[Plot] [Open] Week 111: Cinder Mihi

Apeiron · Jul 20, 2016

Apeiron said:
Just to the south of the Ruby Jewel, as the ensnaring chaos began to spread in other parts of Terminus, Kincaid looked up from the book in his hands and leaned closer to the window of his bed. In the distance, what should have been the lights of festivities were now at odds with the familiar glow of fire that tainted the blue sky.

In the streets, groups Terminus Guard in their armor hustled towards the destruction. For a moment, the thief debated if he should join in the fun. It wasn’t until he saw a platoon of Conexus members, all following behind the guards, that he made his decision.

Taking up his cutlass, and quickly slapping on whatever good clothes he could find, Kincaid made his way through Semper Mihi until he reached the front door. Though he did not particularly care what happened, he did not want to miss it if both the Guard and the Conexus were involved.

Kincaid shut the door behind himself and then looked up. Momentary surprise stopped the thief, as unfamiliar shapes filled the square court yard below the landing. Though not a man who learned the taming arts like his brother, the thief was familiar enough to know what he saw: demons who had managed to rid themselves of their masters.

As he looked on, the thief could distantly hear the flapping of leathery wings.

Kincaid looked over his shoulder to the small engraved plate on the front of his home, the one that read in flowing script “Semper Mihi” and immediately found the words ironic.

Turning back to the small gathering of demonic creatures, a smile split the thief’s face as he muttered, “Well then, it’s a party now isn’t it? How absurd."

He inhaled sharply before drawing his cutlass.

"Perfect.”

Kincaid watched as several demons lifted their heads towards the sky. It was an animalistic movement, accompanied by a tilting of the head or upraised nose. It told the thief that the demons had yet to notice him.

Good.

“Show time,” he muttered to himself, as he lifted one leg up set it on the decaying rail of his staircase. His cutlass still hummed with magical power that hadn’t been lost since he had enchanted it for the Arx, and now that he could use the sword freely against these creatures. He wanted to know what he could do.

The last time he’d been able to demonstrate his sword play had been far too long.

Without much prompt, the thief let his body fall forward and he began to plummet to the ground. As he did, he flipped his cutlass point down. Almost instantly the point of the sword plunged into the neckline of the first unfortunate demon of many.

The beast howled in pain, stumbling backwards until it tripped over it’s own feet. As it fell, Kincaid wretched his blade free of the creature and tumbled away to come up back on his feet, back facing most of the demons.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the thief bellowed, “For a limited time only!”

Turning, he whipped his cutlass in a grand flourish, following it with a bow that was proper enough for a ball. “Duilius Fortis!”

Rising from the bow, the thief set his dull green eyes on the lumbering form of the demon he had wounded as it raised itself to its feet, and snarled.

“Versus!” A demon off to his left lunged. On reflex he stepped back, and the demon rushed past him in an uneven blur. With little effort, Kincaid flourished his cutlass again, but as he brought the blade down he angled the sword and cut a deep gash along the back of the second demon.

“All of you fools!” he laughed.

[325]

Stats

Abbey Rose · Jul 21, 2016

“By Bell’s unholy scrotum, dad,” Cassius cursed, panting slightly as he turned down another alleyway, “why do you have to live so far away?” He had started off at a jog, but it had soon turned into a walk as he realized the amount of distance he had to cover. It was better to actually have some breath when he got there to pull the old man out of his house. “You don’t even like kinchaa. Why did you get a house near the damn stadium?”

Cursing again, he kept going. He had managed to avoid the largest of demons thus far, which was fortuitous, but he was not wanting to have to test his luck for too long. If his test scores were anything to go by, he would probably not fare too well against anything but an imp. If he just kept to alleys as best he could, he should be able to skirt around the notice of the largest demons.

He had had to cross a few open streets already. It had been a little harrowing, but thankfully the beasts had been more concerned with their pillaging and burning to give him any heed. All he had to show for the small jaunts was the small batches of soot on his wrinkled and now dirtied shirt.

The end of the alleyway was close. He would have to make another sprint through the larger streets. His gait slowed, then stopped, his back going against the wall just before the exit. One hand still held the fire poker, ready to do his best to at least wound anything that looked at him sideways. His head poked out, then did an immediate double-take.

“What the devil?” the part-timer muttered. Some madman was yelling at the demons, intentionally goading them into a fight. He looked like a pirate from a play, dancing and sweeping his cutlass in overly wide movements. It was certainly getting the demons’ attention. They were all grouping up, advancing towards the man sporadically, in ones, twos, and occasionally threes.

Cassius sighed. “Man, now would be a great time to get through here, while they are all preoccupied.” Except, as he could see, the fight was carrying on right next to the alley he needed to head to. He slunk slightly farther back into the alley, putting a small crate between him and the fight. He would probably help if he had to, but there was no reason to call out his position when this Fortis guy looked like he could handle himself.

425/425

Stats

Nargles · Jul 21, 2016

Due to his hubris, the hoard of demons began grow rapidly. What had originally started as little more than three or four was reaching towards a dozen. The demons were attracted by the combination of loud noises, taunts, and the pride of defeating someone who could at least put up a bit of a fight. That unfortunately meant that the demons electing to attack Kincaid were far more bloodthirsty than those who were content on attacking random passersby.

