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 Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 3:43 pm
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 12:37 pm
((Been busy, sorry, plus school banned Gaia and Sneak2.com is too slow... crying ))
Alhana's eyes widened as she lost sense of Arkayid, which only happened when he was asleep, unconcious... or worse. She tried not to think of that possibility, and knew that the worse case would be the second possibility. Hopefully. On the other hand... She still had a good fix on him, so when she saw the ruined village, the same one she had dropped Arkayid off from time to time so that he would not be lonely, at a young, tender age of five.
"Kernyel, Jasper. We're there. I'm taking us right into the middle of that town..." On second thought... There was what's-his-face's-love-killing-bandit. "I hope you know how to protect someone's back... It looks from here that Arkayid's in bad shape." With that, she took them into a tight dive, screaming over the startled bandits and the few remnants of the villiage's population, to land right in front of Larknam... in a full rage-display.
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 1:50 pm
< >
As she landed before Larknam, Jaster leapt from her back, tucked, and rolled directly past him. He came up running and stopped before the ten some-odd bandits left after Arkayid had dispatched of some archers. He turned quickly and shot Alhana a look that said 'You won't need that crossbow. Oh sure, gee, I only wonder who said that.' He grinned at her and then shouted to Kernyel and Alhana both, "Ladies, if you'd like to play with Larknam, I'd be more than happy to occupy these lads for a moment!"
With that, he turned to the bandits he was facing, and raised his shield. He drew his longsword from his back and smiled, waiting for one of them to make a move. It wasn't long before a crossbow bolt came flying at him. With almost supernatural instinct he sidestepped to the left and the bolt missed hitting him square in the arm by mere inches. He shot a quick glance behind him to make sure that Kernyel and Alhana were well suited to their two-on-one situation with Larknam, then back to the bandits.
This is what I've been trained for, he thought. It's been a while...but it's just like riding a bike. And with that thought, he opened up with a massive scream and charged straight into the mob. He caught them unawares and the first one caught his longsword to the gut. With a spin and another slash, a second bandit's arm was taken off. He turned, and raised his shield just in time as another bandit took a swing with his morningstar. It connected squarely with the shield, resonating with a long, loud, metal-on-metal sound. For just a moment, all was silent. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over. Jaster yelled, the bandit holding the mace yelled, and the air was filled with the sound of men screaming and metal clashing. Within seconds it had become a mad fight for survival.
Jaster only hoped he could dispatch of these clowns fast enough to get a shot or two in at Larknam. He grinned, and slashed another bandit to the ground.
<>
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 2:47 pm
Kernyel didn't take very long to get her bearings about her. She saw a striking young being unconscious and Alhana's display put fear in her; she looked unbelieveably fierce! Jaster wasted no time in throwing himself headlong into the middle of the group of bandits. All this circled around one man; a huge giant of a man who oozed evil like perfume from about him. She had just enough time to hear a sickening sound as his scythe removed itself from the fallen Arkayid before his eyes moved to Alhana.
She let two knives fly smoothly towards the man who could only be Larknam. The first one acutally missed (she was a bit shocked at that; the man was unbelieveably quick!) and the second grazed his face, leaving an ungly black gash. Good, the poison at least will slow him down...i hope.... she thought. She grasped her staff and took a defensive stance, working out how to best get between him and the young man who seemed to have taken out so many of the dead men around her.
The orb on top of her staff began to churn within, turning a sickly color of gray and green and a cutting icy wind blew up in the face of her foe. Anything to cut down his advantages.... At least now his sight would be impeded. She crouched towards him and watched him react to her movements with ease, although his eyes were squinting and blinking, she noticed with satisfaction.
He made his move--away from the one she assumed was Arkayid. Fear surged up her spine and the wind only increased with it, now accompanied by cutting bits of ice. She grimanced and took a calming breath just before dodging his first stroke in a series of moves she only vaguely recalled. Swordsmanship was not her forte.... She wheeled her staff around to the right, taking him in the knee as he went for an over-handed slice. He grunted and turned his sword mid-stroke to catch her on the arm just as she rolled away. She cried out in pain, but knew it wasn't as deep as it could have been; she could still use her arm, but now she was also slowed down...
She backed away, trying to lead the man farther away from Arkayid and debating furiously within herself on whether to use lightning or not.... It was...unpredicatable to say the least... She wasn't sure how much control she would have over it at this point, with the pain interfering in her calm. And she would need time, at least 90 seconds of uninterrupted effort before she could call down such a strike; something she was surely unable to possess just now. She eyed Alhana and prayed that her eyes conveyed what she knew it was hopeless to express... Would this woman be able to give her the time? Would the weapon hurt or help? She didn't have time to think on this long. Even slowing from the poison, Larknam was almost upon her again and she began defensive actions again, praying for some sort of insight; the man was twice her size at least....
