"Please, for the love of everthing sane, don't have her make a move now." -Child, Page 2.
Imperium - Anima Aeternum
As Murderok mourned for his compatriot, Florence walked over to the corpse of Trom. Kneeling beside him, Florence bows his head respectfully and closes Trom's eyes, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small Imperial coin. Placing it between Trom's lips, he murmurs quietly.
"While I no longer believe, I know you did fervently. May this aid you on your path to Elysium." He then retrieves Trom's torch from his waist, returning to the entrance of the corridor behind the creature's corpse. Glancing down it, he frowns as he narrows his eyes. There were lights at the end of the corridor, perhaps more torches that were to burn for eternity, yet they were lit.
Nyla raises an eyebrow at Murderok's flirtation, then shakes her head, though her soft smile was still plain to be seen.
"I never took you for the awkward type... You'll have to excuse me if I'm not particularly eager for such things." She then looks amongst the remainder of the group: Only Aslo seemed to be in peak condition to fight. Maybe Florence too, but it was hard to read a man who had been at war for ten thousand years. Florence lights his torch and holds it in his left hand, keeping his gladius in his right hand. Seeing as how everyone was ready but nobody was leading, he chose to go first, moving down the corridor with Nyla taking up the rear guard, though her left arm was still in no combat condition, leaving her with only one good arm.
As Florence reaches the end of the corridor, he narrows his eyes at the sight of two dead Imperial soldiers, standing and staring at them. Each had a pair of glowing white balls of energy that mimicked eyes within their eye sockets. Staring at the group, they seemed to wait for something. Florence quickly realized that it was the main treasury, and at the center of the room, on a dusty, cobwebbed pedestal, was a small, purple gem: The Eternal Soul Gem! It glowed with power, it was the vessel of countless souls, trapped underneath its swirling interior. One could almost swear to see the occasional flicker, as though it was calling for them to retrieve it. Florence takes a few steps towards, only to stop as the skeletons speak with a ghastly tone.
"Stop... We have proposition, for the Song calls to Us." Florence looks at them and glares.
"You tried to have us killed, we heard your voices earlier. Explain yourselves quickly, you wouldn't be a match for us in combat." Nyla nods in confirmation of what Florence said.
The skeletons glance at the group once more, with particular interest in Murderok. It seemed they'd likely have a lot to say.
"We belong to the Choir. We slipped in here. In this prison, made of stone, empty thoughts... The Choir was inquisitive, curious, unknowing. We came. Found dead, long dead." They point to an old blood stain on the floor. While it was old, it was likely nowhere near as old as the location itself. They then point to the back wall of the treasury, where a couple pieces of stone and wood had been moved to stop a leak of some sort.
"We are Collectors for the Song, We heard whispers, lost, many thousands." Pointing at the Eternal Soul Gem, one of them glares at Florence.
"Instead, trapped, for a long age..." They then point at the group.
"We did not trust the Deaf Ones to understand, the madness. We expected greed, it came for the gem, the loudness, the screaming, the terror. We could not comprehend what madness the Deaf ones would have for desire of it. We needed bodies to escape. Then we heard, the fire, the purging flames. Fire, explosive, freedom."
Nyla blinks in confusion. Rubbing her left forearm, she takes a deep breath and speaks, though she quite happily maintained the several dozen feet of distance between herself and the undead.
"You needed... Bodies? Our bodies? To go where? What do you mean by 'escape', did you... Come with... The blood?" The skeletons nodded in unison, then spoke together.
"We and a dozen others are trapped here. If We had your bodies, We could have possessed them, used them, with the empty ones, to escape... We could have possessed Arachne to attack directly, more efficiently. We did not. We saw, mourning, sorrow." They look at Murderok and and tilt their heads, seemingly out of curiosity, or perhaps out of understanding.
"We know much of sorrow. We wish to go back to the Choir. We miss the Song. The Voices. We are alone. We did not understand, you are more than looters, more than vultures, more than greed." Nyla's eyes open widely.
"So this... Was all a misunderstanding? My brother's death, Gryff's death... Was all a damned misunderstanding?!" The two nod in unison once more.
