The King of Chaos IC

Great. Jaynia had expected this, only, in her mind, she had thought she could move fast enough when the beast targeted her. Hmph. Cocky indeed. There were too many hands, and now that the spines were in full view, she saw the other doctor had not been wrong.

Jaynia stepped back, wanting the creature to over extend itself, simultaneously bringing one hand to lead the hand away from her heart. The monster was clearly stronger, she was just using its own motion rather. There was no way to clear it from her before the spike crushed through her rib and embedded itself into her chest, but before that, she let loose the the dagger in her free hand, aiming for its remaining eye.

Good thing too, because the force and pain were more than she bargained for. It nearly launched her back, off the injuring spike itself. Jaynia saw black spots in her vision, the pain from the wound radiating to a point where it felt she was not in her body, but rather, a spectator above. That spectator watched her body, adrenaline aided, use the space the creature had created by its hit to jump over the banister and down the space. Something only possible because of the steps the creature's hit had forced her back, otherwise she would have jumped into the middle of her wires.

Simply enough jump, no? Clear of the wires and land cleanly. Only, the injury started up, pulling the spectator back to her body to feel the pain once she landed on her feet. Her landing was bad, she fell backwards, twisting her ankle and rolling down the stairs like a defeated sack of potatoes.

Indignant couldn't even begin to describe it.
 
Rio expected the monster's retaliation to come -- intending to deflect the blow with the haft of her weapon -- yet it never came. The clever placement of Jaynia's wire had the monster recoiling back with its own force. It welcomed a smirk to the doctor's face, despite being in the heat of combat; a smirk which quickly faded away, as the monster's attention was shifted back to Jaynia.

"I can handle myself, thank you." Rio said under her breath as she quickly realized why the monster's target was changed. "Don't be overly cocky with the wires, doc-"

She didn't get to finish that statement as Jaynia was flung down the stairs by her own momentum. Being cut off mid-sentence, Rio tried to get out of the way, only to receive a heel to the nose. Rio cursed at this, admittedly, small annoyance -- vowing that her blunders will get her the same fate as her brother -- before rushing down to her aid.

"Watch for the creature," she said to the other woman as she began administering her healing spells. "It comes our way, I'll shoot; hold it off for a few seconds more," she further said gesturing to the crossbow in her main hand.
 
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Ed stared stone cold at the lord as he refused to leave to safety. Slowly but surely, he began to retort. Only, there was no outburst of anger. No shouting. His voice was firm, his gaze unwavering. The Archer stared the lord directly in the face as he spoke, choosing to direct the full wrath of his furt upon the lord. To the untrained eye, this would simply be a stern talking to, a man who's frankly done with the lord's shit. But to the lord himself, he would come up with something that would be akin to hell on earth.


Ed's fury.




"In the wolf plague, bodies were found with huge gashes, some beheaded. Hearts were removed, I can't imagine that was pleasant. Some towns even had entire bodies of people found fleshless. Those were of course the lucky ones. We found people left half alive, Poor bastards. Attempting to scoop their mislaid intestines back into their bodies. It never worked of course, and they died a few minutes later, but from what the doctors could tell at the time, it truly is an excruciatingly painful way to die. Slowly watching your life poor out of you as you desperately hold on to organs you can only imagine are actually in you.


The slug plague was admittedly simpler, but even they could kill. I'm sure its worse then it sounds. You went to sleep one night, all dressed up in your silk pajamas dressed by your servants, only to wake up in the middle of the night to discover one thing in particular: You couldn't breath. I wonder what happened to the victims first, confusion? Or was it panic. I imagine some combination of both really. The Corpses of those affiliated with the slug plague seemed to have an uncommonly large amount of scratch marks on them. Curious isn't it?



And of course, there was the Kraken plague. a nasty one wasn't it? I'm sure you remember, only two years have passed after all. Entire towns were decimated, populations wiped out. crushings, decapitations, I've even heard stories of people who's head popped straight off! I can't imagine that was a quick death. Your Lungs slowly being crushed under pressure, trying to draw just one. more. breath. Nobody could of course, but the notion was there." Ed paused to laugh, of all things then, laugh. The tone was scornful, almost remoresful. But mostly haunting. "Poor bastards never stood a chance." He raises a hand to stop any outburst.



