Fall Of Ortul

[Glazer]

"Mighty honorable of you," Collem grunted to her response.

Some creature in the forest shuffled past them as they ventured deeper into the fog. Violet asked a question back, "How are you so calm?"

Collem tried to suppress a laugh, nervous energy escaping, and only half succeeded, resulting in an awkward sort of cackle. Calm. He resisted the urge to blurt out he almost emptied his bowels into his pants just now as whatever monster lumbered past them in the dark.

"Courage ain't the absence of fear; it's being able to overcome it," he blurted instead, feeling a fool for using such a sappy cliché. Its sentimentality didn't make it any less true though, he supposed. He ventured another question, to distract from the fear, hers as well as his own.

"Well, you got any family? How they feel about you taking off to help people more?"

 

[Z'Greel]

"Your guess is as good a guess as mine..." Edward said, attempting to look around, not really seeing a whole lot in front of him, and even feeling a bit of moisture building up inside his skull. "We see nothing, hear nothing, and know nothing. The only thing we can do is to take a chance on a direction, and keep walking." He said, sighing slightly.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet thought about the little saying before answering his question. "No, not as far as I know. I remember my older brother, but we went separate ways a few years ago." She pulled her hood back off her head to widen her view a little. "What about you?"

 

[Glazer]

"Mm, me, family?" Collem bit his lip.

"Ain't got one neither, at least not anymore," he paused. "Was married... once."

He stroked the ring on his finger with the opposite hand. Figures. You try distracting yourself from one mess and you get reminded of another.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet nodded. "Oh, okay." She released the tension on her bow slightly, adjusting her grip and pulling it back again. She felt a little calmer now that the initial fear had washed out. Now she was just scared of being killed, but she now had a complete objective to close her mind from the fear.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Dead trampled through the brush that covered the moist dirt. His boots making squishing noises as we walked "I guess we'll just pick a direction and stick to it" he grumbled "Wandering is what I've been good at after all. It would benefit us though if we happened to wander into one of the others soon" Dead used that as a goal in his mind 'wander into one of the others in the group', it wasn't much of a goal, but it was something.

There were clicks and shrills that resounded in the misty forest, but Dead didn't care much for any of it. It's not like any beast would bother to eat him, since he lacked flesh, they'd have to be mighty desperate to feast on bones. Still, he kept his sword raised just in case. The mist was thick in front of Dead's face, and it was only a few footsteps later he realized that he had wandered into a rocky cliff wall. He looked up, the mist shrouding the surface, though it appeared to be less misty above.

Dead pondered the situation for a moment, his first instinct was to turn around and continue wandering, but instead he looked at his companion. "Up there" he pointed a ivory-boned finger, "Perhaps if we get to higher ground, we can see better. What do you say, are you up for a climb, Edward?"

 

[Z'Greel]

Edward looked where Dead pointed, and nodded simply. "Sounds like as good a plan as any. If we get above the mist, we could possibly see someone. Especially the phoenix, if he is lit up." He said, starting to climb the hill, ignoring the sounds he heard. He knew it could be anything, but it didn't sound close. Yet, at least.

As they climbed, Edward couldn't see any further, nor did he feel any less water filling his skull, making him start doubting that the plan would work.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Dead gripped a rock in hand and began to scramble up the slope. He inched his way up, placing a foot on each ledge as he climber ever higher. His right hand stayed gripped around the sword, which made it slightly harder to climb but he managed the ascent well enough. It was a few seconds in that the mist had gotten even thicker, clouding his vision. He climbed slowly, surely it would clear up when he got a bit higher. He looked over to his companion "how are you holding up?", he raised his legs to stand on a ledge that was wide enough the he could stand there and look at the progress he had made on the climb. He looked back up, there were a few just-wide-enough ledges that they could stand on without gripping rocks.