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 8:53 pm
<>
Jaster spun and raised his shield. A battle-axe came crashing down, denting it rather well. He was about to counter that with a stab through the chest when he had to dodge to his right. Two throwing knives whipped through the spot he used to be. One of them connected squarely in the leg of the bandit wielding the Axe. The other clattered along the ground. Jaster two-stepped again to the right, and spun once more to face a swordsman. In his spin, he connected his elbow to the back of the Axe-man's head. He fell to the ground, unconcious. Jaster looked round for an instant, summing up his surroundings. Only five bandits remained. There was the man with the crossbow, the man with the throwing knives, two bandits with morningstars and the swordsman before him.
He took far too long to look around. The swordsman made a clean cut for his neck, and Jaster stepped back to avoid it. In doing so, he stepped on the stray throwing knife. He slipped, and fell to his back. He raised his shield, and the sword connected squarely with it. He rolled, and suddenly the men with the morningstars were all over him. He tripped up one of them and slashed the knees of the second. It gave him the time he needed to get up.
He stood, and watched, waiting for them to make their move. He counted them at four now, and was expecting a shot from the crossbow or a knife about now. Nothing came. They must not be willing to sacrafice friendly fire, he thought. With that, he charged the swordsman and the other, catching them off guard. With one fell swoop, the swordsman fell to the ground lifeless. Jaster spun, dodged a swing with the morningstar, and stepped forward, bringing his longsword into, and through, that bandit. He held, and looked the bandit square in the eye and watched for any sign. The bandit only looked behind him as he died.
Behind him! Jaster spun, and the crossbow bolt connected squarely with his chest. He let out a groan of pain as he took the shot. He was stunned senseless, and the ringing in his ears left him all but deaf. He staggered towards the bandit, and managed to parry his dagger and slash at his chest. He turned towards the man with the knives and saw he had fled. He was running towards Alhana and Kernyel, to help Larknam. He had left Jaster for dead. Jaster looked at him; he had other plans. He took a step forwards to chase the bandit down, and fell flat on his face. In doing so, the bolt was pushed the remainder of the way through his platemail. It wasn't coming out now, unless the platemail came off. With the last bit of conciousness he had, he managed to unlatch his crossbow and load a bolt into it. He raised it at the fleeing bandit's back, and squeezed the trigger.
Then his vision went black.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 11:49 am
Alhana was in quandry, Kernyel needed help, and a quick look into her mind, she was demanding something about ninety seconds. Ninety Seconds was an eternity in hand to hand combat! Anything and everything could go wrong...! Looking a quick look at Jasper, seeing him collapse and wincing as he went down, crossbow bolt and all. Obviously his plate was crap. Well, then again, Auren's was probably thicker and made of higher-quality steel. Well, whatever the case was... She had two people wounded and bleeding, one demanding her help, and a bunch of bandits with a lot more devotion to Larknam who was trying to cut Kernyel to pieces.
Okay... What to do? Ah... yes... Ye olde wing smashes, claws, jaws and other assorted pain brining natural implements she had. The first bandit who ran past her was snapped up by her jaws, and shaken like a dog would to a rat to break its back. Having disposed of him, she swiped one man with a claw, and split him in two. Four bandits trying to run under her were consequentently smashed by a wing, and the archer who had shot Jasper... Caught her breath weapon.
First the surrounding area went a tad bit darker as she absorbed light for the energies required for her breath weapon... She looked at him, and he looked back, with knees locked in place. That would be the last sight he would ever see, her sphere of death that was forming in her jaws. The man was flash vaporized, the building behind him sawed in two and exploded into flames. Hoping that Kernyel could wait for a few minutes, she shifted into her elven form that perhaps more dangerous, since she gained a pair of swords that were enchanted to deliver the impacts of the swords, cutting edge and all, through armor. Needless to say, they were highly effective.
