl of pain from the bangaa. He points his axe at Talen. "You'll die a nice long death." He swings his axe once around him, then throws it upward, making a huge ring of darkness around him. But rather than bother staying to try and make SURE it hits Alba, he uses it as a barrier to leg it to another one of the wagon chocobos.

The twist and trip works well for Grumm, especially with his low stature. He gets the man's legs out from under him and he goes toppling over just like the other.
Marduke holds up his hand as he chants a spell, powerful white energies forming around his hand. "Talen, for you." Pointing at the Viera, "Esuna." One of the most powerful status removal spells around, a gift from the spirits. "Actually, I do not think he will be dying at all. Now, die so I can send you to Hades." Planting his staff into the ground, getting ready to prepare another spell.

"Run!" Alba calls as she rolls to her feet, hurling herself through the darkness toward the Bangaa's pounding feet, heedless of the damage wrought to her body. At her wrist, the silkworm charm glows again, threads of magic unraveling and launching toward the fleeing Dark Knight. "*Run for your mockery of life,* shambling pile of cowardly foetor! DIE WATERLESS AND PLEADING!"

Talen is rolled along by the bangaa's last spell, and comes to rest upon his back. "Uhhf. Yeah... you do that run thing. I'm just going to lay here and bleed a little while." Talen coughs a few times, wiping away grime and blood. "Euugh, so that's what cancer tastes like."

"It work!" Call out Grumm, a bit surprised but doesn't get distracted from what he set out to do. He suckes in a deep breath as the mining pick is raised high above his head, but not relly very high and brings it down on the prone soldier with everything he can muster.

Kulgkar swings up onto the chocobo, slouching from his wounds. The chocobo is already starting to look a little sickly from just the aura of Kulgkar Tuguf. "WHAT BY DOOMSHIP'S HOARY FEET IS A FOETOR!" He doesn't stay for the answer. With most of the Archaedaen soldiers incapitated and Lucky gone, he isn't about to try and take the three of them by himself. The three around Alba are wasted. Kulgkar's black ring seems to have withered them away in their armor.

The worst thing is. He might have.

Grumm finishes off the one who hasn't given up in a rather gruesome manner. The pick hurtles down into him, the sharp end digging hard into the man's chest with a sickening crunch and a spurt upward of blood.

The sound left now is the last soldier whispering 'don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me' and the frightened 'wark' of the last chocobos.

Marduke glances around the battlefield, shaking his head slowly. "You did well Grumm." Smiling over towards the dwarf, "Gather the wounded, me and Talen can do some healing." Turning to start walking towards Talen, chanting his spell again, "Esuna." Sending the energies Talen's way, "Good with that or need another?" Looking over the Viera with concern. Eyes glancing to Alba, and offering her a nod before looking back to Talen.

Alba pushes her mask up to snarl at the back of the Bangaa's sickly chocobo, turning... with a slight weave, as the trauma of the magics wracking her body catches up with her, and makes her slow, unsteady way back toward Talen, the feather charm on her bracelet already beginning to glow. Marduke's nod is returned, and she touches her eartips to Talen's her own, much weaker curative magics going to work behind Marduke's spell. "With fortune, they will not return," she murmurs. "Weaker prey to be found, elsewhere. When all is finished, here, perhaps it will be seen what remains of the farm that may be salvaged."

Talen takes in a deep breath, a rattle and gurgle sounding deep in his lungs as he does so. Esuna helps quite a bit, and as Alba leans to touch her ears to his, Talen casts a spell of his own, bright white light flowing between the two viera. "With luck... they'll keep running til they see Archades' gates. Uhhhhnn." Groaning, he slowly sits up, shaking with the effort. "Are you sound, my hunter?" His eyes shift over to Marduke, "Give me a few moments more. That guy uses some pretty evil mojo."

Grumm leaves the pick where it's, running over to pick up a crossbow and look for bolts, finding some on the guy that got a pick in the face. "I no good with these." He mutters as he pulls the string back, loading a bolt. Several deep breaths are taken as he tried to relax and line up a shot with the Kulgkar before he can get away. The string twangs and the bolt whistles through the air when the trigger is pulled, too late he's out of range. He nods at Marduke and moves off slowly, breathing heavily, looking for wounded villagers. A long gash across his back can be easily seen when he turns away.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The villagers are starting to come back and peak just a little. They probably will not be kind to the last man alive. But at least Emberstrand got itself a couple sets of padded armor and crossbows and swords!

Marduke nods slowly at that, "Just let me know. I still got a bit of energy left." Glancing around the battlefield, and shaking his head. "No, a man like that will be back. He will make a show, he will want to fight us again. He will make sure he believes he has the upper hand as well, pulling in what tricks he has. He will be back, prepare yourselves." Looking to the Viera, "That is the kind of man he is." He glances to Grumm and frowns, chanting another spell, "Cura!" Giving out the area healing spell himself now. Making sure Grumm gets some of the healing magic.

Dark Knight Rises

2013-06-13T04:02:17Z

Kupor: Created page with 'LOCATION: Emberstrand Farms People: Alba, Grumm, Marduke, Talen Time: THE LEGENDARY GO TIME. Protecting farms is not an easy job. Without some kind of early warning system, and …'

LOCATION: Emberstrand Farms
People: Alba, Grumm, Marduke, Talen
Time: THE LEGENDARY GO TIME.

Protecting farms is not an easy job. Without some kind of early warning system, and with transportation by chocobo fast, but not terribly fast, getting to a farm before the mayhem starts isn't going to happen.