Dead stiffened at the sound of some scuffling in the recesses between some rocks. 'Let's hope we reach the top soon.' he thought, gripping his sword protectively. He hadn't remembered what fear was, but something told him he would find out.

 

[Akuma]

Skoll had headed Pryals warning and immediately shifted back into his Lycan form, it was easier this way rather than walking around and then having to shift. He looked around and began walking his large paw feet mushing through the floor leaving some prints but not visible enough unless your face is directly to it. He looked through the forest but could not see very well with the dense mist and all, then a noise crackled at his side and his large body turned slowly. He spoke through rough English " Something....in woods " He could completely speak since the way he did it was a rigorous training. He was able to slowly shift his body so he slowly shifted his human voice box into his lycan body, He looked around and sniffed the air a few time letting a low tone growl escape his large jaw's.

Going down on all fours he lurked in the mist keeping an eye on pyral and the forest not feeling very safe anymore even though he was a large beast, there could be something larger than him in these woods.

 

[Z'Greel]

"My hands haven't fallen off yet!" Edward joked in return, as he pulled himself onto the ledge next to Dead. Dead seemed to hear something Edward didn't, making him stop in his tracks, allowing him the chance to get the lead again. Yet he didn't get further than one more ledge before he heard what his companion had.

"...What's that sound? It almost sounds like the worm-year, 509... Only bigger..."

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

"We better hurry" he started climbing up frantically, scaling the wall faster and catching up with Edward. Just a little more, they were so close to the top. Just as Dead was about to reach for another rock, something shot out of a deep crevice that was in front of his face, Dead pulled back, which caused him to fall. He grabbed a rock with his free hand and hung on the wall as the pale gray creature gyrated above him. He found a foothold on the rocks and lunged up in the air to attack, his sword swinging into the worm's body. The sword slashed it's side, but barely made a dent since the slime repelled the blade. The worm's opened it's maw, slime oozed from it as it quivered.

Dead held his muck-covered sword tightly, and with the worm's attack on him, he pierced it's open mouth, stabbing into the top of it. The worm shuddered as he removed the blade. He avoided the droplets of mucus that came from the worms being. He climbed higher, moving around the creature until he reached the next ledge. He took a fighting stance but the creature abandoned fighting him when it noticed Edward, and it began to slither down the rocks. "Watch out!" he cried down below, maybe he should climb down and fight with him, but just as he contemplated that decision, another worm jet out of the rocks a few feet beside him upon detecting the commotion outside it's burrow. Dead groaned, gripping his sword with two hands. His bones rattled slightly as he awaited to battle the beast.

 

[Glazer]

Collem noticed his companion release the tension on her bow string some. When she spoke, she sounded less nervous too. Made the man feel pretty good, and a little less fearful himself. They continued on in the dark, misty forest. Silence mostly, lest they provoke one of the forest's denizens, and Collem couldn't rightly speak for Violet but he wasn't much for words these days anyway.

The two continued on for awhile in silence before Collem spoke again.

"Must've been walking for hours now. I reckon we'll go on a bit further before we rest a spel-" he started. The man had turned to speak to Violet as they trudged through the forest, and he hadn't noticed the ground dip before him. He stumbled over and rolled down a hill, momentum sliding his body some extra feet as the ground leveled out. He lay still for a few moments, shocked and the least bit injured, before struggling to his feet with a groan. Violet had just reached the bottom of the hill, much more graceful.

"Bleh, I'm alright, I'm okay," even as he said so he was patting his body all over, checking to make sure he hadn't been stabbed through by a branch and that all his limbs were accounted for. "Blessed I didn't collide with a tree or nothing, really," he sputtered, a weak smile spreading on his face.

The growling behind him erased that smile.

He turned around. The mist made seeing difficult, but Collem could see well enough to recognize the chimera. The snarling lion's head, growing gradually closer as the beast lumbered towards them, came first. Then the goat's head, growing out of the lion's back and bleating. Collem heard a hissing noise, the lion's tail a snake about as thick as Collem's arm. Not good.