"The reason I tell you this "My lord," is simple. Whatever the fuck that thing out there will be called is what's left of your son, and it could kill your men by briefly having contact with their heads. That's a disturbing thought. So let's put this simply. If you do not leave the window, my two compatriots will slowly be overwhelmed. They are strong fighters to be sure, but they are fighting the unknown with civilians around, we need all hands on deck. After killing my sister and my friend, the beast will roam the house, hungry for blood. It will kill everyone. The help, your own trained guards, everyone. Sometime during this it will find us, and while I will do my best to defend us, I will surely be overwhelmed. This new creature is of course completely new, I have no vitals of which to shoot. After this of course, it will attack you, but not kill you, no that would be to swift. It would leave you barely alive and move on to your wife, forcing you to watch a wonderfully vivid way of your wife's death. Which I will of course, not disclose for her lady's sake."



"That aside, it will either leave you to bleed out, kill you outright, or who knows? Maybe you will become like one of hte beast's yourself. Wouldn't that be a wonderful fate. You would go out, mindless and hungry, murdering every. single. person. in. your. village.


A pause, in which Ed stares at the lord with something known as the "Thrice stare." Jaynia employed it from time to time in various scowls, but to put it simply, never quite mastered it. Ed's stare was terrifying to be on the opposite end of.


"And that my lord. Is why you are going to take your wife, and take that bedsheet rope out the fucking window, and you will go to rally the militia."
 
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Jaynia & Rio​

Rio's spells quickly took effect, knitting back together the muscle and skin which had been parted by the beast's spike. Whether any further damage had been done to the woman's organs it was impossible to tell. She would have to hope not or the current healing might be doing more damage than it would help.

Her knife had taken out a second eye and released another burst of miasmic gas, but the creature still had six more. However only two of the remaining eyes had a good view of the creature's front and it was forced to angle its head to get a good view of the hunters. As Jaynia was thrown back by its attack and dived over the bannister the beast followed and leaned over to watch them.

Seeing the pair standing there vulnerable the beast repeated an earlier maneuvre and dived down with hands outstretched, aiming to wrap them around Rio's neck and kill her in one shot.

~***~

Ed​

In response to Ed's anger the lord's fury grew in turn. He would not be lectured to about the plague by this hunter, a commoner who didn't even have the training of a doctor to give him the smallest of standings. No matter what the man might think Norve had lived through the plagues he was describing, he knew what could happen here. And he knew the weaknesses of the hunters which this man had only seemed to confirm to him in his rant. His back straightened and he took a step towards Ed.

"If your two companions are so pathetic as to be overwhelmed by a single beast then they deserve to die. You hunters are all weak but looks like they're the weakest of you all." he was sneering as he spoke, "Perhaps you should go out there and die with them. My men might arrive by that time to clean up the mess you have made, if you live that long. I have been lord of Gipla for over two decades. And in that time I have seen many things, including what happens to leaders who show weakness in times of darkness. The mobs deal with them quickly."

He jabbed a finger into Ed's chest. "I will not be seen as a coward who runs from this by my people. I will not put fear and doubt into their minds and let them do more damage than the plague will. As long as this house stands I will not leave." Turning away from Ed he walked over to Pelia and carried her to the balcony. "You will leave Pelia. There is no need for you to be in danger." The anger at the hunter had had an additional effect of allowing Norve to think through the fear and sorrow. And he was planning his next moves and how to turn this situation around.

He stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly then waited, ignoring Ed.
 
Vowing to do as she had said, Rio took the shot with the monster barreling down onto them. With her main concern being the healing of Jaynia and not the actual aiming of her weapon, the bolt landed rather harmlessly in the creature's side. Seeing that the monster was now coming down on the both of them, hands extended for their throats, Rio took the next best action she could and pulled Jaynia with her as she rolled out of the way.