The ferocity of their attacks only grew as the enormous, draconic demon landed further away. A gargoyle demon appeared behind Kincaid. The slate-colored beast was brandishing an ebon trident, all three points aimed for Kincaid’s back.

However, as it lunged its attack was immediately cut short by a two bullets being fired from its right. The blindsiding attack punctured its left wing twice, greatly shifting its momentum causing it to whiff its attack on Kincaid as it barreled past the thief’s right.

“I come to check on how my repairs are, and you’re dancing around like a dumbass!”

Dressed in an unbuttoned black suit, Dominic stood pointing his golden handgun at the still amassing horde of demons. A look of complete annoyance was on his face as he watched Kincaid jump around like a moron with a cutlass in his hand. The mafioso’s clothes were roughed up, parts of his suitcoat and dress pants torn up. He was panting, clearly having had to fight his way to Semper Mihi.

Though, while he was upset that demons were threatening to destroy the building where the Carnifex was being repaired, he was more upset he wasn’t making a profit out of this whole ordeal. At least when terrorist groups or gangs wanted to start a war, he would have at least made money off of bulk weapons sales. These demons didn’t even give him any time to complete shipments before attacking.

Plus, there was the risk that his best customers could die.

Before he could continue to brood, the wind was knocked out of him as a brutish, cyclops demon tackled him from the left. He gritted his teeth, shifting his weight to reduce the impact of the strike. Being shoved to the ground, he transferred the momentum in a roll, throwing the beast off him with a heavy heave.

The cyclops demon was flung haphazardly towards a nearby alleyway. Unfortunately, it was yet to be seen if the crate could protect Cassius from brute’s body mass.

[413]

Stats

K3 · Jul 21, 2016

The gibbering fiends cackled as they pressed forward towards Duilius. Hunched forms accentuated with leather-bound wings, and bow-bent legs tipped in dagger-like talons. Their obsidian skin, cracked and oozing crimson, framed them in the sinister firelight that dotted the street. Small imps darted here and there, setting fires as they pleased before vacating in the presence of more temperamental demons.

Perched atop one of the buildings, a devil sat idly. It dressed not unlike a man, a dirtied black suit with a crimson tie matched with torn up dress pants. Its feet were hooves, and it bore four arms – one clutched a small knife, another a goblet full of what might've been wine or blood, and the other two folded under its chin in amusement – and a stubby pair of horns atop its balding head.

The skittering sounds of many legs were masked by the crackling fires, the cyclops crashing loudly against the crate as mayhem filled the air. The crate buckled, wood groaning loudly against the strain, but miraculously held. A moment later, something dark and fuzzy clambered over the lip of one of the buildings. Perhaps six feet across, without counting the legs, it appeared – at a glance – to be a spider the size of a small wagon. Its eight knife-like legs gripped into the brickwork as it slowly descended, other features seemingly missing, save for two protrusions on its forelegs that could only be its spinnerets.

Casting their eyes around the street, Dominic and Cassius' expressions became heavy, as four more of the great arachnids descended towards street level. Above, the devil smiled, and drank deeply from its goblet.

Kincaid had no such luxury to take in his surroundings, occupied as he was. With a howling screech, the fiends pounced as one, three to his left and two more on his right, as the last flapped its wings and attacked from above.

[ 315 / 315 ]

Shadowwind · Jul 21, 2016

“Paludis is dangerous they said,” the hunter scoffed. “Go to Terminus. It's an interesting place. Surely it's safer than the jungle.” The laicar had avoided the main plazas to watch the spectacle in the sky. In this city especially it felt like the buildings were crushing him. The throngs of people did nothing to ease his addled nerves. When the demons came, it seemed like the perfect capstone to a horrible idea.

Beneath the leather-clad hunter his vorax growled. The canid’s eyes darting around as it picked up a multitude of targets. Part of the young man wanted to run, to simply turn around and let more experienced individuals take charge. Yet before Corvus could rationalize this, he found himself already guiding his beast towards the sounds of a skirmish with his great bow in hand.

Ahead of him, the hunter saw Kincaid’s impromptu stage dive. He also watched the nightmares begin their descent upon the thief. Reflexively the hunter drew back, the sound of thunder echoing from the shot. The arrow, if the crude approximation of a tree branch could be called such, was sent toward the beast descending on the thief from above. Another crack rang out as a second arrow was directed at one of the beasts closing in on Kincaid’s left.

Despite the fear of the situation and the sting of the bowstring against his hand, Corvus couldn’t help but give a small smile at the adrenaline now pumping through his veins.

[248/248]

stats

Abbey Rose · Jul 22, 2016

Shit.

Where once he was bereft of enemies, now Cassius was surrounded. He grabbed his bag and “weapon” tightly, diving to the side as the cyclops sailed over him. He could not stop there, however, and scrambled out of the alley, trying to get away from any walls that these demonic spiders to get to him from.

