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[Plot] [Open] Week 145: The Counterattack

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The last thing that Aeria wanted to do was make Ioannes nervous. Whatever he’d experienced during the last months was probably enough to have rattled most people. Many of the citizens of Terminus had likely been subjected to all kinds of horrors that they’d rather not recount. She’d been lucky to have avoided the vast majority of them. She smiled quickly at him.

“I’m sure you’ll do what you can, Ioannes. All anyone can ask is that you do your best. You and Palamedes’ help will undoubtedly be as valuable as mine, for instance, since I don’t have so many skills either. Like you, I just want to help protect people.”

She paused to quickly glance over towards Deni and Ignis but they looked like they were handling their irate acquaintance quite well. Focusing again on Ioannes, she spoke warmly.

“I’m looking forward to fighting alongside you, Ioannes. I’ll be at your back if you need help.”

[1189]
 
Aelflead met the rogue's darkened grin evenly for a moment, then snorted.

Then the snort turned to a chuckle, and the chuckle to a laugh, and the laugh into grinning tears, and the then the tears back into snorts. When she'd collected herself from her spontaneous bout of laughter she looked up to meet the velen's gaze again with a seemingly jovial grin.

"You know what? You guys are pretty cute."

Not pausing to look for the pair's confused reactions, the bronze-skinned woman shifted forward, decidedly invading the cornrowed velen's personal bubble, and launched her fist at his chest.

"You're really cute right now actually." The woman's scowl was back with a vengeance, and her face looked like a contorted feral mess. " It's always a great thing when a kid's balls drop, but yours must make it hard to walk if you thought that little display was gonna send me crawlin' underneath a table like a bad dream or something'."

Aelflead's fist were resting on her hips partially obscured by her cloak, while one showed occasional flashes of silver. Her dagger was drawn and twirling slowly in her hand beneath the fabric while she began to slowly advance, keeping her back to the guards and her knife out of view.

"What, did puberty hit the small-town sweethearts because we took down some stilio with wings who stayed in the sun too long?"

[232]
 
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The avian’s eyes locked on Aelflead and all traces of amusement left her expression. At times, the spurii's idocy and bravado could be amusing, but now was not one of those instances.

Ignis’ glare intensified into something chilling, freezing the brash spurii on the spot. Her expression promised that Aelflead would regret trying to stab anyone.

Her nostrils flared slightly​ as the enlil took a calming breath.

“It doesn't take male anatomy to recognize that starting a fight right here would be stupid. We hoped we wouldn't have to spell it out for you.”

Ignis’ glare managed to darken even further, eyes turning bright red and making the usually cheery enlil look dangerous. “I'll ask you nicely, but only once more: Please stop being so impatient and crude. It's not in anyone's best interests.”

She grabbed Deni's hand and tugged it, turning away from Aelflead, silently urging him to consider just walking away.

[1453/1350]

Note: Used Raptor Glare to strike fear into Aelf and make per put some respeck on that
 
The warning strike didn’t surprise Deni, though it did leave a slight sting in his ribs. Because of their proximity, she couldn’t get the leverage she needed for a powerful hit, but if she was trying to make a point, then she succeeded.

Heat rippled down Deni’s spine. His grin deepened as the last of his patience dissolved.

“I’m gonna-”

His words were cut short by Ignis’ ferocious gaze. With teeth grinding together, he listened to his companion speak. It was unusual for her to be the voice of reason for the pair of them. Usually she was a fierce protector of her friends and Deni had to stop her from attacking any who threatened them.

When Ignis tried to lead him by the hand, the gunslinger didn’t move.

“Save your energy for the daemons, Red,” he uttered in a deep rumble. “Wouldn’t want something to happen to you on that forsaken isle now, would we?”

Reluctantly, Deni let his companion drag him away from the woman before the situation escalated. Without her face taunting him, he felt himself grow calmer. Perhaps it was for the best that they had that little confrontation. It kept them sharp for whatever was to come of their perilous voyage.

The velen sighed audibly and rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

“By the Serpent’s saggy tits, I need a drin.”

[227/1,827]
 




The wanderer followed the woman’s gaze as she peered across the deck where three others stood -- a velen, and two enlil. They looked like they were talking, and Ioannes guessed that Liria knew them, but when she turned back to face the laicar, he kept glancing back to the group.

Something about the way they stood, the way they moved. It was tense. It put Ioannes on edge. He half moved for his rifle, but caught himself.

Still, Liria’s words were comforting. Just knowing that someone had his back, aside from Palamedes, meant the world to him. “Thank you,” he told her, all sincerity laid bare. “I won’t be hard to find, so if you need any help, just find me....