"Ed! Now would be a good time to lend us your assistance! Unless you want your sister and I to be dead!"

Figuring her patch job to be the best that it could be in the circumstances, Rio stood and took aim with her crossbow. "Five bolts left," she said to Jaynia, in case she had any brilliant stratagems that didn't involve her getting flung down stairs again.
 
So the good news was that the lady of the house, the bad news...the lord was being much much more stubborn. It was starting to try Ed's patience, and if not for Rio's vocie calling him backtowards the fight, there was a good chance he was moer then willing to physically throw the lord out hte window. It'd probably turn out alright in the end. His wind magic might be able to avoid most of the broken bones associated with a 2 story fall. Or he would die, which at this point Ed was fine with.


Still, his sister and Rio needed help, so the Archer scowled at the lord before speaking one last time. "Fine, stay here, though I cannot guarantee your saftey." Without wasting any more time, he turned and dashed from the room, he had to think fast...find a weak point. Arrows were precise. He needed somewhere to shoot...the slits on the back were, as of right this second...his best bet. Taking time aiming, Ed fires two arrows at the slits, hoping at least one, if not both of them hit.



If the monster decided to charge him, he'd have to use his sword and buy time.

again.
 
"That'll do." It would have to. The wound had healed best it could in this clusterfuck. The situation was looking bleak. Jaynia was without weapons and the creature was getting smart to her wires.

The unmistakable whistle of an arrow. "ED! I'VE LAYED OUT WIRES." She boomed, and continuing to project her voice, outlayed the general areas where the wires sat. Ed had fought with her times before, he'd know how to maneuver around and be careful of the wires. Jaynia simultaneously got on her feet, freeing Rio of her previous burden. She stood defensively, ready to move out the way should the monster decide to charge them again.

Think! Think outside the box! A spark of inspiration, hell, she'd settle for desperation at this point.
 
Jaynia & Rio & Ed​

With its prey moving out of the way of its dive the creature landed on the stairs with a thump but quickly rose to its feet, back towards Ed as he emerged from the bedroom. Before it could continue its assault the first arrow struck, finding a path through the wires and hitting the creature's middle right arm slit. There was a poof as if a small air explosion had occurred and the beast staggered to the left, miasmic gas bursting from the wound. The movement meant the second arrow impacted on its fleshy back harmlessly. The attack gave Jaynia and Rio a second to react before the beast was ready again. It tilted its head down towards the pair of women putting more of its eyes on them. Spikes extended it surged forward. It took on both hunters at once. One hand struck for Rio's weapon trying to break it or at least knock it form her hands. Its momentum still going the beast would run past Rio and dive fully at Jaynia, its entire body in the air. Mouth opened to reveal its two fangs aimed for her throat. Top right arm went for her upper left arm trying to grab it. And both lower arms were aimed at her legs to trap them in place. Its broken middle left arm hung back to avoid interfering with its attack while the middle right arm hung limply by its side, thrown about in the air during its dive.

Now they were down on the first floor both hunters would be able to see the doorway leading out of the house was blocked by the other house guard who had his shield and spear raised to prevent anything escaping. The look on the man's face was one of fear and he seemed frozen in place at it dived for Jaynia.
 
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Ed had intervened right on time. His first arrow had struck true, hitting the joint where the creature's arm met its back, while the next was a little off the mark. Such was fine, as it gave Rio enough time to loose another bolt into the creature.

However, the former son of the lord's next action had thrown the doctor for a loop; it had disarmed her! The weapon had gone flying, far from Rio's reach, and the mid-air action of the monster left no time to go grab the tool of chaos. Instead, in a split second reaction, she grabbed the flying creature by its broken, middle arms and pulled it over and behind her. The creature would land on it's head as Rio dropped it and spun around to face their opponent; she would call to the guard, still standing terrified in place. "Shield, now!"
 
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That was three now. The third time Rio had saved Jaynia's life. If the ornary woman was twenty years younger, and a boy, she'd have fallen for the other on the spot. Unabashedly.