"Yes. We make offer, now. We hear, trembling, anticipation, Our kind will move soon. We must tell them. We must warn them. You are not like the kind that came before. We must stop the misunderstanding before you lose more voices. Deaf as you are, you deserve chance, to prove that you are more than greed and Deaf. If you... Set explosives, to wall, to blow open... Flood chamber... We would be free."
At that very mention of explosives, Florence immediately strides over to the Eternal Soul Gem and pockets it. The skeletons don't seem to mind at this point, perhaps not even registering that he had taken it.
"Flood this chamber? There could be countless other relics scattered throughout the rest of this place. The Imperium does not support this action. It is not within our best interests." Nyla however seemed hesitant to agree with Florence, instead looking to the Queen's Blades as the skeletons speak up once more, a hint of panic in their voices.
"Please. Must stop misunderstanding. Must stop unneeded risk to Choir. Must stop unneeded deaths of the Deaf. Please. Could... Set fuse? Timer? Retrieve your dead, leave safely. Please. Free Us, We meant no harm to you, when discovered that you were not of greed. We could use your bodies instead, but, We respect you, did not understand you, all is wrong, can be made better, without more bloodshed." Florence glances to the Queen's Blades, as do the skeletons. It seemed it was on them to decide what was to be done: Free the spirits, or destroy their weak bodies and loot the ancient Imperial treasury.
Rheinfeld - Scheideweg
As Draza enters the medical tent, she would find that while Davian was injured, he was stabilized. The priest, using alchemy and some herbs, had already stopped the bleeding, and was now sewing the wound closed while the templar laid on his stomach. Wincing, he turns his head and spots Draza, shaking his head.
"You Queen's Blades seem keenly interested in ensuring the health and well being of foreigners. I don't know whether to applaud that or laugh bitterly, Draza--Ow!" He looks back over her shoulder at the priest, who merely shrugged as he scratched his chin. He then glances at Draza, confused. Looking to Davian, the templar gives a half hearted sigh.
"She can stay. For whatever reason she has must be important international business I assume." The priest nods, then gets back to work sewing up his wound.
"Speak quickly, little faery." Whether he intentionally got her race wrong or it was simply out of a callous disregard, one couldn't really tell. Perhaps he was simply too dizzy to tell the difference as he laid his head down and shut his eyes tightly out of discomfort.
Laenaia attempts to use her magic at a long distance on multiple targets to change Moira's physical appearance to look larger via affecting their mind. Needless to say, while it attracted the attention of one of them when Moira charged, both of them seemed to be able to see through the illusion well enough and disbelieved it. Perhaps a more practical effect than a twenty foot tall templar--who is immune to magical effects--might have been more believable... That being said, Moira's charge was still helpful as one of the assassins was forced to jump back from both Taigyn and Moira, who were now standing side by side.
Kasim's attempted sneak attack didn't quite work according to plan. In fact, one could muse that his arrogance was about to spell his downfall as the assassin he charged stepped aside and tripped Kasim, swinging a dagger downward and slicing cleanly through Kasim's left thigh, leaving him unable to stand. Yet, as the assassin stood over Kasim to finish him off, he hesitated: Kasim's
subliminal messages made him pause. Kasim could also vaguely tell that the assassin was a telepath, and this perhaps made him more vulnerable to the ability. Stumbling backward, he and the other assassin wordlessly withdraw together, bounding at a quick pace away as Taigyn stops Moira from giving pursuit, pointing out Kasim.
Moira moves quickly to Kasim's side, dropping to her knees and looking at his injury. If it wasn't treated within the hour he would bleed to death, though luckily, with the combat having died down, it seemed very likely he would get the medical attention he needs. Helping him back onto his feet, Moira turns to face Taigyn.
"Good work. You came just in time." He looks between Kasim and Laenaia.
"I don't think that's the last I will see of them, but at least I know they're afraid of fighting when the tables are turned on them." He sheathes his weapons and looks around, seeing the dying and the dead he grimaces.
"We should attend to the needs of our men now... Though I think this might unite us together closer than we could have hoped before. How ironic and short sighted of the Papacy, surely he would have known this would not stop us... This is a confusing turn of events."
After all of this, Zin finally arrived to the scene to find that she was too late to do anything. Alas, even a hero can be late.