The farm grows ice grapes. Ice grapes are exactly what you think they might be. They grow only in the coldest parts of winter, when the plant thrives on the water inside of it being turned into ice. It baffles science, but it makes a damn fine wine. The ones in Giza Plains aren't quite as good as the ones grown in the mountains, but they are more plentiful. Regardless, they are also a form of sustanence, and an army requires sustanence.

It's also on fire.

That's probably bad for the grapes.

From a distance, it can be seen that Archadian footsoldiers are loading up a wagon with barrels of wine and juice waiting to be fermented while part of a work building burns.

Marduke has a habit of wondering the country side. The summoner is able to handle most things, but is probably going to get himself killed one of the days, war and all. He pauses as he see's the smoke and frowns a moment. "It was so peaceful to." He turns and picking up his pace starts running towards the rising smoke and the farm.

As open as the plains are, the rising smoke from burning structures are a fairly simple thing to spot from a distance, and which seem to have put paid to another hunting trip for the Viera couple. Her blades out in hand, heavy fur cloak rippling behind her as she lopes toward the village, the masked woman grumbles, all the way there. "Stupid soldiers, raiding so close to the city. If they remain, they will earn a great many lengths of steel in the belly. Do wetlanders believe this nonsense to be daring? Faugh."

Grumm is taking a day off rom mining to try something else, prospecting at the river. A shovel and a pick are carrier over one shoulder with a large bucket in his other hand. He stops after seeing smoke, wondering if it's normal. "Too much smoke, for a festival and too cold. Must be a building." Is said to himselg in dwarfish as he sorts it out. The tools are swung down to both hands for a better grip and he starts running towards the source.

Talen trails along beside the female viera, and nods grimly. "Sadly, this is what war comes to, for an army marches on its stomach. I doubt they think it daring, it is just something they do. But I do think they should earn some steel in the belly, and fire in the face, yes? I'll keep them from your back."

Murder makes a wonderful date. As the sun begins to rise, everyone works their way hard to the farms. Archadian riflemen are few here, it is mostly rabble, swordsmen and crossbowmen who are busy loading wagons with barrels. There are only a few barded chocobos to show officers overlooking this affair. They are being held by a private. One of the chocobos is green.

Not specially imbred green to denote a special ability. No, its feathers are falling out. It looks sick.

A few crossbowmen are holding the locals at bay, keeping them from getting any ideas. The young men look like they are having ideas. Stupid ideas.

Then comes the loud bellow. A tall powerfully built bone white Bangaa points a heavily gauntletted finger at a bearded hume, his other hand gripping a barrel. "You call this wine? I've tasted piss better than this, you fat /fuck/." A few snickers come around him. He snaps his head around, "What are you laughing at?!"

Soldiers snap to attention quickly. "Nothing, Dark Knight Tuguf," one offers quickly.

The heavily armored bangaa turns his gaze around towards a bangaa holding a long bushman's rifle. "What about you, Lucky? You find something FUNNY?" The bangaa shrugs. He cannot talk. He doesn't have a head. Finally, the Bangaa Dark Knight turns back to the man, reaching out his hand to grab him by his rough spun tunic. "What about you, lard gut? You must have been laughing? Tell me what's so damn funny?"

Marduke slows to a walk as the building comes into view and he is able to survey the scene. Keeping himself low and trying to stay hidden for now. "Hmmm, to many against me. Still." A twist of a smile crosses his face before he goes back to a frown. "Lets see how smart they are." Whispering a few words as as he holds up his hands before him, "Come forth lights of death and rebirth." With a pass of his hand four rainbow colored lights fade into view and start to float around him, pyreflies. "Lets cause some miscief."

"Shaman," murmurs Alba as the pair close on the burning village, "perhaps it would be wise to place fear within their hearts. Have you magics that would allow this?" As she speaks, she scrapes her blades against the scorpion stinger affixed to the sheaths at her belt, and venomous green energy begins to stream from the bluish mythril. Leaping onto the top rail of the fence around the vineyard, the masked Viera crouches low, then launches herself at one of the crossbowmen keeping the villagers at bay.

Talen hmmms and chuckles, "I have one but you may wish to cover your ears." The male viera begins whispering words of magic, and an ominous pressure builds up. He gestures at one of the henchmen standing behind Dark Knight Tuguf, a down slash, which is followed quickly by a bright electrical discharge, and a rolling thunderclap. [Thunder]

Grumm slows as he sees what's going on and devises a uick plan, cut off their means of escape, inspire the farmers, and hope for reinforcements. He drops the shovel and bucket, wielding the mining pick with both hands. "Father taught me to be more prepared." After moving around behind buildings to remain unseen, the pick is raise high above his head and brought down on the private, trying to bury it deep in his chest.

Archadian soldiers are probably at least smarter than Stormtroopers. They work efficiently. Rather than, say, slouching around and drinking wine. Like the Dark Knight appears to be. His fingers around the man begin to glow black. They suck in light. And they seem to suck some of the healthy color out of the man. Boils are just starting to appear before the lighting strike rips into one of the privates behind him, knocking the swordsman clean off his feet.

'Lucky', as the headless Bangaa appears to be called, brings up his rifle swiftly. Kulgkar Tuguf drops the fat man into the barrel of wine and spins around, "Spirits DAMMIT do they have mages here?" He grasps the man by the hair and starts hauling him out.

Alba gets up damn close to them before the crossbowman turns his weapon around. He lets out a brief curse before Alba lands down on top of him. It probably won't end well for him. He batters at her with the crossbow butt.

