"...And, I hope you accept my most sincere apologies for how we treated you back in Renalta, at the ball. The way we reacted to you trying to help. When this is all over, hopefully, you can teach my chefs how to bake some of those wonderful sweets you're so famous for in this country." -Alida Spiegal, Page 1.
Imperium - Anima Aeternum
Wrinkling her nose with disgust at the smell that immediately greeted her, Nyla pulls back and allows the disgusting creature and its crumbled skull to slip down off the wall with a light thud. The thud however was easily drowned out by the sound of Murderok's oversized crossbow, the mechanism holding back hundreds of pounds of force ceased its function as the minotaur pulled the trigger, causing the bolt to sail through the air. In less than a second, an unholy howl of pain could be heard, followed by the sound of metal dragging against the floor. Moving ahead of the minotaur and raising her shield, Nyla manages to intercept the long chain just in time only to watch it break her damaged shield in two and wrap around her arm. With a single pull, the unsettling sound of bones moving out of place graced Murderok's ears as Nyla gritted her teeth: Her humerus had been dislocated from her shoulder. Nyla manages to remain standing, though her feet slid against the ground as she tried unsuccessfully to untangle the chain from her arm.
Struggling to keep his pilum embedded into the ground against the force of the chain, Florence felt the pilum finally buckle despite his every attempt to compensate for the force against the shaft of the weapon. Watching the chain suddenly pull back, his eyes widen and look to see that Gremlock had managed to unhook himself from the chains mere moments before he would have been pulled to a quick and terrible death. Exhaling slowly, his eyes momentarily move to Gryff, who was resetting his limb near the corpse of Trom.
"Pity." He mutters as he turns to the sound of several chains moving at once.
Thankfully the poisonous gas was dissipating as it spread further and the chemicals themselves wore off, revealing through the thin layer of gas that Murderok's bolt had cleanly pierced the left side of Arachne, green-black blood seeped from the open wound as the creature slowly moved away from the wall, dragging the seven smaller chains around her waist and moving towards Murderok and Nyla. The young girl's face goes pale as she starts panicking and looks back at Murderok: He'd risk his life saving her now, but good word could go out about him later if he at least
tried to save her...
"You will be the first morsel I will have had in ages little one."
Whilst all of this was going on, Aslo manages to successfully reset Gremlock's dislocated limbs. Both Gremlock and Gryff would still be slowed and in pain, though they could hobble and still fight effectively, despite both being aware that dodging incoming attacks would be highly unlikely at this point.
Whilst Arachne's attention was on Nyla and Murderok, her right side was present with only three short chains attempting to defend her. Mysteriously, her three remaining Skuva were nowhere to be found...
Rheinfeld - Scheideweg
With a moment's hesitation and glancing back to Kasim, Moira turns away and leads Laenaia at a breakneck pace away from the barn and the camp. Seeing as how the barn was atop a steep hill, it overlooked a small road on the side opposite that of the camp. On said road was a pair of travelers, who were staring up into the clouds. One was a rather short woman with wild blonde hair, green eyes, and white skin tanned from what was likely a very active lifestyle under the sun. With her was a drow, a male drow. Both of them were wearing strange straw hats, and a messy variety of clothes: Simple cloth, though with white and red colour schemes. The woman looked down from the clouds at the approaching Moira and Laenaia and waved with a friendly smile.
"You all seem to have a problem! What a shame, really!" Moira's eyes narrow into a glare.
"Witch." The drow's hand moves to the handle of his curved blade only for the strange woman to grasp his hand and smile. Laenaia was able to discern that the woman was indeed a magician, though her magic seemed wilder, not like the disciplined kinds of magic one would expect from the Mage's Guild.
The woman gives a small curtsy, crossing her legs and bowing her head despite not wearing a dress.
"Greetings fair lady, I am Kiune, and this is my friend, Scar." The drow waves, though maintains a stoic expression despite Kiune elbowing him.
"Anyway, I am a witch, it is true! So, before your Templar friend there can cut off my head and stick it on a pike, I think I am going to leave." Moira hesitates and looks at Laenaia. It seemed that Moira was inexperienced in these matters, and was attempting to defer the decisions to those she was likely told to trust.
Draza's attempts to inspire the soldier were going well as he nodded and smiled, kneeling down and bringing his crossbow to bear. Taking aim, he once again compensates for the wind and fires, though this time the bolt only manages to strike the angel in his leg. Still, it seemed to be enough to cause the angel to flinch, his spell seemed to dissipate somewhat as the clouds in the sky grew a little lighter. He glares at the Rheinfelder, who was desperately attempting to load another bolt.
"YOU--" Kasim's arrow sings through the air and plants itself firmly through the angel's wind pipe. The angel flutters his wings momentarily before falling straight to the ground, dead before he could even get a retorting quip in for Kasim.
The Republican stares at the corpse of the fallen angel and closes his eyes, quietly muttering a prayer. He then stands up and finishes reloading his crossbow, looking back at Draza with a grin.
"You're just as lucky a charm as stories say, mi'lady! What should we do next?" He inquires curiously as he looks into the barn, seeing Eustice attempting to escape by dragging himself away. There was no further resistance he could put up and his attempt was a feeble one.