Liveria - Heaven's Haven
As Elrithos climbs up the side of the cliff, behind the demon he would spot the field weakening: It seemed that if the demon stepped too far from it, the angels might have been able to break free. Still, it was too late to consider retreat an option as his hands easily grasped the handle of the two handed blade. By this point however the elf would would hear a spine tingling
crack along with a vile scream of pain: The incubus had ripped the imp off his throat and thrown it against the ground with sufficient force that not only did a couple of his bones break on impact, but he bounced off the cliff and started falling to his certain death.
It bought Elrithos enough time to strike. With a single thrust, the demonically summoned blade pierced the flesh of the creature. The incubus stops moving, his arms hanging loosely from each side of his body as he looks up and grins viciously.
"Your people burn to ashes now... My death is small... In comparison..." He pushes himself forward onto the blade, up to its handle. The blade fades to ashes, and so does his body: Being swept away into the wind.
Molkar looks up, seeing the imp falling he was about to ignore it in favour of lifting Rayvon only to twitch. He looks back up, and sees both the imp and Princess Helénē falling: She had managed to disconnected herself, though it was already apparent that she had taken severe injuries. While the imp fell to his screaming, panicking death, Princess Helénē was gently lowered to the ground by Molkar. Looking at Rayvon, the shaman had an amused if grim expression. "I assume the princess' life was more important than your presence to save that elf, whatever stupid thing he is doing now." Looking down at Helénē, the amusement quickly faded as it was clear that she had broken ribs, almost as though a giant had squeezed the life out of her. Still, she was conscious, and though her breathing was shallow, she had a smile on her face. "I did something... I'll be fine... The angels trapped inside will be free now." Molkar shakes his head. "Naive kindness." A little blood starts trickling from Helénē's nose as Molkar starts pulling out herbs to work on healing her. "It was the right thing to do. That's what Liverians and Renaltans agree on."
During this, up above, Elrithos would watch as the field collapsed and the Mechanist devices shorted out. Stepping out from the now open field, a couple of exhausted looking angels stare at Elrithos appreciatively. Still, it seemed deeper inside was an intricate network of tunnels and caverns, and there could be as many as a couple hundred inside. Past them, a half a dozen angels dart past Elrithos and take flight: Two straight down to attend to the injured princess who they had likely seen fall off the cliff, and four in search of something else entirely...
Meanwhile...
The demonic creature prepares to attack as it attempts to decide on a target between Gabriel or the blind knight. It finally makes its decision, moving towards the blind knight as Gabriel growls angrily, but knows he can't charge it. It swings one of its tentacles as Andrea prepares a magic-infusion into Ceann's arrow, and with a single swing it sends the blind knight sailing several feet through the air, backwards into the forest. As it turns to attack Gabriel, the lightning arrow is unleashed by Ceann and strikes. Though the creature moved a plate of armour in time to stop it from piercing an eye, the electricity still transferred through and caused it to twitch uncontrollable for a few moments before audible hissing in anger. Gabriel steps between the creature and the two Drow, seemingly ready to die for them if it would buy them enough time to muster another attack.
Yet, that turned out to be unnecessary, as a loud horn sounds off in the distance. It had an angelic quality to it, something that comforted them as the creature turned and immediately began to flee deeper into the forest, tearing down any trees or underbrush in its way. Slowly lowering his blade, Gabriel sighs with relief. "I was about to tell you all to retreat. That sacrifice now seems, thankfully, unnecessary." Off several feet in the forest, Elrbetrt would find that she was relatively unscathed save for a large bruise on her back where she struck a tree. Still, it seemed clear where to go to meet the angels: The other group must have succeeded after all. Good news, no?
Free Holds - Devil's Children
Aëyr's request to Fahim for help in protection seemed to garner a look of confusion from him as he grabbed her arm and bolted forward towards the defensible position. It would, indeed, not last long as one of the crossbowmen falls after taking two of the Free Holders down. As Child drags Osonia back, Fahim manages to reach the defensible position and starts falling back. One of the Renaltan swordsmen takes a crossbow bolt to the leg, and the two remaining crossbowmen start dragging him back as the other swordsman covers them as rear guard with his shield.
Osonia rips her arm away from Child, turning and bumping into Fahim and Aëyr. Grasping her staff tightly with both hands, she the base of it down onto the floor and reaches out with a single hand. The moment the last swordsman got away from the four-way intersection, she brings the roof down and cuts off the Free Holders. Glancing back to Child, she scowls.