Dwarves are not stealthy. But everyone is distracted enough to ignore Grumm. Kulgkar points into the grape vineyards where the short curse came from. "Over there! Get over there, you three assholes, come on!" Kulgkar lifts the man by the hair out of the wine, the poor stuff dribbling from his face. From his back, the bone white bangaa lifts a large sawtoothed two handed battle axe. He places it up against the man's neck. "Alright, mage, get yer pansy bones out here or I turn this man into one headless plague corpse."

Lucky's shoulders sag a little. Memories.

"Yield," whispers the voice behind the faceless, laughing eyed bone mask, the bruises raised by the crossbow butt glimmering white and beginning to heal, even as the weapon is pulled away. Her own blades, pressed against the poor private's neck, a foot rising to press down on the boy's forehead, pushing his head into the dirt. "Yield, soldier, or die frothing and bubbling and glad that never your mother will know how her child put a family to torch and plague to feed a sorry, puling Captain." One ear flicks outward, tracking the clomping progress of the three incoming soldiers, but her shaded eyes stay locked upon the boy.

Marduke starts walking forward coming into full view of the enemy. A touch of a smile, "mage? I do not recall being a mage." He doesn't know where the lightning came from, but he is going to try to play it off. Letting the pyreflies circle around him lazily, and add to his effect. Pyreflies are well believed to be associated with death. "But you did say Spirits. Shall I introduce you to some? Here like this little one." Holding up his hand as one of the pyreflies starts to circle around it, "Here." Pointing at the Dark Knight, the pyrefly zipping foward in a attempt to explode in white element energy.

Talen hmmphs, faced with an interesting dilemma. He steps into view, and holds up his hands, words already dribbling from his mouth in preparation. "How do I know you won't kill him anyways? Archadeans aren't known for their mercy, are they?" The male viera suddenly thrusts his hands forward in a fan like pattern, and all around the Captain's feet and legs a mini Blizzard rages, icing up the ground and battering at his footing. The spell sputters momentarily as a pyrefly streaks into view, but Talen grunts and holds it together.

Grumm burries the pick deep into the poor lad and stops, hunched over him, looking around for whatever mage is being talked about. He pulls the pick free and swats the chocobos on the rump with it to scare them off before looking for the next target. Compassion is for those that deserve, not scavengers like these soldiers. Rushing towards a crossbowman he tries for a repeat of the last stroke. "Take out the support to weaken the rest." Rattles around in his head, echoes of training.

He struggles against the viera until the crossbow gets pulled away. He has a dagger that he goes for, but when the blade is at his neck, he stops immediately. His hand goes up, very slowly, fingers spread, in submission. "I'm just following orders." He has further explanations, but he decides not to voice them. The soldiers are two swordsmen and a crossbowman. They aren't going for stealth. They have weapons out.

Most Dark Knights are not dark enough to be suspectible to the element of light itself.

Kulgkar Tuguf is not most Dark Knights. He sees the pyrefly and immediately shouts, "Hades' BALLS!" He throws the man back away from the barrel to grab it and throw it at the pyrefly. It explodes in a great gout of steam and fruity smells, just barely out of the way of Kulgkar. He scoops up a helmet near by. It is black to match the rest of his armor, long like his face, in the shape of a dragon's skull. He slams it down on his head, the eye guards glowing red. "Shoot h DIABOLOS' TITS!"

Another mage. "Shoot the spirit guy. I got the furry one." The bangaa lifts one foot up high and then slams it down. A wave of corruption rips up from the ground, carving a path through the ice and charging forward. It isn't just darkness, it seems like the embodiment of unhealth, of plague, of death, a great black fin of energy that sunders the ground on its way to Talen. "GET THEM!"

The soldiers aren't endless, but there are three left, two more swordsmen and a crossbowman that kneels and is about to fire at Marduke when Grumm spooks a chocobo. He jerks his head up and gets a pickaxe in the face for his luck. It hammers through skull with a meaty and unpleasant sound and rush of blood.

Lucky, the headless Bangaa, lifts his rifle up to his shoulder and takes aim. He takes a shot at Marduke's shoulder, trying to put him off balance. Lucky, somehow, is a crack shot. The two other swordsman drive forward, both bearing down on Grumm from opposite sides.

Most adventurers, when facing the superior training, efficiency, and general poor odds of a three on one fight against trained military personnel, would rather fight dirty, or retreat and seek some other advantage. Most adventurers, however, have not spent their formative years where monsters are only one of a host of dangers, most originating from the pitiless dunes of the Sandsea itself. Which is why, when Alba rudely shoves the private's head back into the ground in her wild, careless leap toward the trio of soldiers, she *is* fighting to her advantage; where most fighters have armor, tactics, and strength on their side, Alba simply acts as a veritable buzzsaw of poisoned blades, preternatural speed, and semi intelligible taunts.

Marduke watches the reaction and hmms a bit, "You have fallen far. Hades has a special place for souls like yours. I will perform the sending personally." Holding up his hands and claping them together as the call is made to attack him. He whispers one word, "Pyreguard." A skill that allows him to use all of his remaining pyreflies to form a shield. The bullet slamming into the shield and knicking his shoulder with only a bruse. The power of the shield diminished, but still holding and may be able to take a few more shoots. Eyes glancing to Lucky, watching him for the moment.

Talen's ears perk high as the black energy rumbles through the ground towards him like a negative version of the humble shark. "Oh bollocks.", he mutters, and bolts away from the spell, his long legs stretching out as the viera heads for the cover of the vineyards. More words are muttered, each one beginning to circle the viera's head as he goes. [Spell Burst]
In a page pose to you, Marduke heh, cool.