“Where the hell did these guys come from?” he muttered irritably. There had only been a few of the beasts in the area moments ago, but now the entire street and all of the alleys were starting to swarm with the different beasts. If he had to hazard a guess, the presence of a strong opponent in the pirate dude had drawn some of them, but that did not explain this huge horde.

That was probably something that he could worry about later, however. For now, he had to find a calm point, if there was such a thing. Unfortunately, it was probably the very center, where said pirate and his gun toting friend were located.

“Just gotta make it there.” That would not be an easy task. While he was still the low man on the totem pole, especially considering there was some psycho riding a dog and firing saplings into the sky, one or two of the demonic spiders had turned towards him and began a quick skitter across the ground. This was bad. The part-timer had virtually no combat training beyond shooting a few dummies here and there.

If he thought it about it the right way, however, it was just like swatting a bug back in class. You just had to use the right kind of magic.

He thought hard, concentrating on the basic principles of his training. The fires of Bellator was what he needed, and they came hungrily to anyone who called. His mind did most of the work, focusing onto a single point to his side, willing a window to another reality to appear. He could see what he needed within the mirror, a small flame dancing back in forth. It wanted to be let out.

He let it out, punching his fist through the glass veil and taking hold of the flames within. It covered his hand, brightening it without setting it ablaze. He could see the edges of his slightly too large shirt blacken a little, but they would hold.

A small curse leapt from his lips as he pulled the flames out of the mirror and threw it at the approaching arachnids. He did not have the money to afford any catalyzing Terra, so the small wimpy flame would have to do. It just had to buy him time to reach those guys who actually knew how to fight.

456/881

”Burn”

Nargles · Jul 22, 2016

Dominic regained his footing as the horde continued to grow. As his profession was as a hitman, fighting large groups was something he wasn’t extremely accustomed to. He was more apt at taking out individual targets and decided to put faith in his ability to hopefully take them out in quick succession.

Thankfully, it began to appear as if backup was beginning to arrive. The sound of a flurry of arrows from the vorax riding hunter was mixed with the crackling fire echoing from the alleyway.

However, before he could find any sort of comfort in the situation, the skittering arachnids began to approach his position. While two of the five had separated the group to head towards the alley, which still left three collapsing on his position.

In a deft motion, he unsheathed the auritium combat knife from his belt, wielding it in his off-hand with a reverse grip. Adrenaline surging through his body, he barreled towards the nearest spider. With a quick slash upwards, he aimed a deft blow towards the closest of the beast’s exposed legs.

He continued his attack, the follow-up flowing in a seamless barrage after the initial melee. He drew his handgun once more. Pointed at the dead center of what he assumed to be the core of its body, he fired a devastating point blank shot.

[631]

Notes

Apeiron · Jul 23, 2016

Kincaid was truly blessed by the Vis, for whatever reason.

The attacking creatures, the whiff of a missed attack, and the unmistakable sound of arrows splitting air, all happening at once in such a rush that only a man riding the rush of adrenaline could take in.

Between heartbeats, Kincaid made his decision, and the ever-present smile slipped from his face. He had no ready quip to fire at Dominic, nor did any dramatic flair dismiss the dire situation the thief now faced. Instead, his free hand moved a single finger is five distinct lines that hung in the air for a brief moment, covered by the swirling rainbow serpent that suddenly emerged around the thief.

Kincaid stepped right, moving at the speed only a laicar could reach by the aide of his heritage, words spilling from his lips as fast as he could manage, “In a faraway, forgotten land, a tall statue would forever stand.”

The first demon to his right swung, but it was clumsy and sudden, the creature not expecting Kincaid to be moving. Kincaid ducked under the swing as divine wings descended on him and warped into a barrier before him.

As he ducked under the swing, the thief’s sword struck quickly at the exposed side. The magical enchantment that sharpened it’s blade beginning to fade with each strike.

When he came up on the other side, there were suddenly two Kincaid’s standing in the square holding their cutlass point forward in a readied stance.

Both were uncharacteristically serious as they awaited the rest of the demon’s to begin their assault.

[590]

Stuffs

K3 · Jul 23, 2016

The shrieking fiends hissed and yowled as their feed was yanked from under their noses. The hunter's clumsily-fletched arrows had struck true, and the formerly flying demon fell to the ground, arrow buried in the closest approximation it could have to a gut. From the wound, more crimson ebbed, too bright and thick to be called blood.

Corvus' second target was marginally less exposed, however, and as the second twang of a loosed arrow hit the air, the fiend had shifted its attentions away from the flashy swordsman. Flinching back, the arrow scored a thin gash along the beast's wing, a layer of the seemingly thick skin sagging and hanging off uselessly where the blow had been struck.

Two short hisses seemed to approximate the short-sighted demons' method of communication, and the second fiend, which lunged forwards at what it believed to be Kincaid – only to stumble through an intangible projection – returned it before stumbling upwards, and the pair spread their wings and took to the air in earnest. Less clumsy in the air, and significantly faster, the pair of gibbering beasts circled twice before diving for Corvus, talons outstretched.