Indebtedness aside, Rio was already doing what Jaynia was struggling with- thinking outside the box. Working outside the box. So focused had the ornary woman been on the creature that all else surrounding, save her brother and the treacherous wires may as well been mist.

Jaynia had used the moment of the creature's grab and fall to reposition herself defensively once more, stepping back towards way of the guard, only noticed due to Rio's demand of the shield. The placement supposedly to give enough space to strike or dive if the creature was hellbent on charging her once more. Well, strike if she had a weapon. Outside the box, perhaps some debris or... Oh. Oh.

"Guard," her voice came out dry, lacking. "Guard. If you cannot fight, least throw me your weapon." She had only a sheep-fart's moment to throw him a pointed look, not daring to take her eyes off the creature any more than that.
 
Ed cursed as the fight moved out of his view. That was one of the major problems with being an archer, when the enemy went down enough, they became really, really difficult to shoot. Heading to the lip of the stairs, he curses as he draws an arrow and looks for an opening. Somehow in the span of time it took the two hunters and beast to reappear in ed's sight, things took a rather curious turn. Somehow it seemed both his sister and Rio herself were in a spot of trouble, Rio herself being disarmed.


That was bad.



Taking a shot at one of the other exposed wilts on the monster's back, Ed then takes the time to pick up the fallen guards spear, before tossing it down, ideally a few feet behind Rio to act as a sort of last deference.


As soon as that was done, he would prepare to begin his barrage again, scanning for weakspots. There had to be something...
 
Jaynia & Rio & Ed​

The beast landed directly on its head with a sickening crack as its own weight crushed its neck and skull. The body flopped down onto its front and was unmoving for the moment. The stun gave Ed enough time to launch his arrow and hit the lower right slit on its back. Another small poof was heard and more miasmic gas emerged. The action stimulated the beast and it began to rise, using its left arms and top right arm to push itself back to its feet, the other two limbs not contributing. The middle left arm made a tearing sound during the movement and a part of the bone pierced through the forearm skin. The beast's head lolled about atop its neck and was unable to accurately focus on anything. The spine had obviously broken and part of the skull had caved in, the front right region of its head was flatter. The creature turned ninety degrees so Ed was once again unable to see its back.

The guard looked from Rio and Jaynia to the beast and back again. If he gave up his shield he'd have nothing to stop it with if it made a run for it. The whole point of the large shield would be rendered moot. But the hunters were running out of weapons and the beast still looked ready for a fight. An idea came to him. If he gave up his weapons he would have nothing to bring to the fight, he could go get reinforcements. That sounded like a great idea. He tossed the spear towards Jaynia and rolled the large shield towards Rio, then turned around and ran. "I'll get help!" he said.

The green liquid had for once stopped drooling from its mouth though the floor was practically covered in it. The beast had a healthy respect for Rio and its eyes kept attempting to focus on Jaynia, the target it perceived as weaker. But the former stood between it and the latter making that difficult. And the door was there as well, freedom beckoned with the promise of softer prey. It opened its mouth and spat, aiming for Rio's face. However its inability to control it head threw off the attack and it struck the rolling shield, throwing it off course. Then the beast dropped down onto its six working limbs and sprinted for the open door.
 
Jaynia's face burned. It looked down on her. Her performance was... lacking. But Jaynia's vice was her pride, and her pride was smarting. It would have latched onto Rio if her newfound... admiration to the fight-savvy woman hadn't just blossomed. Still, Jaynia learned nothing. She was used to fighting one way, and without that way she, instead of thinking to adapt, or instead of thinking any thoughts, she felt. Felt hard animosity to the monster. No whip and no brother hailing arrows behind her kept flashing through her mind. She hated this monster. But not because it had done the awful things it'd done. Because it had wounded her pride.

The monster suddenly reared its head and spit. Right at Rio. Jaynia smoldered. That goat-laying dog-son. If looks could kill. But they couldn't. Her eyes burned no holes in the ugly monster's hide. It dropped on all fours... sixes... whatever... and began to run, just as she heard the guard say he would get backup, and the spear came to her. Unsure what to do, her arm just launched the newly caught spear, aiming to lance the lower leg of the hated beast, wanting to stick it to the ground. Only too late, after the spear had flown, she noticed the ground was tile. Awh hell.
 