Grumm looks up, with blood splattered on his face and clothes, pulling the pick free. "I was think I was only one." He stares at Lucky, amazed that it can still move around, more so that it can find a target to shoot. The approaching swordsmen snap him out of it and he leaps with a roll, scrambling to get some distance. "Look like I got they's 'tention."

The private's head hits hard with a grunt to the ground under Alba's heel. They are trained, but they aren't well blooded like Alba is. When she comes at them like a barbarian, one of them quails at her. The crossbowman is kneeling, lining up his shot, trying to get a good one and not hit his buddies. The other soldier grabs the first by the arm. "Come on, it's just a psycho viera, put her down, just like those junkies. All bark, no bite!" He uses the superior reach of his long sword to try and take out Alba before she gets in for dagger fighting.

Kulgkar snarls at Marduke. "Fuck you and your holier than thee marlboroshit. Did you get raised in the slums, have to beat the shit out of bigger kids to get your food?" The red in the helmet flares. "Did YOU have to give the Green Plague to a man just because he wouldn't give you some damn FOOD? Life is tough. So I decided to learn to violate its /mother/." Lucky turns slightly towards Kulgkar. Kulgkar snaps at him. "SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING HIM!" Kulgkar looks back. "Fuck, where did he go."

"Come out come out, where ever you aaaare." Kulgkar snaps at the vineyards. "Oh, he's in there. How EVER will I see him?" Slowly, the bangaa draws in a deep breath. He then breathes it out slowly over the vineyard. It's like a Marlboro's breath, only more dark aligned. The vineyard shrivel up and blacken. A ground squirrel caught in it turns inside out and then explodes into a bloody mass.

Lucky, seeing his chance with Marduke, snaps the lever action on the rifle and aims again, taking another shot. That shield is tough, but Lucky is patient and his hand is steady. He seems so damn impassive without an expression to read.

The swordsmen on Grumm's feet stomp after him quickly. They split up, trying to circle around and catch him on either side rather than face him one by one.
The truly worrying thing, when fighting 'just another psycho Viera,' is that when the psycho's very blood courses with healing magics, wounds tend not to remain as serious as they once were. And when the psycho Viera slaps a hand over the glimmering furrow dug out of her side, and the white magics turn dark, life eating, and *call* to the blood of the swordsman that wounded her... That tends to be when things go past worrying, and edge towards truly frightening. [Drain]

Marduke glances back over impassivly to Kulgkar, "you desire to appeal to me with excusses?" His hands are steady as he holds up his staff starting to chant another spell. "It only shows your inability to overcome, your own weakness. Pathetic." Perhaps he is trying to rile Kulgkar, or at least distract him to give Talen a easier opening. "Come forth flames of passion and fury. Child of the flames, burn away the flith that is before us." Starting to chant the arcane words of summoning quickly now. Four globes of crimson flame fade into view circling around him and gathering in intensity. Holding up his staff he calls out, "Come forth, Elenaor of the Crimson Flame!" The orbs shoot off into the sky fading from view. A ball of flame suddenly falling down from the sky landing in front of Marduke, which will act as a new shield for Marduke as his pyreguard fades spend. "Hi hi Mardy!" Eleanor offers with a giggle, then turns, crouches down drawing two swords of flame, and dashes straight towards Lucky.

Talen puts new effort into his run, hearing the dry rustle of the wilting vines, and feeling more than hearing the splat of the stricken squirrel. He bursts out into the three soldiers, running in front of the crossbowman, but behind the two swordsmen. As he does so, he whispers the final words to his spell, gesturing at the group of soldiers as he speeds past. Three streaks of fire zip at the soldiers, one for each of them. "We need to finish this quickly!" he calls out, to Alba. "If you're going to do something, NOW'S the time! Fight or run!" That said in the direction of the villagers. [Fire, with Spell Burst]

Grumm isn't as experienced as Alba, or the others, probably not even as much as these soldiers, so instead he relies on what his father taught him. "Use your size and the terrain to your advantage." He thinks as he rushes past one swordsman and swings the pick to hook a leg and trip him and keeps moving past, going for the wagon and sliding underneath.

The wound on Alba's side disappears. It reappears under thick padded leather armor with a sudden gash of blood. "Guh, she's a mage!" He staggers, grabbing at his side. Mages are scary. You never know what they are capable over. Not everyone wears the robes of certain colors like they are supposed to. The second swordsman brings up his sword in defense, waiting this time for Alba to strike first. And that gives the crossbowman the perfect moment to fire a bolt. Until fire suddenly explodes on him. Screams of pain come from all three and the bolt goes wild. The young swordsman staggers back, hitting the ground hard, dropping his sword.

Lucky seems to notice the spirit. His shoulders jerk back, maybe in surprise. His rifle comes up. He fires once, snaps the lever, then fires again, then begins to run. He pumps one last bullet out, wheeling backwards, before he begins to leg it from the summon. Summons are scary shit.

Kulgkar stomps after Talen, his axe in both hands. "YEA, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW I OVERCOME WEAKNESS! Get back here, longears, I'll turn your fucking liver into jelly!" He swings his axe down then upward, like a mighty shovel. Another huge wave of darkness rips forward. He cares little if it actually hits a soldier.

The villagers are not stupid. They are already getting the hell out of here once all the crossbowmen were distracted. The fat man has scrabbled away back to his house. The swordsman swings down for Grumm at the same time. But while he is trying to give Grumm a hefty slice on the back, Grumm is going for something less conventional, and regardless of the outcome of the slice, rips the man off his feet. The other soldier vaults over him with a grunt.