A gunshot broke the relative quiet of the battle so far, drowning the din for a moment in its deafening boom. Kincaid paid it no mind, his eyes firmly locked with the remaining fiends. His blow had scored deeply against the fiend, the beast falling back and writhing as the blade struck bone-deep. It did not get up, and the remaining fiend looked to its injured fellows before turning back to Kincaid.

Backing away slowly, the demon flared its wings menacingly, howling as loudly as it could manage.

If Dominic's sudden charge had taken the arachnid-demon off guard, it wasn't immediately obvious. Now that he was closer to the odd creature, Dominic could see that it was not hair, but matted fur along the arachnid's featureless body. His knife found easy purchase, however, and a short score up the nimble leg saw it flinch back, jettisoning a thick black liquid onto the cobble street. The gunshot elicited a full-body flinch, the spider curling inwards as the shot penetrated clean through its body. More tarry liquid began to drip slowly from the wound, singed fur around the wound revealing the hardened chitin underneath.

Both of its forelegs raised in a dangerous display, a gesture mimicked by the other arachnids. In his periphery, Dominic could see an orb of fire impact against one of the remaining demons, eliciting no reaction. The same hardened exoskeleton was exposed where the fire burnt away the fur that hid it.

Of the remaining five aside from the one that Dominic now confronted, one still clung to the side of a building, digging deeply into the building it clung to. The other four had descended to street level, slowly advancing on their intended prey.

Strange, Dominic could swear there were no fangs where its head must've been.

A moment later, two thick rows of laicar teeth – blocky and stretched into an uncanny grin – spread from lipless mouths underneath the front of each arachnid. A roiling nausea struck Dominic and Cassius as they watched the 'mouths' stretch wider than should be possible, rolling backwards as the entire body of the spiders seemed to fold back on itself. Then, from the exposed gullet, a humanoid form shot forwards!

Brandishing an ivory spear, the drider lunged as it emerged, lancing straight for Dominic's heart. All around the street, the rest of the driders emerged from their protective shells, wielding weapons of hardened silk.

Atop the roof, the devil's grin stretched in a most uncanny way, and one of its folded hands rose from its lap. Tracing strange patterns in the air, nothing appeared to happen for a moment, before a sinister crimson glyph emerged from the air before its hand. Reaching into it, the devil withdrew a longsword etched in some ebony material. For a moment, the devil contented to observe the sword, before it pulsed once with an ominous red light.

Then, almost thoughtlessly, the devil cast it from the rooftop, discarding it as though it were worthless.

[ 689 / 1004 ]

Notes

Nargles · Jul 24, 2016

As the demon retreated, Kincaid smiled to himself before saluting the monster with his sword. “Leaving already? Can't blame you, lousy party. Nothing to drink!”

Laughing, confident in his skills now, the thief turned on his heels and wasted no time moving. He summoned the spirits of Serpens, gathering momentum as he charged for the first enemy he saw -- a spider-like horror preparing to strike at a boy.

Once more he drew upon his laicar heritage, but this time Kincaid did not feel a surging rush of adrenaline where the world slowed between heartbeats. Instead he felt the power swirl in his throat, demanding that he speak. Demanding that the world look at him.

“To me!” he shouted, his Voice booming across the stone square. His voice was clear and unmistakable, and there was no denying the power that suddenly filled the area.

“To me!” he repeated as his hand pulled back and immediately snapped forward with an embellished flick of his wrist. “I've only begun to have my fun!”

Kincaid's will summoned the spirits of Serpens, and unseen they wove power into reality. As Kincaid went through the motions of his flair, from his hand shot webbing as if to mock his new foes.

In most cases, the sight of these abominations appearing out from their arachnid bodies would have incited an intense nausea. However, at this moment he was far more focused on not getting skewered by the surprise attack.

Dominic attempted to dodge to the left, a last ditch effort to prevent more vital parts of his body from being skewered. A ribbon of blood shot outwards as the spear struck his left shoulder. However, the laicar did not even appear to flinch from the assault. Intense training in the art of hand to hand fighting allowed him to temporarily suppress the pain.

He stepped back, the spear being dislodged from his shoulder. Unflinchingly, Dominic continued his counterattack. Ganging up on an opponent was a desperate tactic for those who believed numbers would hide their weak wills. Perhaps even more than their grotesque forms, this nauseated Dominic.

Immediately after, he stepped forward to the beast’s left. Raising his right hand, he rotating his waist to transfer all of his force into a powerful strike. He aimed a devastating club using his barrel of his handgun directly towards the humanoid beast’s exposed neck.

However, the man didn’t wait to see the results. Instead, it appeared as if his associate had a far larger problem on his hands. As he ran towards Kincaid, the he saw the struggling mage from the corner of his eye. “This dancing idiot has some weird magic shit in his store. And while you’re there, get me my gun!” he more ordered than advised.

Taking a spot next to Kincaid in the center of the increasing demon hoard. A similar surge of dormant laicar bravado bubbled to the surface. “You’re a decent fighter Kincaid, but I didn’t expect a thief to take such terrible odds.”

A series of three shots were fired straight into the air to attract part of the horde to himself as well.