"P-Prepare yourself, Violet," Collem wasn't able to keep the fear out of his voice this time as he drew his sword and stepped carefully off to the side. He enticed the creature to follow him, away from Violet, to give the archer a clean shot.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet's bow was up the instant the growl sounded. "Watch it Collem." She said quietly, her voice shaking as she took a step away. She waited until it seemed to turn it's head and she shot, but it skimmed his back. What?! She couldn't believe she'd missed. She pulled another arrow, this one piercing the Chimera's side. She felt fear rise up and she swallowed, trying to calm herself. It's only one animal..not that bad..calm down. She told herself.

 

[Glazer]

The creature growled as the arrow pierced its side. It turned to face its attacker and pounced, missing its prey by a margin. Collem used this as an opportunity to close in on the monster from behind. He charged, the chimera's snake of a tail darting out at him. He stepped out of the way, swiped at the snake with his blade, but it dodged in turn. In an instant Collem felt a burning sensation on his shoulder. The snake had darted rapidly, biting down. Its razor sharp fangs had pierced the breastplate where it covered the shoulder and dug into his flesh. He cried out, as much as from surprise as pain, grabbed the snake with both hands, and squeezed. And squeezed, with all of his effort! The snake hissed, broke free from his grasp, but dazed! It hissed again, and Collem answered it with a roar as he swung his blade with all of his strength. The blade dug into the tail and through, separating the snake from the rest of the beast.

The lion's roar, again. Collem had gotten the beasts attention back.

It darted around, and Collem barely had time to react before it pounced. He was on the ground, beast over him. It was trying to close its jaws around him. Collem stabbed at the beast, piercing its belly, but not deep enough. He was beginning to lose feeling in the arm adjacent to where the snake had bit him, and he dropped his blade in spite of himself. He scrambled up, between the back legs of the monster, and scurried away.

"Violet, finish it!" he croaked, collapsing by a rock and clutching his bitten arm, burning now. The beast roared and lumbered towards him.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet struggled to get a shot in during the struggle, but she knew she might hit Collem, and she wasn't taking that chance. As soon as he got loose, she spoke. "Aye! Over here!" She waved an arrow, loading it into the bow and taking a step back as it turned slightly. She shot the arrow, piercing straight through the goat head. The lion roared, stepping forwards and charging. Violet stumbled back as she shot a second arrow, grazing the side of it's head. She ducked as it leapt, turning and shooting another arrow. It went straight between the lion's eyes. Not watching to see if it fell, Violet turned to Collem, jumping up and grabbing his sword, kneeling beside him. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked worriedly, watching his shoulder. "How bad is it?" She asked. This is not good...this is not gooood...We need to wrap it..or find an antivenom..both. How are we going to get out?.. She took a deep breath. Calm down. Help him, then worry about getting out of this forest as quickly and safely as possible..yeah. She set the sword beside him.

 

[Z'Greel]

Edward felt the closest he had felt to fear in a long time. Not fear itself, but simply being startled, as the worm and Dead came down towards him. Luckily, dead managed to not fall. Sadly, the worm didn't seem satisfied with it's target, as it was attempting to attack him now!

Edward placed his feet firmly on a very small ledge, using one hand to hold firmly onto the rocks, clutching his sword in the other. As the worm came down towards him, he attempted to stab the beast, yet the slithering worm was not that easy to hit! It managed to wriggle away from his blade, and attempted to twist itself around his arm, yet he did not allow it. Using his blade to keep himself against the wall, he swung around, grabbing onto another rock with his hand, before pulling the blade free, readying for another strike at the worm!