“...And speaking of help, are your friends okay?”

Whatever was going on, for a moment it looked like it had started to escalate and then the enlil accompanying the velen shot the most vicious glare Ioannes had ever seen. The two walked away, and left the other enlil by themselves.

“That didn’t look very pleasant.”

[896]
 
A wry smile twisted Aeria’s lips at Ioannes’ comment. Although he couldn’t see the smile through the scarf she wore across her face, the corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled at that movement was clear. She replied in a similarly wry tone.

“No. No you won’t be hard to find with that big ol’ vorax hanging around. I’m sure that I’ll be able to count on you if we need to work together.”

Their conversation was interrupted by an increase in volume from Aelflead and sharp responses from both Deni and Ignis. Aeria shook her head slowly and sighed as she responded to Ioannes.

“They’re fine. I think that this Aelflead person is a hothead. My companions are perfectly able to manage her, but I’m glad I’m not there. I tend to take badly to people shouting at me without good cause and with a halberd in my hand, I can’t be responsible for my actions.”

She shrugged and glanced around the ship before musing aloud to her new acquaintance, “I wonder when we’re going to get underway?”

[1369]
 
At Ignis' horrendous scowl, Aelflead flinched.


The redhead wanted to run the pair down and take the purse from them by force, and long since past diplomacy (not to say diplomacy was one of her strong points to begin with), that was her original plan. Wring the bird's neck, maybe smack her around a little, stomp the fish for fairness' sake and go about her business. However there was a problem with that plan, and it was the same reason her knuckles were turning white from clenching her knife too hard and that she couldn't make herself follow the couple into the ship.


The odd-eyed barbarian wouldn't admit it, but the enlil's stare had unnerved her. Now, instead of chasing them down, she stood rigidly on the deck, staring at the pair's back and seething like a child who'd had their favorite toy confiscated. The taunt thrown over the velen's shoulder was just salt in her pride's wound.


When the pair finally did disappear into the ship, Aelflead's hand and jaw relaxed enough from the position she hadn't realized they were holding for the spurii to move. The first thing she did was spit on the ground and growl out something that was either a curse or a series of swears at the two. Then, turned and stalked away, looking like a red-capped storm cloud drifting across the deck.


She had no intention of leaving, then she figured, she'd never see the couple again unless they were fighting Eversor himself, and if nothing else Aelflead intended to get paid, or at least wring their necks. Wherever she was going though, and whatever it was she intended to do, to most of the nameless volunteers aboard the Hydrus, it seemed best that she be allowed to do it alone.


On the bright side though, with the rogue, inventor, and ticking bomb gone, the deck area around Ioannes', Aeria, and Palamedes' was significantly more pleasant.


Even if, a little more empty.


[330]

context
Twas 75late10 me, and coming up with something snappy and sensical in latin is hard when you're half awake, so for context of what Aelflead was mumbling for anyone intending to mention hearing parts of what she mumbled, think something along the lines of: "Entitled, self-righteous purebloods;"or "lucky born" or something along those lines.
 




“Soon, I’m sure,” Ioannes remarked. He still felt uneasy about those three, but Liria knew them better and Ioannes would just have to trust her.

The two tried to carry on a conversation, but it was difficult and stunted. Even with the small spectacle of Liria’s associates over, there was a tension to the air that lingered like a miasma.

We’re really doing this, Ioannes said to himself. He was distraught, and worried, but knew he had no choice in the matter. What more he couldn’t let it show lest it spread like a disease to others. How had the heroes in his stories always managed to be so calm and collected?

Liria parted ways not long after all conversation between them had broken down. The two promised to speak again if possible. The day dragged on to night, eventually, and Ioannes (not wanting to sit idly by) had begun to help out where he could. What skills he had in Terriculum were put to use going over the ship’s weaponry and looking for faults or deficiencies, but he was mostly useless there. A number of other gunsmiths had walked the ship before him, so Ioannes was left with little work there.

Instead he found more work helping the guilds move whatever supplies they had into the ship. As he worked with the various men and women from the guilds, the wanderer was able to laugh and relax. The tension he had noted before burned away.

Finally, night set in, and food was rationed out.

Ioannes sat with Palamedes, who hadn’t moved from his spot at the center of the ship. Food for the vorax would be brought out a little later, though at a cost, and then all that was left was to sleep. In the morning the Hydrus would make way for Krevati Evimirias.

The guilds established patrols throughout the night. There was an expectation to those on watch -- when the new wave came, they’d be ready to sound the alarm.