Hare WC: [796]
Nargles WC: [948]

Notes

Abbey Rose · Jul 24, 2016

Cassius continued running forwards, now moving slightly away from the two psychopaths that, for some reason, wanted to get attacked by demons. The gray haired student knew that he had went to school for a reason, but he did not think that people who skipped it were that dumb.

But still, these two were his best shot at making it out of here alive, and as such, he had to do his best to keep them on his good side. If that meant taking orders from a guy who did not even bother to address him.

“Make that these three,” Cassius sighed, moving past the two fighters towards what he could only assume was the store of one “Kincaid,” as the pistol guy called him. He glanced over at their other companion. The man atop his dog-thing seemed to be a little preoccupied. They were separated from the others, twin fiends doing their best to keep it that way.

“Time to tip the scales, I guess.” The mage did not slow as he moved, using that same peculiar ability to force his own reality onto the earth. It was different this time. Where before, it had been a small fire from Infernalis, now it was something simpler. A desire to touch and to pierce. A triangular mirror appeared near his hand, small green lines dancing within it. There was no flourish to his movements. Just a little flick of his fingers, sending his fingers crashing against the mirror. The form reverberated through it, shattering the glass and sending a beam of light barreling through the air into a fiend.

Rather than see if he had actually managed to hit anything, he kept moving, ducking under a sign saying “Semper Mihi.” Cassius realized that he needed to brush up on his language skills. He felt like he should know what that would say if he did a little studying.

What he did know, however, was what Terra Pulveris looked like. The crushed up powder was, for whatever reason, just sitting on the table inside, slightly spilling out of a bag. The part-timer frowned at this blatant disregard of materials. All forms of Terra were pretty expensive. He could not afford any of it himself. To see someone treat it so casually was a bit jarring.

“Oh well,” he muttered, “just gotta find the gun now. Wish it was on the table, but that’s life.”

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, the weapon itself was treated a lot more delicately than the Terra. He looked through cabinet after cabinet, sweating a little as he tried to find a weapon that he had never seen before.

Such reasoning was rewarded when he came up with a heavy wooden box, just big enough to hold a pistol. Emblazoned upon it was the word Carnifex. It was heavy, and he fumbled a bit to get it into his arms.

“Terra, check. Gun, check. Hopefully those crazies aren’t dead yet.” He hurried back towards the open door.

500/1381

Shadowwind · Jul 25, 2016

Corvus’ hands were like lightning. He saw the pair of winged horrors ascend and charge at him. His fingers flowed like wind finding one of his great arrows in his quiver. With a deftness only attained by repetition thousands of times, the hunter notched the arrow and drew back the string. He took aim at where one of the fiends was sure to be. Instead he was greeted by intense pain as one of the creatures barreled straight into him.

Practice, and perhaps good fortune, were on the laicar’s side. Despite the blow, Corvus was able to untangle his feet from his vorax’s saddle lest he cripple himself in his fall. Man and demon tumbled backward. The creature’s left arm still dug deep into Corvus’ shoulder. The devil muttered something the hunter could only assume was a taunt in some obscene tongue.

His awkward position left the auburn-hair youth with no real options. With what strength he could muster, gritting his teeth through the pain, the hunter attempted to bat the winged horror off of him with his bow. This plan was met by having the creature ignore his half hearted strikes completely. All the while his great golden beast eyed the pair intently seemingly ignoring the rest of the frey. The two had been together for years allowing Corvus to place complete trust in the animal.

After what seemed like ages but was probably no more than a few seconds the fiend withdrew its claw from the hunter’s shoulder. The gash was serious but no immediate danger compared to the strike the beast now prepared to deliver at Corvus’ throat. Through the pain the hunter managed to choke out two words, “Sic ‘em!”

A wave of orange fur rushed over the prone laicar. Catello, the vorax, as much as the auburn hunter joked as being fat, was a wall of solid muscle. The beast caught the fiend by the nape of the neck in a full run and was beginning to yank at the creature while it struggled desperately to free itself from the vorax’s jaws.

Slowly sitting up in time to hear the gangster’s gunshots Corvus was able to get to a knee and notch another arrow for the demons’ next assault. A short distance away he could hear the increasingly frantic cries his pet was eliciting from the demon who had almost gotten the better of him. The terrible music earned another two words from Corvus directed at his savior, “Good boy.”

[423/671]

K3 · Jul 25, 2016

As the cocky thief made his declaration, the remaining fiend lunged forwards, talons outstretched. An opportunity given so freely would not be left to itself, and the gibbering beast howled with delight as it closed in on Kincaid's back. The other fiend, beckoned by his and Dominic's declaration, abandoned its trajectory towards Corvus. Stalled mid-air, it made an easy target for Cassius, and a moment later the fireball slammed squarely into its center of mass, sending the airborne demon spiraling to terra firma.

Barely a stone's throw away, the drider recoiled violently as Dominic's pistol collided with its head in a wet smack, almost spun the other direction with the force. In its haste and furor, the horror had over-exposed itself, and paid dearly. Slowly, it pulled itself back up and fully erudite, matching the now-clear picture that the small group could see in the firelit street.