"Should I execute him?"
Zin arrives at the medical area without any particular incident. There were several tents for the wounded and sick to rest, and it seemed that casualties were not coming in yet. Before Zin could dismount her horse however, she saw a pair of leather-clad mercenaries stumble into the area, panting. They were likely running from something, however they had managed to escape from whatever it was that was chasing them. Glancing over to the horse, one of them grins.
"Eh', ain't that the commander?" One of them mused. His accent gave away his homeland immediately: Free Holder.
"Definitely." The other had a Liverian accent.
"Well, lets stick that fucker then." The Liverian nods in agreement and the pair start to approach, only for a fourteen year old squire to burst from one of the tents swinging a one handed war hammer. It was a little large for him, as he had to hold it with two hands, though he easily smashes the Liverian's knee in with one swing, causing him to fall over screaming a string of curses. The Free Holder unsheathes two daggers and immediately impales one in the boy's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Fucking bastard!" The Free Holder hollers as he kicks the boy down puts a foot on his chest, he was going to finish the squire off.
Zin could use the distraction the Squire made to escape, or attempt to save the Squire. Either way, Davian was attempting to sit up, reaching for his weapon that he had dropped back at the barn as he looks at the squire with sympathy.
Liveria - Heaven's Haven
The orc archer follows up behind the group, his ribs were still damaged though he was too prideful to ask for help, even as his upper lip occasionally twitched in pain. Within the forest, they could no longer see the figure in the distance. Despite her every attempt, Andrea was unable to feel the presence of the orc shaman, as he wasn't using any magic, and the presence of Gabriel near her was blinding her natural sensory perception to magic. The forest itself was thick with underbrush, having not been traveled much by anyone in what looked to be decades, possible centuries. Gabriel looks back at the Orc Archer curiously.
"If my people live here, why does this place look abandoned?" The orc archer shrugs.
"No ask, no tell. Sometime see, in air." He points at the skies.
"Searching. Never finding." Gabriel raises an eyebrow.
"What were they searching for?" The orc shrugs once again, unable to find an answer as his eyes then casually stare at Andrea's
backside. Gabriel shakes his head and looks through the forest.
Ceann & Elrbetrt would notice something odd about the forest, there was a complete lack of any sound of animals or insects: No crickets, no birds, no squirrels or mice. They managed to travel for several minutes without encountering the demon, though there was no sign that they had made significant progress as the thickness of the canopy prevented them from seeing the mountain or the other road. It was then that they found the body of an angel laying against a large tree trunk, her chest cavity had been punctured with a large spine of some sort, twisted and partially made of a metallic compound that nobody could recognize. Whatever it was, it was capable of piercing the plate mail that the angel had been wearing. Kneeling down beside her, Gabriel bows his head with sorrow.
"Natalia, I'm sorry I could not get here in time. May Merlin somehow find a way to lead you home." The orc looks at her body and snorts.
"Not long dead. Not a stiffy." He sniffs the air and growls.
"Grrrll... Not alone..." A wounded wolf moves out of the underbrush. It had been laying there, it seemed, hiding from something, though it whimpered as it looked at Natalia's corpse. The orc cracks his knuckles.
"Take no chances?" He inquires for once as Gabriel looks back and shakes his head.
"No. We don't know that the wolf is a threat. He's just another innocent who managed to survive."
It was at that point that Andrea quietly became aware of the presence of a nearby spider, likely one that had wandered out of the Underdark. It, too, had seemed to survive the rampage of whatever had made the forest silent, somewhere in the canopy nearby. It seemed that Llolth was smiling upon her to send such a gift... Or, was it someone else who had sent the gift?
Meanwhile...
On the western road, as the group started moving out, Princess Helénē looks at Elrithos and sighs. Whilst it took her a few minutes, she finally, silently took the herbs from the Orc Shaman. The Shaman chuckles as he makes a single brief motion with the medicine, moving his hand down her arm. With a couple of unsetling cracks and a single yelp of pain from Helénē, the arm is healed. With that done, she takes a few steps away and gingerly rubs her once badly broken arm, keeping her eyes toward the ground. Molkar shakes his head and glances at the dusty path around them.
As they traveled, it became quickly apparent that whatever creature had howled at them had gone on a rampage here: The strewn corpses of several animals coated the road and nearby forest, causing Helénē to gag with disgust while Molkar grinned.
"The scent from the rot these creatures have is masking our approach." Indeed, within a few more minutes of hasty travel, they had arrived at the cliff face of the mountain the angels lived in. About a few hundred feet up, the edge of the cavern which the angels called home was visible, as was a rolled up rope ladder. The shaman narrows his eyes as he glares at the edge of the cavern.
"I can lift only one person all that distance." The cliff face looked like it could be scaled up, though the only one with the endurance to do was Elrithos. It seemed only two could go up, while two would have to stay behind until the ladder could be dropped. Either prospect was rather unsafe.