"Sorry Kernyel, you have to wait! If I try distracting him... We might lose Arkayid and Jasper!!" She hollared as she dashed and slid next to Arkayid. Funny, his armor wasn't damage at all, except where the bolt had penetrated the chain mail between his arm and shoulder... But she could smell blood, and a lot of it. "Hang on baby, mother's here... shhh..." She said quietly as she started to remove his armor. Arkayid's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at her, whispering 'mother' in draconic before falling unconcious again. Casting a spell that split her mind into two halves, each being able to manipulate magic, she immediately set to work... One hand would be devoted to creating a bolt of lightning that was weakly powered... More to paralyse then to kill. Had she charged it to killing power... Kernyel might not like her. Ever, again, for said bolt of lightning would most likely overpenetrate the man and who was in front of him... Kernyel... The other hand and her vocal cords were devoted to casting a spell, one of healing upon Arkayid. She could've included Jasper in said spell, but he was too far away. Finished with the spells, she flung the bolt of electricty at Larknam, while casting the healing spell.
The bolt of lightning plowed into Larknam's back, and he screeched with pain as the lightning danced its away through his body, and so did Arkayid. A bone-chilling howl of agony erupted from Arkayid, and she immediately looked down at him. He was screaming in pain, eyes wide open, and rolling from side to side, as though he had caught on fire. "Arkayid! Please! Tell me what's wrong!!" She had pleaded to him. Arkayid stopped rolling around, and looked at her... "Mother... The healing... There's..." He hacked up blood and rolled onto his hands and knees. "Something wrong with it..." he said with a gasp and a liquid gurgle.
"Is it the scythe that did this too you?" She asked him quietly. He shook his head no. "Its the healing spell itself... I saw the weaves. It's like its corrupted... I felt like I was feeling every wound I had taken in my life... I'll... I'll cast the spell myself..." Arkayid said quietly. Alhana nodded. Best that he did it himself... "Can I lend you my strength?" She asked quietly. Arkayid nodded. She reached out and grabbed his gauntleted hand, and he began the spell... Using her power instead of his, which by proxy she could feel he barely had any.
Arkayid's wounds healed... somewhat. They wouldn't slow him down, but the true way of healing was rest. "Mother, who are your friends?"
"Traveling companions. We're here to exact vengence from Larknam... Jasper's over there, and Kernyel is fighting him." Arkayid nodded. "Mother, He's something other then human. I knifed him in the side, the way you told me it would be a killing stroke. No good. He didn't even really bleed."
"Right. Can you heal Jasper?" Alhana asked. "Maybe... I can barely sense magic right now as it is. I'll see what I can do... even if it is just binding his wounds and stemming the blood flow."
"Indeed... I wonder if we're close enough to Domachi that..." She stood up while Arkayid got to his feet unsteadily, his draconic frame unsteady. He stumbled over to Jasper and began the process of assessing his wounds... Alhana on the other hand cast a spell... Which took the form of a column of light over the village. No one could miss it, and if suspicions were correct... Guards over at Domachi would be sent to investigate. If not... Things could get ugly unless she truly intervened.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 8:48 am
Kernyel barely caught Alhana's words through the onslaught of wind that enveloped her and Larknam. The man was unbelieveably resiliant (sp?)! She watched his back arch in agony as the lighting struck him. So, he is vunerable... The icy arms of her furry slashed at him fiercely, and they were beginning to take their toll on him. He was noticeably slower now, and after the lightning, he was almost human in his abilities.
The wound in her arm was burning her, but in an odd way; not the normal feeling of a wound... It was then, as she flung herself desperately beyond a viscious stroke from Larknam's weapon, that she saw the tendrils of power licking their way along his blade. They were black, tinted with green and slow-moving, like a snake... She gasped and he crooked a smile when he saw her eyes widen with realization. Those hadn't been there before, but she felt the effects of that power now; her arm felt like it was engulfed in flame, even through the freezing rain that pelted them both. She staggered back and fell, fear taking control of her.
She separated, you could say. Her conscious, understanding presence seemed disjointed from the body that it inhabited. She could see what was happening, but could not really control it. A small whirl wind appeared before her and moved threateningly towards Larknam, pushing him back even as he sliced at it ineffectually.
She clutched at her staff unsteadily as the unleashed furry began, and her sentient self screamed in warning, but to no avail; her body would not comply. It was all instinct now, all survival and fear. Her companions had no signal to flee....The gathering of power was almost tangible and a stillness began to gather around her, spreading outwards. Every jewel she owned was like a star on her and her eyes had turned to a milky gold. Stones and debris were flying everywhere, trees split and dust filled the air to choking. Larknams eyes actually widened as he fought desperately against the force of wind that slid his body back along the ground.
A smell entered the air, and the still pregnancy around her seemed to take a breath in anticipation. A small orb of blue formed high above the gathering of bandits and fighters, and it began to grow with suprising speed.