"Thank you, my Shaman," Alba murmurs, ears tipping backwards from the sudden explosion of fire skirling in front of her face. Dipping to one side, she snarls faintly, as their leader bellows his challenge, and lopes toward the origin point of the wave of black energy, one hand flicking out to swat Talen's eartip in passing. The energies wreathing her blades fade, supplanted by flickering white fire as she closes in on the Kulkgar. "Puling bag of filth," she crows, "whining and sobbing, your water is tainted! Come to me, then, I shall cure the disease that burns within you!"

Talen grins at the swat to his ear, and he turns, running back the way he came. Leaping atop one of the burning soldiers, Talen leaps over the wave of energy this time, landing with a roll. Swatting at the flames that lick at his robes, he follows Alba back towards Kulkgar. "You want my liver so bad, come and take it!"

"Oooh, a race?" Eleanor shouts, chasing after the headless Bangaa, her feet leaving smoking spots of char where they touch ground, crimson fires swirling away from her. "Careful, if ya can't watch where you're going you're gonna hit something!" This, as if an errant fence is the least of Lucky's concern.

Not fast enough, Grumm recieves a diagonal slice across his back. The pain causes him to hesitate under under the wagon, in safety and look out, the soldier is still down. "Can' wai'." With a pained grunt he comes back out from under the wagon, charging at the chasing swordsman with a swing of the pick towards his ribs.

"Doomtrain's chapped /ass/, do all you assholes have weapons of holy?!" Kulgkar looks at least wary of Alba. His stance has gone from 'do you even lift' to 'maybe she lifts a /little/.' He grips his axe. He doesn't seem afraid of two against one. But he does the math. How many of his guys did he see taken out? The alleyway bully in Kulgkar seems to waver as the odds are turning. Don't get in a fight you can't win in superior numbers. Still...

How tough can Alba /be/?

He blows out from his helmet onto his axe. Darkness clings to the axe like a film. He hoists it up over his head and takes a step forward to cleave at Alba. Now, Kulgkar is not skilled at the axe, not terribly. Not like some men. But he is strong. Hella strong. The axe might be able to cleave a man in half on a good day. And the darkness seeks Alba's life. A Dark Sword, in the form of an axe.

Lucky runs. You can't hear him cursing. Because he doesn't have a mouth. He vaults the fence, as if he were able to see it. He pulls out a pistol with two barrels and four revolver chambers. He turns around again, pumping out two shots, before spinnig around again. There might be panic.

The swordsman is ready to meet Grumm however. He brings his sword down at the pick, grunting as it he tries to force it downward for a moment. Then he uses his other fist to slug Grumm in the face.

Agile Alba might be, possessed of preternatural speed and keen reflexes... but even the most skilled of fighters is going to take a hit now and again, and even a grazing strike by such a weapon could be life threatening. A deep gash is carved across the Viera's belly, and even as her personal magics go to work closing the wound it's clear that if she hadn't clapped her arms over her stomach as she came to rest, the result would have been a good deal.... messier. Black veins radiate away from the covered gash, and somehow the hate in her eyes behind the mask is palpable, a low snarl rising as one of the charms around her wrist, a beaded silkworm's coccoon, begins to glow, dim gray threads of magic lashing out to encircle the massive Dark Knight in tendrils of distorted, slowed time.

Talen's ears flatten backwards to his head at seeing the slash connect. The viera calls upon his magics ones more, a white glow encompassing his hand and forearm. He skids to a stop behind Alba, and places his hand upon the small of her back, the white glow rushing from his hand to sink into the female viera. He waits just long enough to ensure the spell is taking hold, before he scampers to one side. "Hey, I thought you were trying to take my liver, bangaa butt. What, now you're picking on girrrrls? Who's got a chapped as now eh?"

Eleanor squees with delight as Lucky jumps the face, "Ahh you got over the fence!" As she approaches the fence herself he doens't jump it, but instead jumps up into the air. Wings of flame sprouting from her back and takes to the air, doding the shoots aimed at her at the same time. "Missed me!" The spirit having way to much fun with this. She reaches the zeneth of her jump, and tilts foward to dive straight for Lucky, blades first, "Look out below!"

Grumm didn't expect the parry, or the punch and his head snaps back from the impact with his jaw, stopping his charge. He recovers and pushes in close to the swordsman, using the pick's head to hold the sword away from his body and slides his hands up the handle before swinging the end of the handle up between the mans legs as hard as he can.

Kulgkar Tuguf doesn't evade magic. He tanks it. He doesn't really evade attacks either. He soaks them in. The slow magic works into him, threads of slow weaving across his armor, acting like ethereal bounds that hold him down. The big bangaa works against the magic bonds. They hold him tight, but they might not last as long as usual. He slowly pries up his hand and points it at Talen. Just as Talen's hand was white, his is black. He makes good on his promise.

The magic that flows from Kulgkar is practiced, but not trained. Kulgkar is a Dark Knight Savant. Dark magics from childhood, fueled by a petty and remorseless bastard, carved into crude but effective tools. He begins to slowly curl his fingers, extending the magic out to Talen's insides. It is like a targeted jacked up version of a Marlboro's breath, as if he were trying to give Talen every known disease at once. "Yea, you a tough guy, buttercup?"

Lucky wheels to one side, evading one blade. The other digs down into his flesh through padded leather, burying harshly. He shoves away with a throw of his arms, his armor now blackened around the hole. He staggers drunkenly, nearing a wagon. He grabs a chocobo and leaps up into it quickly. The chocobo isn't having any of Eleanor and books it.