Free Holds - Devil's Children
As Child told Fahim to get to the succubi, he looked at Child oddly. Perhaps it was her lack of social graces, but there was no way he was going to slip back there unnoticed now, not after he killed someone. There'd be at least a few suspicious eyes watching him, though it didn't prevent him from looking with desperation at the door to the back area. He looks at Ouchi Maru and motions for him to follow Child, to which Ouchi Maru nods in agreement. Fahim then starts moving through the crowd, Eüchia who was still trapped in her cage with two guards on each side. They'd likely kill her and run if given the chance.
It was at this point that Aëyr threw her knife. As the crowd gasped, Mikan tightened her grip around Deimos and kissed him, bending one of her knees so her leg would kick back. The knife pierces his flesh, straight through the chest, between the third and fourth rib, into his heart. Deimos exhales, then smiles a little as Mikan pushes him backward lightly. As he hits the ground, the throwing knife digs even further into his flesh, completely eviscerating his heart and ending his life seconds later. Guards leap to attack both Aëyr and Mikan, though they are immediately intercepted by Renaltan soldiers in disguise as the Renaltan nobles come out of hiding from the crowd and order their men into action. Fahim was rather amazed: For a people so focused on tolerance and acceptance, they were well versed in the art of betrayal.
Still. There was work to be done.
Fahim snaps the neck of the closest cage guard before he can even react, though the other unsheathed his blade. Before he could stab the now screaming Eüchia, Fahim shapeshifts his arm out into a long, greyish goo that extended thinly from himself and wrapped itself around the guard's neck. Fahim was trying to buy time for Aëyr as he yells out towards her, his voice sounding both strained and almost mechanical in nature.
"KILL THIS FLESH DEAD." It seemed being partially in his base form was affecting his ability to process human speech. Ouchi Maru starts laughing as the entire ball room descends into anarchy, grabbing a pair of nearby guards and smashing their heads together.
"CHILD! LEAD ME TO GLORY!" As he says this, the light operator, Barthelo, leaps off the edge of the light operator's area and lands a few feet from Mars.
"You upheld your end of the bargain! So new plan!" He throws one of his many knives, killing a guard a couple feet from Mars.
"I'll help y'all with your plan, you take me with you wherever the fuck y'all are goin'!" He gets pinned by a guard from behind, struggling to get free. It seemed Mars could free him, or could leave him to die. It was up to him.
Three guards grow closer to Mikan who was still in a small clearing by the throne, unchallenged by the Renaltans who had their hands full as Mikan rolls the corpse of Deimos over and retrieves the throwing knife. None of the guards near her had shields, causing her to smirk.
"Lil' lady, if you stand down, I promise, you won't be killed..." One of the guards states with a slight quiver of fear or excitement in his voice.
"Uh huh... I know what you want and I'm not that easy." Mikan replies as she twirls the throwing knife around her hand, pointing the tip down towards the floor.
"Lets dance." She says with a giggle.
Meanwhile...
Abida's headbutt worked to set the succubi off balance, though only momentarily. Between already being partially affected by the succubi's alluring nature, and the sheer strength of the succubi, she only stumbled back a couple feet, and with a howl of unholy rage loud enough to be heard through into the ballroom, she summons a whip into her hand. Before Abida can even hope to open the door to the room and run or counter attack, the whip wraps itself around her throat and she is pulled in against the now very sharp tail of the succubi. It easily pierces through her chest and snaps multiple ribs on its progression through one of her lungs and out her back, damaging her spine in the process. The last possible thought that may have been on Abida's mind is how much of a mistake it was to go alone, against a creature potent enough to seduce and control the ruler of an empire built on the strongest taking the throne...
Amazons - The Greatest Hunt
Everyone moves forward towards the edge of the jungle clearing, silence was their watch word. Discretion was key to this assault, and luckily for Alicia, the canopy was low enough at this point that jumping down to attack wouldn't hurt her thanks to her vampirism and dexterous nature. Beneath Maeven and Alicia was the rest of the group, save for the two undead skeletons and undead jaguar which were sent to create the distraction as mentioned prior in their plans. Princess Ethlinn keeps everyone low in the underbrush, then looks back to them all and takes a deep breath.
"May we see each other at the mouth of the Great River should we fail to come home." Unamo nods in agreement as Tasha's grip tightens on her spear.
Moments later, the trap is sprung, and the trio of undead burst out from the jungle. Within seconds the enemy reacted, and Ethlinn, Tasha, and Unamo leap out of the foliage to attack. The targets closest to the group were the four jaguars and the Agent of Greed, whilst the Succubi, Elite Hounds, and Doom Guard went after the undead. The undead wouldn't last long, and so it was imperative that the group took advantage while they could. At the very least, the abomination was either unaware or incapable of movement just yet, as its breathing slowly began to increase in pace.
"FOR RASHAN!" Tasha yells out, as Rashan was visible gagged and tied up behind the jaguars. Her throat was still open, but the blood remained pumping beneath her pale skin. It seemed the Amazonian ability to avoid death by blood loss was no myth.
Unamo begins preparing a spell as she pulls out a crystal, glancing up at Maeven and nodding. She was preparing...
Naream stayed back, depending on his minions to do his dirty work.
The enemy, caught unaware, made no first move against the party.