Pale-skinned and unclothed, the human halves of the driders were lithe and seemed to terminate at the navel, where their spider halves began. The one that Dominic struck had a thick patch of black around the wound, which slowly leaked a pitch-black liquid. They all bore weapons: two hefted spears, including the one that had injured the Mafioso laicar. Another bore an impressively sized axe, single-headed and topped with a prong. The fourth wielded what appeared to be a whip of spun silk, which it held in one hand while the other carried a large, bundled net.

Bone-deep instincts forced Dominic and Kincaid to throw themselves sideways, where a large ivory arrow lodged itself into the ground. Still clutching to one of the buildings, the final drider hefted a longbow, and seemed to be spinning arrows from its spinnerets as it fired. Indeed, all of the spider horrors' weapons appeared to be made entirely of diamond-hard silk.

In the dim lighting, not much could be made of the gullet the human halves had emerged from, and further observation was cut short, as the driders surged forwards! No longer were their movements timid and measured, the heavy footfalls of many legs accompanied them as the whip-bearing drider threw its net in an attempt to snare the pair.

One of the spear-driders lunged forwards as well, the other still recovering from Dominic's counter-attack. With it, came the axe-drider, bringing its polearm down to cleave Kincaid in two. Up the side of a building, the bow-drider readied another shot.

Above, the devil delighted in the aggressive turn of events, regarding its cast aside weapon with a conspiratorial joy before its eyes – empty, blank expanses of white – wandered to the fleeing mage. As Cassius disappeared into Semper Mihi, some horrid whim seemed to take the devil. Snapping the fingers of one of its four hands, it disappeared in a waft of smoke.

Meanwhile, Corvus recuperated as his vorax, Catello, wrestled with the downed fiend. Weight and muscle were against the demon, but enthusiasm and panicked energy made up the difference, for a short while. Lashing out with its talons, the fiend battered Catello's head with its wings as it dug the talons into the thick fur, eventually finding soft underbelly.

The beast remained unamused, incensed at the injury to its master, and renewed its efforts as it pounced up once, dropping down with jaws wide to accept the fiend's waiting neck. The weight was too much, and the fiend's only reward was a thin gash along Catello's underbelly before a few-hundred kilograms of carnivore crushed its legs outright. A savage snap later, and it stilled, the vorax ripping its neck wide as neon-red blood gushed forth.

Cassius heard the din of battle outside and pushed more energy to his legs, slamming shoulder first into the back door with his occupied arms. Stopping up short, his eyes went wide with shock. There, standing in the back entrance, was the devil. Four arms stretched wide in welcome, the elder demon's crooked face split into a barbed-wire grin.

The devil spoke its first words of the encounter, and Cassius' nose was assaulted by the scent of acrid smoke, "Ave, praeco damnatorum; de mortuis pastorem."

[ 685 / 1689 ]

Abbey Rose · Jul 27, 2016

“H-Hey, buddy.” Cassius took a step back from the demon nervously. When did this thing get there? He clutched the Carnifex’s box close to him. “Hail to you, too, I guess?”

His eyes looked at the door on the other side of the shop. He could make a run for it, but he highly doubted this demon would fail to catch him. He had Pulveris now, so he could maybe throw a spell, but that would be very awkward while holding this heavy gun.

He, again, very much wished he had kept up with his studies on the old tongue. He could make out a few words, but it was like picking up pebbles in a rockslide. He gulped. A language barrier would probably not help him keep his guts inside his body.

“Q-Quaestio me?” he said slowly, carefully enunciating his words. The last thing he could afford to do was accidentally foul mouth a demon.

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Nargles · Jul 27, 2016

The somewhat suicidal move had achieved its intended effect. The attention of the group of demons was now split between both Dominic and his associate. The mafioso was used to taking a beating as his crude fighting style tended to rely far too much on simply tanking the enemy attacks. However, this was far from a single combat fight.

Instinctively, the olive-skinned man dove out of the way of the oncoming net. Getting trapped in anyway was essentially a death sentence. Carrying his momentum, he transitioned his dodge into a roll to regain his orientation. The spear wielding drider appeared from his blind spot, catching the man off-guard.

The spear struck viciously along the right of his ribcage. The coat he was wearing was shredded at the point of impact, blood staining the white button-up underneath. However, his martial focus was still pumping adrenaline through his veins, the pain of the attack completely suppressed for the time being. He could feel his heartbeat accelerate, blood flowing through the exposed wound and leaking out with a dulled heat.

His expression became stern, bottled up rage erupting outwards. Abominations! Insulting creatures that were disgusting facsimiles of humans... the very sight incited his wrath. This resonated with his laicar blood, but to a level that eclipsed others of his kin. The sight offended his pride he had for his kind and that very hatred was turned into pure strength.

As the monster paused after its attack, Dominic retaliated. In a quick movement he regained his foothold, rotating his body fully into the counter attack. Though the arachnid towered over him, the exposed flesh served as a delicate weak spot. Its stance still recovering from the downward stab, the beast was bending down towards the gangster’s height, leaving its left shoulder exposed. The golden handgun clubbed the beast’s flesh, the full force of his strength being dispersed in a single attack.