The swordsman goes overhead as Grumm goes underhand. Grumm has a shorter distance to go. While the arm is padded, it is not that padded, and the brief flash of pain distracts the soldier long enough that his slash goes wide.

"He is tough," Alba says, levering herself to her feet... and what was one a life threatening gash, now a sickly, jagged black furrow dug across her middle. "*I,* likewise, tough. The Sandsea demands no less, pustulent snake, and its harshest lesson: Many will walk, where one may fall." Dropping into a low crouch, she springs forward, knives streaming white fire as they arc down toward the Bangaa's armored collar.

Eleanor lets go of the sword that digs into Lucky, the blade fading shorly after. "Ahh I dont want to roast a choco! Meanie." Putting her hands at her hips as she hovers there. "Guess you got lucky! Bye bye!" Eleanor offers with a giggle. Seems Lucky is a secondary target, and the fire spirit turns towards the Dark Knight, "You need a breath mint!" Though she isn't going charging in, instead she holds up a hand and tosses a ball of fire at the Dark Knight, a secondary type of attack for her. Melee is her primary skills with some ranged. With one last giggle she fades from view, "Have fun Mardy!"

At which point Marduke is making his way back in heading towards the Vieras and Dark Knight.
A gurgled cough is the viera male's reply, a sickly grey drool running out of his mouth. His hand flares white once more, a ragged white flame engulfing his hand and forearm. "T..tough? You'll die before I will.." Talen gags and sinks to his knees, the spell arcing out to touch Alba, and then curling back to bathe the male in white light. He looks a little better, but not by much.

The engagament started off well for Grumm, it's not going nearly as well anymore. "I need to atleast keep them busy so the others can fight." He thinks as he continues to push the swordsman and swings the pick down to hook a leg. "Bring em, down ta me size." Is grunted out as he stops moving and pulls hard on the pick, trying to get the solider off his feet.
Two viera Kulgkar is pretty sure he can handle.

Two viera and a summon? This is getting pretty HOT to handle. He sees Lucky wheeling away too. "GET BACK HERE YOU HEADLESS ASSHOL glurk." The knives dig through the black armor. Not quite as if it were paper, but they slide through more easily than they should. They dig into the meat of his shoulders and chest. "FUCK!" He bellows, throwing one arm out to wrestle Alba off of him. So she is out of the way just in time for the ball of fire to hammer into him.

He tanks it, one arm up. It scorches the dry grass around him and burns deep into his arm, getting a snarl of pain from the bangaa. He points his axe at Talen. "You'll die a nice long death." He swings his axe once around him, then throws it upward, making a huge ring of darkness around him. But rather than bother staying to try and make SURE it hits Alba, he uses it as a barrier to leg it to another one of the wagon chocobos.

The twist and trip works well for Grumm, especially with his low stature. He gets the man's legs out from under him and he goes toppling over just like the other.
Marduke holds up his hand as he chants a spell, powerful white energies forming around his hand. "Talen, for you." Pointing at the Viera, "Esuna." One of the most powerful status removal spells around, a gift from the spirits. "Actually, I do not think he will be dying at all. Now, die so I can send you to Hades." Planting his staff into the ground, getting ready to prepare another spell.

"Run!" Alba calls as she rolls to her feet, hurling herself through the darkness toward the Bangaa's pounding feet, heedless of the damage wrought to her body. At her wrist, the silkworm charm glows again, threads of magic unraveling and launching toward the fleeing Dark Knight. "*Run for your mockery of life,* shambling pile of cowardly foetor! DIE WATERLESS AND PLEADING!"

Talen is rolled along by the bangaa's last spell, and comes to rest upon his back. "Uhhf. Yeah... you do that run thing. I'm just going to lay here and bleed a little while." Talen coughs a few times, wiping away grime and blood. "Euugh, so that's what cancer tastes like."

"It work!" Call out Grumm, a bit surprised but doesn't get distracted from what he set out to do. He suckes in a deep breath as the mining pick is raised high above his head, but not relly very high and brings it down on the prone soldier with everything he can muster.

Kulgkar swings up onto the chocobo, slouching from his wounds. The chocobo is already starting to look a little sickly from just the aura of Kulgkar Tuguf. "WHAT BY DOOMSHIP'S HOARY FEET IS A FOETOR!" He doesn't stay for the answer. With most of the Archaedaen soldiers incapitated and Lucky gone, he isn't about to try and take the three of them by himself. The three around Alba are wasted. Kulgkar's black ring seems to have withered them away in their armor.

The worst thing is. He might have.

Grumm finishes off the one who hasn't given up in a rather gruesome manner. The pick hurtles down into him, the sharp end digging hard into the man's chest with a sickening crunch and a spurt upward of blood.

The sound left now is the last soldier whispering 'don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me' and the frightened 'wark' of the last chocobos.

Marduke glances around the battlefield, shaking his head slowly. "You did well Grumm." Smiling over towards the dwarf, "Gather the wounded, me and Talen can do some healing." Turning to start walking towards Talen, chanting his spell again, "Esuna." Sending the energies Talen's way, "Good with that or need another?" Looking over the Viera with concern. Eyes glancing to Alba, and offering her a nod before looking back to Talen.

Alba pushes her mask up to snarl at the back of the Bangaa's sickly chocobo, turning... with a slight weave, as the trauma of the magics wracking her body catches up with her, and makes her slow, unsteady way back toward Talen, the feather charm on her bracelet already beginning to glow. Marduke's nod is returned, and she touches her eartips to Talen's her own, much weaker curative magics going to work behind Marduke's spell. "With fortune, they will not return," she murmurs. "Weaker prey to be found, elsewhere. When all is finished, here, perhaps it will be seen what remains of the farm that may be salvaged."