Her conscious mind trembled with foreboding; she had never done this before, but she knew it would be big...and damaging. Tears escaped the body that would not listen as the time approached when she would complete this action. Please, she prayed, please stop this.....
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 10:33 am
"Mother! What the hell is that?!" Arkayid bellowed through the winds. Alhana had no idea. She desperately tried to counter-spell. Each counter she flung at it seemed like it was either absorbed or bounced off.
Dammit dammit dammit! She thought to herself as she thought of another way to counter. Kernyel would most likely not like her for this, but it was the only way that you could stop a magic-user in their tracks other then dumping a zero-magic field on them. She drew he sword, changed her form so that she closely resembled Arkayid, a bipedal dragon, and hoped that she had the strength to break through that whirlwind...
She crouched, opened her wings, which screamed that they could break at any second now... and launched herself through that whirlwind, spinning around and around until a clawed hand smashed into the ground inside the calm area, and Alhana pulled herself in. She spared a glance at Arkayid, who had scooped up Jasper, and was making a run for it, when a gust of wind... and he was good at this... since he couldn't fly... too heavy, snapped his wings open a split-second before the gust hit him and he rode it out of the area, gliding to a halt a good three hundred feet away.
Once in that calm, Alhana's eyes bugged out at the sight of Kernyel, and she sighed. She would have to deal with Larknam... but with no distractions... The fight should not last long. She balled her fist, and swung with all of her might into Kernyel's stomach... If she were correct, the poor girl would collapse like a rock, if not... Alhana could be in a world of pain and trouble.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 4:46 pm
Alhana's presence had gone unnoticed by Kernyel in her extreme dedication to the power she was drawing in. But her conscious self, she saw and she let hope blossom just a little as Alhana clawed her way to her body. Larknam was barely holding himself to the ground with the force of the wind radiating around him.
Just as a sharp edged ribbon of blue shot down upon Larknam, Alhana's fist made contact with Kernyel's stomach with enough force to snap her over in a heap, retching and gasping, tears coming out of her eyes in streams.
The air shattered in a horrifying rush of sound and wind that cracked the air like the lightning that had managed to strike Larknam just before her connection had broken off. It was deafening. Kernyel wasn't the only one doubled over; Larknam was clutching his head and screaming in agony. He had been spared the dismembering strength of her spell, but had nonetheless been struck with the first trickling of searing blue electricity. His sword was streaming smoke and lay yards away where it had exploded out of his hands, taking burnt chuncks of flesh off his hands with its flight.
Kernyel couldn't even register this or that Alhana was anywhere near her; she was spent--completely exhausted and losing the contents of her stomach as well. Not exactly the picture of perfection, but at least they were all still alive... The world around them began the slow procession to normalcy as dust stopped blowing and trees settled down with the building debris to the ground. The only remnant of what had been happening was a soft rain that fell like tears upon everyone.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 4:42 pm
Alhana coughed, as the dust settled down around her, and the rains began. "Kernyel? Are you okay?" Alhana asked quietly. Larknam's bellows of pain finally reached her, and she turned to look at him. Arkayid was walking up to Larknam, with a strange expression on his face.
Arkayid shrugged, and drew his Greatsword. Alhana glanced over at them, then back at Kernyel. "The choice is yours... He can no longer fight, if you want to do ultimate justice, just tell us and I'll let Arkayid know. If not, just tell us if you can."
"Arkayid!! Wait a minute!!" She yelled to him, before approaching the two fighters. Larknam had settled down to whimpering and clutching his ruined hands. Arkayid bent down and studied the man's face, before he looked up.
"What... The hell are you... Demon..." He choked through the pain. Arkayid opened his mouth to speak, but Alhana intervened. "He is a dragon, same as I, Larknam. We're here to extract vengence from you." She said dangerously quiet.
"I know you! You killed Teir! You cold-hearted bi--" Arkayid delivered a punishing kick to his hands, and he howled with agony. "Mother, what should we do to him?" He asked her. "Let Kernyel decide, how is Jasper?"
"He'll live and be well... Well, just as well as someone with a crossbow bolt through their lung. Once we pull it out, and I've recovered suifficently, I'll put down the healing spell, and he'll need rest. Plenty of it."
"Right, so he'll live?"
"Given that he doesn't become infected, yes. I've already taken care of that."
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:35 pm
Kernyel's vision cleared a bit and she saw Alhana's boots just in front of her and she heard her voice as though from very far away. She took a few deep, painful breaths before pulling herself up unsteadily with her staff to look at what she had done to Larknam.