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Pyral glided through the misty air leisurely, not wanting to collide with any trees or vegetation that wouldn't be clear until up close. He flew in front of Skoll, shrieking information back at the rugged wolf. "I think I see a clearing up ahead." He said, flapping slightly faster. It turned out to not be much of a clearing, as it was merely a small circular area devoid of trees, and in it's place was tall brush and grasses; the trees rimmed the small area. It certainly wasn't enough to be called a clearing. Pyral sighed "It's not much of a discovery, really" he said disappointingly, though after hours of dodging trees it seemed a relief to find something different, and different was better than nothing. He doubted it made them much closer to finding their wayward allies, though.

He alighted on a branch. Looking down at Skoll and around the forest, seeing nothing but mist and the sketchy dark foliage of trees. "I honestly don't know where to start Skoll, I don't know how we could possibly find them" he shook his head. He looked up at the sky, A birds eye view wouldn't make much of a difference with all the mist shrouding the forest. He never felt so vulnerable.

It was when the branch started to creak that he was about to feel even more vulnerable.

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The worm creeped it's way towards the skeleton, it's lithe body squirmed precisely on the rocky crags without fail. Dead made a quick decision, he scaled the rocks rapidly just as the worm closed the gap between them , gripping his sword tight and the rocks even tighter. He had to be swift, a moment slower and the worm would catch him. He looked down, the worm directly below him and about to follow him upward. With nonexistent lungs he took a deep breath, and released his grip on the rocks, jumping down onto the worms back. His sword was gripped in two hands and plunged into the worm's soft pink flesh, the worm made a gurgling noise at the impact.

Dead wasted no time to stab the worm several more times, his sword growing slimier and making it harder to make breaks into the skin. The worm tried to whirl around and face it's gaping maw at Dead, Dead managed to dodge the worm, kicking his boots into his side. The worm, weakened but not dead from the stabbing, lost his place on the rocks and fell. Dead watched as the worm collapsed on top of the other worm.

The mist was too thick for him to make out what was happening down there.

 

[Glazer]

Collem watched the chimera fall, the goat head bleating for the last time, brainlessly, a bloodcurdling racket, before falling silent. The beast was still, thanks be for that. Violet was by his side.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Worry in her voice. Collem might've been a tad touched, had his arm not felt like it was on fire.

"How bad is it?"

Collem winced from the pain, but kept his voice level when he replied, "Couldn't say. Bite managed to get through my armor, but at least the steel kept it from ripping my arm clean off. You know a thing about antivenom? Might be I'll just need time to get through this." He scowled as the burning sensation intensified for a moment, "At any rate, I don't think I can go any further in the moment without your help. Suppose this is good a spot as any to make camp for a night? Or, uh, I don't know. Maybe we best keep moving, get out of this forest quick as possible. Whaddya think?"

That was a close shave with death he wasn't completely sure he'd avoided yet. That, coupled, with the pain, made him a touch less confident in his own choices. He grabbed his blade with his good arm, the sharp steel a comfort to have in his hands while he waited for Violet to respond.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet watched his movement carefully. "I think we should camp for the night..you can't go on like that." She said quietly, looking around a moment before standing up. "Wait here. I'll be right back." She pulled her bow back and walked around the rock, looking for some sort of shelter. Aha.. She lowered her bow as she came up to a rock. She leaned against it, pushing against the wall to budge it slightly, large enough for her to look in. She nodded to herself, moving back over to Collem's side. "Hey..I think the Chimera's den is around the rock..we could camp there?" Her statement sounded more like a question. She didn't look at Collem, but was watching around them, trying to see through the dense fog. Her shaking nerves weren't helping as sounds echoed around.

 

[Akuma]

He stopped and looked around ounce more and lurched back letting a loud howl escape his jaws once more, This was the only way he thought they might find them. He stopped standing underneath pyral looking around still trying to clear his nose of the smoke which burned its way into his senses " The best we can do..is keep moving....stopping in this forest might be the worst idea we could possibly come up with " He said as he stood up straight stretching his lycan body and then resettling. Ruffling his shoulders and then snapping his head around when he heard a creak coming from somewhere, He turned around slowly inspecting the forest.