Rio's squash had done more to the monster than she had anticipated; breaking it's neck and therefore hobbling it even more than it was. She was pleased with this development both on a combatable standpoint and the one on her profession. A hobbled enemy was easier prey, and the easy hobbling meant that this strain of plague left its victim still rather fragile, if still in a working condition.

Ed's further attacks to the creature's back also seemed to cripple the creature; another doctoral note she would have to make. Jaynia's ranged attack with the spear had also hit the beast's, sticking, yet not not pinning the monster to the floor. Seeing as the beast had managed to deflect the incoming shield while presumably aiming for the doctor herself, and had disarmed her in their previous maneuver, Rio didn't have much of an opening... Though, perhaps...

"Ed, cover me!" Rio went with a lunge; using the forward momentum, and the spewed liquids of the creature as lubricant, she slid herself across the floor, and latched onto the weapon protruding from her enemy. She yanked it with a heave, and then from the awkward angle of being almost being under the beast, thrust the weapon upwards, aiming for most vital organs and, finally, the head.

Were this to fail, hopefully Ed would be good for that cover.
 
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Ed cursed as the fight dipped out of his view. There was a good side to height advantage, what he was experiencing now however...was a key downside. The combat had moved out of his vision, which was pretty bad, all things considered.

Dashing forward, Ed grimaced at the sight of the battle in the few seconds it took him to reposition. Somehow, Jaynia had half pinned the beast, which was fine, that's all she could do. But Rio....Rio had dived under the beast. He had heard her shout out for cover.


But how the hell did you cover that? Well...Ed could really only think of one way. He'd have to take out the limbs that he could. Only the weakspots were facing the other way, so he couldn't see them, and he had no idea where the important targets were on the back. Way to make life easy Rio. Still...well, Ed had an idea.

Ed's memory, while not photographic, pretty damn good. His father had drilled map into map into the boy's mind during their few peaceful years of not-being-rebels. He just had to take time and aim. There were four spots left. He'd shoot them all.

If he failed, Rio might just die. And Ed wasn't about to have that happen.

Taking a breath and a second to draw the bow completely back, Ed's mind raced as it calculated. The sound of howling from the monster and the grunts and shouts of the two women fighting for their lives on the ground, all were tuned out from the archer's ears. The only sounds he heard were the soft rising and falling of his own breath. He was aware of each movement down below. Jaynia struggling to keep the beast in place as Rio's last ditch attempt at a kill was put into action versus it's own desperate attempt to be friend. The howls of the monster versus the grunts and shouts of desperate women trying to put it down. His mind processed the beast's struggling, remembered the ways it dodged and danced around following arrows, and releasing his breath, took the first shot.


The arrow however was not flying normally, as it escaped the tension of the bow, Ed's exhalation of breath became a torrent of air, accelerating forward and to where he thought the joint's weakness was. Normally he'd fire another arrow or two, but he had no time. He had to be on point. Rio's last stand would buy time...Ed intended to make good use of it.


Changing his aim, Ed paused, a short pause, but it was necessary, he waited for the all too familiar pop of gas escaping and the beast to shift before firing at where he thought the second weakspot was, accelerating the arrow as best he could.


Ed would take as long as he needed to, following a similar process each time, until either all limbs were destroyed or the beast was confirmed dead. Or, you know. He ran out of arrows.
 
Jaynia & Rio & Ed​

Jaynia's spear achieved the first part of her plan, piercing the beast's rear leg and obstructing its movement. The tip couldn't clear the thigh and wasn't able to even get close to penetrating into the ground. However it did interrupt the beast's run and give Rio the time she needed to get into position to retrieve the weapon for a second attack. Her thrust tore into the creature's chest right through where a human's heart would be and continued upwards. She was able to push the weapon all the way up into its neck before it would go no further.