The titanic strength easily forced it to slam against the ground. Another sickening crack echoed from the site of impact on the shoulder. With a heavy smash, it hit the ground with such force as to break through the cobbled road.

[1306]

Notes

Shadowwind · Jul 27, 2016

The hunter had precious few seconds to decide his course of action after ridding himself of the fiend. Beneath his pet there was a minimal but steady drip of crimson pooling onto the cobblestone street. At the same time Corvus could feel the inside of his leathers getting slick with blood. For the briefest second, the laicar considered running.

The idea died in its infancy. Corvus never was one to give up a good hunt. And so the young man steeled himself before speaking to his beast, “Get them if you think you can. Stay here if you can’t.” The golden wall of muscle snorted. Its front half still slick with fiend blood. With a growl Catello charged forward to join the mafioso and the flashy swordsmen in melee.

This left Corvus alone plotting his next assault. With arrow drawn the hunter waited for his shot, the bow-wielding spider monstrosity in his sights. When Dominic unleashed his devastating attack, the opportunistic hunter saw his chance. Using the crack of the street to mask the snap of his bowstring, Corvus fired his first shot at the creature. A wave of pain radiated down his right arm, screaming for him to take a break. Stubbornly though the laicar drew another arrow and notched it. Even as he let loose the second attack the young hunter could feel his hand shake. He knew it wouldn’t be enough but he could only hope the first assault was true.

[244/915]

stuff

Apeiron · Jul 28, 2016

There was a feral cry somewhere behind Kincaid, and the terrible flapping of leathery wings. Something clawing against stone to rush at the thief while his back was turned.

Between the net and the charging demon at his back, Kincaid’s timing had to be good.

Another surge of Kincaid’s laicar heritage spread through his veins, and the world temporarily slowed. He heard each heavy footfall of the demon, each powerful and urgent flap of its wings. The net hung in the air for a split second before it began to fall again. But by then his body was already moving on instinct, and he flipped sideways through the air and out of the way of the net.

In that crucial final moment before clearing the net, the thief felt something tug on the back of his shirt, and the slightest blossom of pain. It caused him to stumble while attempting to land on his feet.

It didn’t help that one of the demon’s cracked their whip with a sickening snap. Kincaid felt it coil around his leg and pull his feet out from under him with a vicious yank.

The thief hit the ground with a thud, the air in his lungs escaping him, and the tip of his enchanted cutlass slapping the ground with a clear and distinct clang. Without thought he rolled over, bleary-eyed, and saw the vague form of something with their arms raised overhead, as if preparing to bring down something on the thief.

Kincaid was as hearty as laicar come, though nowhere near as tough as his brother, but if the first impression that came to mind was right….

The thief brought his sword arm up and around, his cutlass carrying a wide arc as the demon brought down its axe. If the pull on the whip was any indicator, the strength behind the attack was substantial.

He felt the weight of the axe press against his cutlass as the demon brought down their weapon. It was heavy, and every adrenaline-fueled muscle in Kincaid’s body strained to shift the blade just a couple of inches to one side, until pain flared in his left shoulder and there was an oh-so-sweet sound of the heavy infernal axe slamming into the ground.

Before pain consumed him, Kincaid shoved the his cutlass upwards, in between an exposed section of the demon.

[1190]

Stuffs

K3 · Jul 28, 2016

Around the street, chaos descended, the melee degrading into a mess of brawls and panicked attacks. The nobility of the battle was quickly fading, leaving in its place a frantic struggle for survival between the laicars and the demons.

Dominic's arm bulged, muscles swelling as veins stood out from the limb like ridges. With a beastly snarl on his face, whatever cry of fury he had loosed was lost in the deafening crash of the drider impacting cobblestone underfoot. Primal, savage pride flared in the man, as he felt the bone and socket snap and break under the force of the blow, following the blow through until it almost looked as though he'd shoved the unearthly beast into the small crater it created.

The drider was silent, perhaps mute, but it outright dropped its weapon and grasped for its now-useless arm, mouth contorted in horror and its eight spindly legs twitching and writhing in agony. A moment later, spite was added as a curious afterthought, and Corvus' arrow burrowed into its soft, unprotected belly. Doubling over, the drider continued to writhe, but failed to rise. The second arrow struck low, sinking slightly into the dense exoskeleton of the drider's lower half, but failed to outright penetrate.

Inside Semper Mihi, Cassius flinched as what could only be described as an explosion went off outside. Beads of sweat trailed from his temple down the side of his head, but the budding necromancer held his ground. You didn't give ground to demons, you didn't give ground to-

The devil pushed forward from its place, and Cassius instinctively took a step back. The barbed-wire grin the devil wore seemed to stretch further outwards. Further and further it pushed against the devil's cheeks, until the image of its teeth extended beyond the boundaries of its face; the teeth losing their shape and curling into thin wisps of smoke that rose to the roof of the building as it entered.

"Ah, animus infirmus est, caro tenera est… loquere, praeco, auditam fac mihi verba vetera." It breathed, its voice husky and enticing.