Talen takes in a deep breath, a rattle and gurgle sounding deep in his lungs as he does so. Esuna helps quite a bit, and as Alba leans to touch her ears to his, Talen casts a spell of his own, bright white light flowing between the two viera. "With luck... they'll keep running til they see Archades' gates. Uhhhhnn." Groaning, he slowly sits up, shaking with the effort. "Are you sound, my hunter?" His eyes shift over to Marduke, "Give me a few moments more. That guy uses some pretty evil mojo."

Grumm leaves the pick where it's, running over to pick up a crossbow and look for bolts, finding some on the guy that got a pick in the face. "I no good with these." He mutters as he pulls the string back, loading a bolt. Several deep breaths are taken as he tried to relax and line up a shot with the Kulgkar before he can get away. The string twangs and the bolt whistles through the air when the trigger is pulled, too late he's out of range. He nods at Marduke and moves off slowly, breathing heavily, looking for wounded villagers. A long gash across his back can be easily seen when he turns away.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The house is sound. And while one of the work houses is now a smoldering ruin, all the casks remain and no one is hurt. The ground where Kulgkar's darkness has touched, however, is barren. But with all the villagers retaining their lives, that is more than worth the price, is it not? The twisting pain slowly leaves as the healing magic undoes the several dozen plagues turning the inside of Talen into black pudding.

The villagers are starting to come back and peak just a little. They probably will not be kind to the last man alive. But at least Emberstrand got itself a couple sets of padded armor and crossbows and swords!

Marduke nods slowly at that, "Just let me know. I still got a bit of energy left." Glancing around the battlefield, and shaking his head. "No, a man like that will be back. He will make a show, he will want to fight us again. He will make sure he believes he has the upper hand as well, pulling in what tricks he has. He will be back, prepare yourselves." Looking to the Viera, "That is the kind of man he is." He glances to Grumm and frowns, chanting another spell, "Cura!" Giving out the area healing spell himself now. Making sure Grumm gets some of the healing magic.

XP Spending

2013-03-21T19:59:34Z

Kupor: Cleaned up the language of the page in a few places as well. A temporary template of how to arrange your XP spending should be provided until you code XP spending.

So, once you've gotten all that lovely XP... What do you do with it?

XP costs scale according to how high you've got a particular stat, skill, or ability. Buying Fire from nothing only costs 1 XP (as long as you have access to it, naturally) but pushing it from 23 to 24 requires extra XP; 4 XP worth, in fact. Same goes for [[Character Skills]]. [[Character Attributes]] have their own cost scale, but it uses the same math, multiplied by 5.

Below, a couple handy-dandy tables to lay out exactly how cost progression will work! Also, to the right of each row is the total cost of each 'tier,' and how much XP you'd need to buy a thing from nothing to all of it.

Skills & Abilities:

1 - 6 = 1 XP per point to raise. ( 6)
7 - 12 = 2 XP per point to raise. (12)
13 - 18 = 3 XP per point to raise. (18)
19 - 24 = 4 XP per point to raise. (24)
(60) <- total xp from 0-24 in ability or skill

Attributes

1 - 6 = 5 XP per point to raise.(25)
7 - 12 = 10 XP per point to raise.(60)
13 - 18 = 15 XP per point to raise.(90)
19 - 24 = 20 XP per point to raise.(120)
(295) <- total xp from 1-24 in attribute

Also, Job Requirements will throw around Job Levels a lot; this is important, as X amount of levels you have in a [[Character Job]] (Or Jobs, for the hybrid and higher-tier jobs) unlock higher-level Jobs. 60 XP spent on abilities, skills, and attributes in that job give you one Job Level, to a max of 8. Which means if you devote 480 XP to a single Job, you are considered to have mastered it out. Beginning players won't have reason to worry about Mastery, but likely it'll be needed for the truly high-tier Jobs.

So! You have your first allotment of XP to spend wherever you like. So! Have fun with it, and I look forward to my mailbox suddenly being crammed to overflowing with XP-spending wishlists. Note that the Jobs currently on offer are up on the Wiki, with all their buyable [[Character Abilities]] laid out and desc'd. What Skills one has access to has nothing to do with Jobs, so feel free to choose Skills with relative impunity.

*XP Spending is currently handled by Legion and [[Viktor]]. When you want to spend XP, just drop them (both of them) a mail in-game listing what you want to buy, and (this is important) what Job the thing you are buying is from. If you need further explanation about this, let Legion know, and he'll be able to explain in more detail.

--------

[[Main Page]]

XP Spending

2013-03-21T19:50:25Z

Kupor: Added links where appropriate. Needed: page on how to gain XP.

So, once you've gotten all that lovely XP... What do you do with it?

Lucky for everyone, we've got that worked out. See, XP costs scale according to how high you've got a particular stat, skill, or ability. Buying Fire from nothing only costs 1 XP (as long as you have access to it, naturally) but pushing it from 23 to 24 requires a lot of extra oomph; 4 XP worth, in fact. Same goes for [[Character Skills]]. [[Character Attributes]] have their own cost scale, but it uses the same math, so it should be easy to get comfortable with.

Below, a couple handy-dandy tables to lay out exactly how cost progression will work! Tables are fun! Also, to the right of each row is the total cost of each 'tier,' and how much XP you'd need to buy a thing from nothing to all of it.