Miasmic gas burst from the entry wound flooding the area underneath it. Similarly a torrent of green gunk poured from the creature's torn neck where the tip had pierced through. The gunk spread quickly across the tiles and a small mound formed before the flow stopped for good.

The beast's back left leg lifted up and slammed backwards, hitting Rio's shoulder and neck on the left side. It spun around, seemingly unaffected by the impalement, and leapt for her chest with both spikes extended. The attack was not straight and only the right hand spike would actually hit the hunter while the left only encountered empty air. Empty eyes stared at Rio.

Ed fired the first arrow shortly before the creature spun around, aiming for the final right side lump. It struck true and hit with a crack. Wood splinters showered the target as the arrow exploded from hitting the hard bone. The flesh around the impact was torn away to reveal the white bone and a small, black tube that was now hanging loose.

In his waiting for the beast to finish its movements before firing again these next two arrows wouldn't land until its lunge at Rio was complete. The second and third arrows struck the middle two lumps on the left side resulting in two more small explosions. By this time the creature was almost in a haze of miasmic gas from its leaking wounds and Rio would be choking if it was close to her. His fourth arrow, aimed at the upper left lump, suffered the same fate as the first arrow he had fired, destroyed by collision with the bone and revealing a second tube. Ed had only one arrow in his quiver.

The beast was staggering now and looked quite weak, its middle four arms all hanging down limply. It was not making any further moves after its lunge, almost like it was waiting.
 
Rio let out a gasp. It wasn't of pain, but surprise. Of course that wasn't going to kill the beast, she would think to herself -- cockiness was slowly fading -- yet the blow to her collar had caught the doctor by surprise, as she found herself lightly spinning. The next reversal, the beast spinning around for the stab, was even more of surprise, yet gave no notion of this as before.

The creature's pin jammed into her; crooked from it's current inability to aim. Right below her shoulder blade, deep into the tissue, yet she could feel the needle brush past her lung. She could only grit her teeth in pain as quick plans circulated through her mind.

Ed was offering supportive fire in the meantime. The first arrow had shattered, yet had revealed something of interest to the hunter. The second and third arrows had flew after she had already received her grievous wound. Rio wouldn't see the fourth attack until her own final retaliation was complete.

She twisted hips before kicking at the monster standing over her. The strength of the kick wasn't much -- Rio was already feeling weak from a loss of blood -- but it was enough for he prone woman to be sent gliding to the opposite wall. She propped herself up, gesturing for her healing magic to function. "The- the tubes!" She managed to communicate to her team through clenched teeth.
 
The tubes!? What the hell were the tubes supposed to-



Ed's mental rant was stopped as everything seemed to click. The tubes...the tubes led to the armpit. Sure, the shoulder itself might have been too strong for conventional arrows to pierce, but the armpit was a biological weakness. In order to keep it mobile, the body could never truly protect it. He'd heard stories of squires felling great warriors by getting a quick dirk poke in through the gaps in the shoulder armor. And if the tubes led there...he'd be able to finish this thing, once and for all!


That's what Ed heard anyway. That one drunk doctor on their way to the academy for training might not have been the most reliable source of anatomical reasonings.

But that hadn't stopped Ed in the past! Taking calm breath, Ed traced the length of the tube with his finger. The place where it ended and the true weak spot.


He grinned as he released the arrow, listening to it's familiar hiss as it arced through to hit it's mark.

"Friend, I've drawn your last breath."
 
The spear found its target, at the least. Rio took full advantage of that, but not without taking a severe blow. Jaynia reacted, swiftly making her way to the injured party– to find that, yet again, Rio had it handled.

The tubes?

What about them? Looking to the creature, she caught sight of her twin. The look on his face said all. The tubes! They must be--

Ed let the arrow go.
 
Jaynia & Rio & Ed​

Ed's arrow struck true and there was a fifth, final pop with the destruction of another organ. The gas that had been surrounding the beast began to disperse as production from within halted. The body began to deflate, skin slowly drooping down over bone, before the arms gave out and it collapsed to the ground. At last it was still, and would never move again. The group would have about a minute before anyone else arrived to do as they wished.
 
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