Outside, conditions degenerated. From his prone position, Kincaid's aim was ever true, and his wrist flicked the tip of his cutlass towards the axe-drider's waist. It penetrated only a few inches from the thief's disadvantaged position, but even those inches burnt like fire. Reeling back, the drider clasped at the wound as it readied its weapon in a free hand. The whip-drider, snarling voicelessly, wrenched backwards on the slender weapon.

The vice-grip around Kincaid's weapon tightened, lifting his leg bodily and threatening to bring the rest of him with it! Further down the street, Catello rushed to join the frenzy, and Corvus massaged his wounded shoulder, waiting for the right moment.

Dominic, panting with the effort of his own attack, clenched his fist tightly. He turned to face the other spear-drider, now recovered from his previous attack. Though slick black ichor trickled from the drider's contusion, it approached more cautiously than its fellows. Holding its weapon aloft, it slowly bore down on the Mafioso, the two front of its six unbent legs raised to stab out with pointed tips. A moment later, the drider lunged, spear flashing in a controlled jab.

Still clinging to the building, the bow-drider had a better perspective of the unfolding brawl. Turning its sights to the approaching beast, the demon nocked an ivory arrow in a fluid motion, loosing the arrow a moment later at where the beast would surely step next. Another spun-silk arrow quickly replaced it, again firing it at the fast-approaching vorax nearing its remaining spear-wielding fellow.

Unnoticed in this fracas, the fiend struggled and thrashed under the weight of the net. It had, in its haste, committed to its attack too heavily, and suffered appropriately for its arrogance. Its claws struggled to find purchase, trapped in the thick hoops of the net. Its obsidian eyes flashed around it, but its shrieking cries silenced as it hoped not to draw attention to itself.

[ 666 / 2355 ]

Nargles · Jul 31, 2016

Though the pain was still suppressed by his force of will, Dominic’s shoulder continued to spasm from the drider’s initial surprise attack. However, the mafioso was an unfortunately stubborn man and cautious actions were not an option.

Before he had a chance to fully recover from unleashing his full brute strength, the original spear drider approached. The beast began to rear, a skittering hiss emanating from its mouth as it found its prey. Its bared legs twitched with excitement ready to skewer its prey once more. Its attack was predatory, being as much of a calculated move that such a monster could make.

The brown-haired hitman impulsively moved forward, impatient to finish this one off in a similar fell swoop as the previous. He dashed towards the spear-wielding drider, his steps heavier with suppressed fatigue. The man stepped to the right in time with the oncoming attack. More sluggish than previously, the spear still grazed past his right forearm. Breaking the skin with ease, a splatter of blood accompanied attack.

He closed into point-blank range of the arachnid. It towered above him, though his target was still beast’s torso.

In another combination, he slashed upwards with the combat knife in his left hand. The blade initially struck the thick exoskeleton below the humanoid waist. It took a moment before the beast’s natural resistance was pierced through. Continuing his momentum forward he loosed a second attack immediately after. Taking aim this time directly at the drider’s stomach he aimed a clear shot with his pistol.

The ring of two shots was deafening at such a close range. A profoundly personal assault, the two shots were fired in quick succession. Unlike the original assault, both shots easily pierced through the thin flesh. Pitch black blood spewed outwards from the wound back towards Dominic.

With a primal hiss, the drider reactionary attacked back. Though still disorientated from the combination attack, it was much less controlled than its initial attack. Stabbing down violently, it attempted to skewer the assailant.

His heart pounding with exhilaration, Dominic reflexively reacted. He rolled out to the left towards Kincaid’s position. However, the damage he had ignored made his movements stiff. What was originally a clean roll had transformed into a heavy thud against the ground. The spear stabbed directly into the ground, piercing through the cobblestone to emphasize its strength.

The tattooed man forced himself back up to his feet. He was fast reaching his limits but his intense, and at times foolish, pride prevented him from yielding.

“Hurry it up you two!” he barked out an order.

Notes

Shadowwind · Aug 4, 2016

“Damn,” the laicar cursed. His arm was still throbbing from his wound. Corvus’ whole pace felt sluggish, he unfortunately realized that his injury was much more impactful than he would have given it credit for. Still the man-spider monstrosity on the side of the building commanded his full attention as it unleashed a barrage upon his partner.

The first arrow took Catello in the flank burying deep into the vorax’s side and spurting a small fountain of crimson in its wake. The wounded beast unleashed a hideously pained bay, the sound of which was enough to send chills down the hunter’s spine. The golden canid took off more determined than ever, the archer demon’s second arrow falling behind its mark. Momentum and rage carried Catello up sheer stone as the vorax’s ravenous jaws fixed themselves around the drider’s leg and aimed to rip it from its perch.

“He knows when to run,” the hunter mumbled to himself as he watched the blood trail behind his companion. “We wouldn’t be this far if he didn’t,” the words were some small comfort as Corvus lined up his shot. As Catello’s jaws sank into the demon’s leg another crack of thunder signaled his shot from his greatbow. He could only hope it would be enough.

Attacks

[211/1127]

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