And sound it they did.

The soft sound of leathery wings beating against the wind was not what warned the night watch. Nor was it the terrible black cloud of demonic bodies that soared through the heights, almost impossible to see if not for the moon-lit night and sparsely covered sky.

No, it was the smell carried upon the rising winds that heralded the unholy horde. A foul stench of misery and rot, heated with malice from Infernalis to make brimstone smell pleasant.

The men who had survived the first wave did not hesitate. The rushed to sound the alarm, calling to all, “To arms! To arms! The demons come! To arms!”

[1347]
 
Sleep had been nearly impossible for Aeria. In spite of herself, she was worried about what was going to happen on this voyage. It was strange that a person who’d experienced everything that she’d experienced could be worried about anything but demons were still worse than the Conexus and TorBru Corporation put together. She’d been just about to drift off when a terrified (and terrifying) cry went up about a demon attack.

The spurii sat bolt upright in bed and a moment later had bustled into her clothing and taken up her halberd. She nearly forgot to secure the scarf across her face, but draped it over at the last minute. Even now, she wasn’t willing to give up on covering her identity. There was a surging tide of people making for the deck now and Aeria was bowled along with them. Once they were abovedecks, the slight woman swung her halberd into a ready position and looked around for Ioannes and Palamedes.

Finding them, she stood next to the pair, her stance set and her halberd ready to slice and jab into action. She looked across at Ioannes and gave him a curt nod before speaking.

“Well it looks like we’ll be fighting, doesn’t it?”

She was considering magic but decided she’d wait and see exactly what kind of counterattack the crew of this ship could muster.

[1597]
 
The alarm startled Ignis awake. The engineer was out of bed and tugging a cloak around herself before she realized she was awake, the memory of disentangling herself from Deni’s limbs already fading. Amicus wrapped a scarf around the lower half of Ignis’ face as she made her way up to the deck.

The engineer patted her pockets as she peered through a doorway, taking in all the people rushing out to help combat the incoming attack. Shouts and thunderous footsteps nearly drowned out her thoughts and the smell made Ignis crinkle her nose.

Cora hovered out and started climbing into the air to scout out the enemy and lock onto potential targets.

Meanwhile, Ignis squinted and searched for Aeria in the dark as she joined the throng of volunteers and vigilantees pouring onto the deck.

[136/1486]
 
Aelflead was already on deck with the crew when the alarm sounded. She'd been so wound up earlier that day she couldn't sleep, though after spending most of the night helping the crew with what she could and getting into fights with anyone she could find off duty, she was starting to wish she'd just gone to bed.

Wiping pitiful pleas for sleep from red and green eyes, the warrior-mechanic drew her sword. "You ugly bastards just couldn't wait for dawn could you?"

[83]
 
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The drowsy velen groaned as he stirred, contemplating the severity of the alarm. It was unusual for Ignis to be up before him, regardless of the situation. Perhaps his previous encounter had taken more of a toll on him than he had thought, despite the fact that his wound was mostly healed.

“One night,” he grunted as he clambered out of the bed. Ignis darted out of the door before he finished his complaint. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

Groggily, Deni reached for the first pile of clothes he could find. He pulled the teal shirt over his head, put on his black pants and slid his arms through his favourite sleeveless trench coat. He attached his belt firmly, complete with his multitude of holstered pistols. The serpent’s kiss he drew immediately, and with eyelids sticking together every time he blinked, the gunslinger wandered out into the corridor of the crew deck.

Chaos ensued as various passengers ran back and forth, brushing past each other. From soldiers to sellswords to engineers, they all hurried to prepare themselves for what could only be assumed was a daemonic assault.

As one soldier barged past Deni, he swung his head from one end of the corridor to the other. His enlil companion was nowhere in sight.

“Aquila’s arse,” he grunted and headed into the horde of people. Knowing her curious nature, she’d be the first one out there, so the velen took the swiftest route to the main deck.

[186/2,073]
 




Palamedes was awake far before any alarm. The vorax’s acute sense of smell, normally used for tracking down vistra, roused the beast from his slumber. A low growl rumbled through Palamedes -- the first indicator that it wanted Ioannes’s attention -- and rose to its feet.

Ioannes fell to the ground, and woke with a start. He had chosen to forsake a bed below deck in favor of staying near his companion.

The call raised, people stumbled and raced out of bed, some quicker than others. For Ioannes’s part, he fumbled for his rifle. A quick glance at Palamedes and he could see the vorax standing ready, it’s hackles raised and teeth bared.