Skills & Abilities:

1 - 6 = 1 XP per point to raise. ( 6)
7 - 12 = 2 XP per point to raise. (12)
13 - 18 = 3 XP per point to raise. (18)
19 - 24 = 4 XP per point to raise. (24)
(60) <- total xp from 0-24 in ability or skill

Attributes

1 - 6 = 5 XP per point to raise.(25)
7 - 12 = 10 XP per point to raise.(60)
13 - 18 = 15 XP per point to raise.(90)
19 - 24 = 20 XP per point to raise.(120)
(295) <- total xp from 1-24 in attribute

Also, Job Requirements will throw around Job Levels a lot; this is important, as X amount of levels you have in a [[Character Job]] (Or Jobs, for the really nifty ones) unlock higher-level Jobs. But how much XP is needed for a Job Level, you ask? Simple; 60 XP = 1 Job Level, to a max of 8. Which means if you devote 480 XP to a single Job, you are considered to have mastered it out. Beginning players won't have reason to worry about Mastery, but likely it'll be needed for the truly high-tier Jobs.

So! Now you know how XP works. And you have your first wodge of XP to spend wherever you like. So! Have fun with it, and I look forward to my mailbox suddenly being crammed to overflowing with XP-spending wishlists. Note that the Jobs currently on offer are up on the Wiki, with all their buyable [[Character Abilities]] laid out and desc'd. What Skills one has access to has nothing to do with Jobs, so feel free to choose Skills with relative impunity.

*XP Spending is currently handled by Legion and [[Viktor]]. When you want to spend XP, just drop them (both of them) a mail in-game listing what you want to buy, and (this is important) what Job the thing you are buying is from. If you need further explanation about this, let Legion know, and he'll be able to explain in more detail.

--------

[[Main Page]]

Character Biographies

2012-06-12T01:49:42Z

Kupor:

<big>'''Character Biographies'''</big>

This page serves as a place to look at character biographies of both living, dead, and even NPCs. Please note that this information is not to be used in any way unless you have gone to the trouble to learn this through an In-Character method. This is meant for Out-of-Character enjoyment.

'''Player Characters (PCs)'''
* [[Agrin]] Corlan
* [[Alba]] DiVincenzi
* [[Alek]]
* [[Ashur]] Inanna Utu
* [[Azure]] Nightingale
* [[Belius]]
* [[Celeste]] St Wallenrod
* [[Daivat]]
* [[Donovan]] Kain
* [[Dunis]] Almeida
* [[Elaine]] Spence
* [[Estebahn]]
* [[Ezekial]]
* [[Evja]] Aster
* [[Felicity]] Greene
* [[Havoc]]
* [[Henri]]
* [[Jenna]] Blackthorne
* [[Jocelyn]]
* [[Kal]]'tano Znka'erta
* [[Kazuki]]
* [[Kier]] Ibrahim
* [[Kilic]] Tunbekar
* [[Kupor]]
* [[Kyriana]] Cardell
* Lady [[Isabella]] Loxxlynn Herstal
* "[[Lee]]"
* Lord [[Cullen]] Pendragon
* Lord [[Ka'Len]] Herstal
* [[Magsaadi Spiritforge]]
* [[Marduke]] Andorian, The Seeker
* [[Mazurek]]
* [[Meragin]]
* [[Moiraine]] McLeod
* [[Mordecai]]
* [[Nitro]]
* [[Penelope]] St. Gabriel
* [[Raziel]]
* [[Remi]]
* [[Russell]] Phoenix
* Scholar 'Aden' [[Ainsley]]
* [[Sebastion]]
* [[Silmeria]]
* [[Sizalia]] Tefkis
* [[Sunochi]] "Silverscale" Rinai
* [[Talen]] the Summoner
* [[Tanzi Eztova]]
* [[Tarjn Alajrsdottir]]
* [[Thaylorn]]
* [[Thompson]] de Koneta
* [[Torry]] Ellis
* [[Vazkor]]
* [[Viersia]] Shanaleigh
* [[Xyntrana]]
* [[Yosh]] Thraex
* [[Zephyr]] McCormick

'''Non Player Characters (NPCs)'''
* [[Nakamora Noriko]]
* Lady [[Lenneth]] Herstal
* Lady [[Seipola]] Anath Getzrik
* Judge [[Perse]]
* The Grand Lethal, the Savage Dragon, [[Zhou]]

'''Past Player Characters (PPCs)'''
* Beregond Arod
* [[Jak]] Gotung

-----------------------------
Return to [[Main Page]]

Kupor

2012-06-12T01:49:16Z

Kupor: Created page with 'Kupor was born in Baguba Port, the middle child of seven children. As a child, he was not enamored by stories of great hunters, but of ancient great heroes, of ancient prophecies…'

Kupor was born in Baguba Port, the middle child of seven children. As a child, he was not enamored by stories of great hunters, but of ancient great heroes, of ancient prophecies, of destiny. Each of his six brothers and sisters was equally caught up in the idea of becoming great heroes by finding teachers and seeking out to fulfill prophecies. Kupor was twelve when they all left in search of great masters to learn from.

Kupor himself took to the marshes, the woods, the desert and the mountains, looking for the ways of the sword to master with youthful enthusiasm. He was taught the ways of the sword, and the ways of the protector saints, to hold life in highest regard.

And he explored places of great power. And at each one, Kupor found his entry barred, his path interrupted, and in one case, simply told that he is not worthy. Each moment crushed Kupor's youth for ten years until it was finally nothing. He retreated to the dangerous marshes to speak to his blind master.

"Good. You have learned you know nothing. Your soul is molten. It is finally ready to be shaped and tempered. You are ready to learn."

The moogle has come to Emberstrand to learn then, to take up the job of a Hunter to relearn everything his masters taught him, humbled.