She was nauseated beyond words, and the world was starting to tilt again. "I think I need to rest..." she said with an air of distraction. She watched as Arkayid kicked the bandit leader visciously in his shredded hands. She watched them looking at her, expectantly and it finally occurred to her what they were waiting on. "Death, yes..." she said slowly, an evil look coming into her eyes. "I ought to cut off your arms at the elbow and legs at the knees so you can bleed out you filthy b*****d!" she spat at him. Her moods were shifting again and mercy was not among the deck. With that, she took pulled one of her long-kinves from behind her back and promptly cut his throat in one smooth action; better than he deserved, in her opinion.
She was growing unsteady again and had to concentrate very hard to keep herself upright. "Alhana, I have to get out of here before I fall on my face." she said, wearily "But i want that scythe; i need to take something back to Sturaz....proof of justice." She looked into Alhana's eyes, expressing what words would not capture. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and the rain began to pour. She began to walk away, stumbling from time to time, hair plastered down to her pale, irridescent skin. She had a dazed look about her and it would not be long before she would collapse; no one took that much power into themselves without paying a heavy price for it...
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:42 pm
"Well that solves that question." Arkayid grumbled in draconic. Alhana laughed at his comment, and approached Kernyel. "Kernyel, Jasper is in bad shape. If we leave, his survival is not garunteed. I mean, I can leave Arkayid behind and take you... But still, give us time to rest." Alhana pleaded with her.
"We may be dragons, but we're still living creatures. Hell, I still have to figure out what the hell you just did!" Alhana's voice practically rose to a shout. "Arkayid's not even that great of a shape! If those bandits come back and it's just Arkayid, I could lose him! And he's all I got! If I lost him... I... I don't know what I would do..." Alhana sank to her knees.
"Kernyel, just... just rest and wait please. It's a wonder that you're still standing."
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 11:09 am
Jaster's eyes fluttered open. In the first few moments he awoke, he looked round at his surroundings. He remembered none of it. Then, he saw Kernyel, Alhana, and Arkayid. As the memories of the battle flooded into his mind like a movie on fast forward, the pain in his chest increased exponentially. Suddenly, he remembered turning, and the bolt slamming into his chest.
Pain flooded his body, and his vision almost went black once more. He fought it off and kept conciousness, then marveled at the shot. It was an extremely lucky shot, but thanks to his platemail the bolt only went into him and not completely through him. With some bed rest he would probably be quite alright. The pain flooded back into him; he had almost forgotten it. His mind screamed with pain, and he fought it with every ounce of his being. He climbed to his knees, then his feet. He took his sword with him, and used it like a crutch to meet with the others and be debriefed on what happened.
He came up behind the two dragons and stood between them. He winced, and did his best to hide the pain. He leaned on his sword with a sigh of relief and said, "What'd I miss?" Then he grinned that stupid, foolish grin.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 4:30 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 7:11 pm
Kernyel honestly hadn't heard much of what Alhana was saying until her voice rose loud enought to register faintly in her brain. Nodding to her friend's sentiments, she turned herself around with a wobbly motion and began making her way slowly towards her friends, scythe in hand (so to speak).
When she finally got back to where Arkayid and Jaster were, she only nodded again; like a robot, functioning on command and habit. She took out a bag of herbs and gave them to Arkayid with another small nod. Then, she turned to Jaster and took out a small bottle of red liquid and put the end to his lips, waiting until he got the idea to let her hand drop from the bottle. She was just about to turn and give of her gifts to Alhana, but she was gone.
A slow mask of confusion crept over Kernyel's features while her sluggish mind tried to puzzle out where her friend had gone. But her exhaustion was getting the better of her every inclination and she soon found herself plopped down on the muddy grown, unable to hold herself upright any longer; still murmuring to herself about where her friend had gone off to at a time like this. Meanwhile, as her eyelids weighed heavily down over her eyes and sleep began to take hold of her mind, the wind and rain let up quite a bit and the sun broke forth fiercely, throwing what once was shadow and obscurity in to sharp relief. Soon, it was no secret at all where Alhana had got off to, but Kernyel was as oblivious to this new information as she was to everything else around her...Her mind and her body were stretched too thin for her to be anything else but resting.
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![~[aureae lachrymae]~'s avatar](https://a1cdn.gaiaonline.com/dress-up/avatar/ava/1f/e3/332f1ff034e31f_flip.png?t=1293685583_6.00_00)