“Haven’t even left,” the wanderer grumbled, “and already we’re going to have to fight.” Reaching into his bag, Ioannes picked out one of his magazines and slammed it home into the well.

Footsteps fell behind him, and a familiar voice asked, “Well it looks like we’ll be fighting, doesn’t it?”

Ioannes looked back and saw Liria, and a small wave of relief settled over him. If a fight was going to start already, at least there was going to be someone friendly nearby. Fate was kind to him today.

Turning away from Liria to watch Palamedes, Ioannes followed the vorax's sight off into the distant dark. How long did they have? Would there be another repeat of Terminus? How many were going to die tonight while Ioannes lived?

His hands tightened on his rifle. When he replied, his voice was heavy and somber, “So it would appear.” He pulled back on the bolt of his weapon and paused for a moment while he fought down the worry and fear. In the next moment, he resolved himself to the fight and slammed his bolt forward, feeding the first round and chambering it. Though it was probably useless to say, Ioannes didn’t want anything bad to happen to Liria. They had just met, and she was the only person to try talking to him since they arrived in the small town.

So, with no small bit of concern in his voice, the laicar told her, “Watch yourself.”

[1694*]



*Moon's dialogue not counted.
 
At the other side of the deck, a pair of webbed claws pierced the hull of the ship. As the horde of airborne monstrosities rapidly approached, the body of one predator clambered over the side of the vessel. Taller than any velen, the creature had more mass than most of the others. Its bloated body was almost spherical. Its purple skin glistened with slime. A thick, gloopy substance overflowed from the daemon’s mouth, an apparent source of the creature’s discomfort as its velen-like eyes were wide with pain.

The monster groaned, along with its insides, and spilled some of the bile onto the deck. Then in one motion, the daemon took to the air, leaping much farther than its body looked like it could, and toward Aeria and Ignis’ position.

Ignis had neared Aeria and Ioannes after spotting the large vorax when she felt a tingle down the back of her neck. She shouted a quick warning squawk before turning and aiming her gun at the daemon.

A volley of shots from Cora sailed towards the slimy monster from above. Ignis fired a single shot towards its mouth and then ran to Ioannes and Aeria’s side. She had no desire to be anywhere near that disgusting creature. The fact that it almost looked like a person, perhaps one that had drowned and bloated, sickened the enlil.

“Hi, nice to meet ya. Glad you’re safe. Let’s go ahead and send that thing back to the underworld so we stay that way, yeah?” Ignis chattered nervously.

Aeria nodded grimly and swung her halberd around, moving it into position, before she leapt across the deck. She thrust the wicked piercing end of the halberd forward violently, ramming it into the thing’s stomach, puncturing it and sending forth a gout of fermented body fluid. The smell was unbelievably foul and the deck smoked where the fluid had struck it.

By the time it happened, the spurii was already falling back with great speed. Having delivered her strike, she used her training to escape to a safe distance, leaving the space open for another attack by one of her companions.

“That’s disgusting!” Aeria gagged slightly as she looked over at Ignis.

“Agreed.” Ignis’ mouth pressed into a thin line as she leapt away from the mess. She crinkled her nose and adjusted her scarf.

Her stomach turned and an uncomfortable sensation in the back of her throat made the enlil gag.

Palamedes surged forward, the aged voraxes full weight slamming into the gutted demon and driving it into the ground. Three pairs of legs began rending the horror with ferocious savagery, sharpened claws piercing sickly skin. Tearing. Gouging. More foul blood splashed across the deck, the demon flailing and shrieking before Palamedes bit down on the demon’s neck with nauseating crunch.

The grotesque daemon groaned loudly as its rubbery skin was ripped and severed from its body. Its loud cries reverberated around the ship in a manner that imitated one of the sentient species all too well.

“We’ll need to work in tandem,” Ioannes shouted over the din of demonic cries. His statement was punctuated by the sound of his rifle barking as he fired into the unholy storm. Then came the repetitive and familiar motions of reloading.

The slap of his bolt coming up and back - Clack. Clack. - The casing ejecting, and the next round sliding against metal as it was fed into the chamber - Cla-tink. Tink. - The bolt being slammed home and locked, driving the bullet into the barrel’s base - Clack. Clack.

His shot was just one of many. Other gunmen, both on the ship and off, fired on the horde with varying degrees of skill. For Ioannes’s part, he wasn’t lacking in skill, but he was all too aware that he was ill equipped. His rifle was made from common steel, without any sort of magical enhancements.

Shouldering his rifle, preparing his next shot, he said, “Palamedes can help take down whichever demons get too close. If you two can help keep him up and moving forward, we can keep the demons from surrounding and overrunning us.”