"Renaltans do not leave their own behind unless absolutely necessary!" At this point, she turns and heads back to the main chamber with her men, Fahim trailing behind to ensure that Aëyr was indeed alright, having been confused by the situation apparently.
Back in the main chamber, Mikan nods and smiles as she looks at Mars.
"Don't mention it. I still have to tell you about Thailen, the hero of Arian Village, after all." Quietly she climbs to her feet as she sees the others come into view. There, they could see a small group of Renaltan soldiers having closed and locked the main gate as others outside were sending a battering ram at it. A Renaltan soldier runs over to the Queen's Blades and does a quite salute before pointing at where the throne had been: A secret passage was behind the throne! Likely for a quick escape in case of emergencies. Almost ironic that Deimos' corpse was laying only a few feet from it. Fahim nods appreciatively at the Renaltan soldier.
"That exit leads out of town. We can destroy the entrance on our way out to prevent them from following. At the exit of the escape tunnel, a few mages from your estimable Mage's Guild are awaiting our arrival to take us back to my master's hold." Mikan cradles her wound, though motions for the Queen's Blades to go first.
"We've done our job here, now we need to get out and get home! My kid'll die to hear another brave escape story." With a giggle, she gingerly starts moving for the escape. Fahim merely shakes his head.
"Strange woman."
Amazons - The Greatest Hunt
As Esyllt summons the wolves to her command she would feel a great deal of weakness overcoming her, perhaps because she was using an artifact she hadn't had any real personal experience with, or maybe it was from summoning a drop-golem from earlier, or perhaps it's because she was wearing heavy armour and a sword and shield atop being a magician. Perhaps it was a mix of all of these things, however it was quite clear to her that using any magic beyond this point would likely result in being detrimental to her health: She had hit her limit, and there was no certainty that the wolves could remain up-kept for long like this.
Yet the wolves bounded after their target anyway, and were stopped in their tracks by the two undead skeletons the Agent of Greed left in his wake. The two wolves bound in and pounce, one destroying itself as it hit its target and the other managing to pin and overwhelm its target. By the time it finished, however, it had already lost the trail on the Agent of Greed, and merely looked back at its owner with confusion before falling to pieces: It could no longer remain in order while Esyllt focused on her golem.
Ethlinn looked back at Esyllt, grabbed her by the collar, and slapped her across the face.
"Now is not the time to despair! I lost my mother to that thing, but I gave the responsibility to someone better suited than I for the task of killing it! If you can't handle death, then go back to whatever village you came from." Ethlinn then turns to ensure the safety of Rashan, who was in stable condition, though still badly injured all things considered.
Maeven's bullet hits the target, but ends up ricocheting off its thick skull instead. Still, she struck above its eye, causing blood to half-blind it as it once again punched Fafnir, this time ripping through a small piece of his outer metallic shell and revealing his far more vulnerable inner gears. One of his back legs jams up, no longer able to move due to connection damage.
The golem charges for the Doom Guard's legs, bowling it over it is then subsequently fallen on by the Doom Guard. Though it surprisingly isn't destroyed by the creature's weight, it is pinned. Fafnir is finally able to lock his jowls around its throat, ripping and tearing as Imperial arrows whiz past him and strike into its neck. Three quick explosions follow, ripping the doom guard's head clean off its neck and sending the smoldering thing rolling past Ethlinn and Esyllt. Fafnir was fine, though his head was somewhat blackened by the explosion. Still, one could see the Father of Dragons likely gnawing on the corpse instinctively, almost like a dog.
There were no more enemies in sight. The fighting was done. Yet, there was no cheering, just silence as Rashan and Ethlinn looked over at Tasha. Rashan, though unable to speak, lowered her head in mourning. The Imperial Scouts continue to follow Egidia, who in turn looked to Alexandria and nodded.
"I believe that concludes this affair..." Her eyes then look to Naream, and Alicia.
"If you need assistance with your dead, you need only let us know."
Unamo, sweating and seemingly dizzy, lifts a small, red crystal from the dirt. Looking at it while breathing heavily, she looks up at Maeven wearily and motions her down.
"It is done. Do not toy lightly with this. If it escapes, it will most certainly destroy you."