He pulled the trigger, firing off into the horde, and started scanning around him as he reloaded. The bracers on his wrists began to glow with a faint blue light.

Aeria nodded her agreement with Ioannes’ suggestion.

“Alright, we’ll carve him a path, I think we can handle it!”

Flanking the huge vorax, Aeria extended her deadly sharp halberd in front of her, swinging it into a position from which she could cut into the next daemon that faced her. Black gore stained the blade and the smell was nauseating, but that was the way of things. It was a fight and there was no time for niceties.

Looking over at Ignis and Cora, she managed to smile crookedly.

“Shall we help the old man wreak some havoc?”

“Let's,” Ignis agreed, grinning beneath her scarf.

The enlil moved to stand on Aeria's other side, guns drawn. Faint wisps of magic shimmered around her, sprouting bits of leaf and thin, half corporeal tendrils.

“I'll cover us from attack so you two can focus on ending demons quickly.”

Turning her attention to Palamedes, Aeria spoke to him, unsure how much vorax really understood of the common speech.

“Ready, old boy?!”

The purple pile of flesh had not responded since the vorax’ attack. Gaps in the skin which had been ripped and torn by Palamedes released an overwhelmingly foul odour into the air, like month-old rotten flesh that been left out in the sun. The pungent aroma sifted through the gaggle of fighters. Then, out of a hole in the creature’s belly, more gelatinous bile seeped. This time, there was an object caught in the thick fluid.

A severed arm, rotten to the bone.

The myriad of shapes in the sky became more distinguishable. Bloodthirsty cries filled the air. The airborne monsters were excited for the chaos they were about to cause.

The most zealous few soared ahead of the pack. They descended out of the black swiftly and erratically, crashing into the deck clumsily or crushing their victims with the sheer force of their collision.

One in particular, a slender, humanoid figure covered in dark feathers, was intrigued by Palamedes. It couldn’t pass up the opportunity to feast on something new. The winged beast brandished its needle-like teeth and hurled itself towards the vorax.

Meanwhile, the bloated daemon rolled onto one side. Suddenly, it bellowed. A force exploded from within the creature, expelling the vile fluid in all directions.

Cora fired shots at the demon hurtling towards Palamedes while a shield formed around the trio. The bark and vines had barely had time to form before the nasty fluid dissolved it and kept hurtling towards the adventurers.

Ignis let out a squawk of disgust as she leapt away from the horrid explosion. Her cloak sizzled in placed where the fluid had landed. Without hesitation, she fired two shots at the demon responsible for the expulsion of bile-like muck. Tucking her guns away for a moment, the enlil began ripping off the ruined portions of her cloak.

“I'm really starting to hate demons,” Ignis groused.

“Tell me about it! Ughh!”

Some of the caustic liquid had spilled on Aeria’s own cloak, but thankfully the hood was still in place around her face. It seemed a little silly to worry about her identity being revealed now but she was still leery of the Conexus and the fact that she was a fugitive.

Before they had time to do anything else, another wave of demons was upon them. In the vanguard was a huge, heavily muscled creature with a spiked tail, two huge dragon-like wings and a mouth with a razor-edged tongue. Its head was elongated and bullet shaped, its skin rough and corrugated and it gave off an intense stench of brimstone.

With a crash, it came down onto the deck facing the vorax, the enlil and the spurii. It eyed them with a baleful gaze and bellowed a challenge, daring them to come and fight it. Aeria set her jaw. If it wanted a fight, it would Vis-damned well get one.

Wordcount for Mwn: [398/1995]

Dys: 317

Val: 375

Hare: 273

Note
Aeria used “Fall Back” and spend 500 vigor to do so.
 
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Dark shapes grew larger against the cloudy backdrop of the night sky. A winged monstrosity with scales and a stalk protruding from its body, an eerily glowing bulb at the end of the stalk, came into view. It was reminiscent of some deep ocean fish with horrifyingly long teeth and dead, flat circles for eyes. Its fin like wings tucked against the body as the creature dove for Aelflead. The wings snapped out, catching air and its maw stretched wide. Rows of sharp teeth with thick saliva dripping from them threatened to dig into the spurii if she didn’t react in time.

Acidic, thick drool dripped from the demon’s mouth as it hurtled towards the cranky woman, making hissing noises at the droplets hit the deck and ate into the wood.

Meanwhile, a serpentine demon had managed to climb on board. It slithered quickly to avoid the boots and shoes of people running back and forth across the deck. Hissing loudly, frills expanding around its head to give the demon a more intimidating look, the demon snapped at heels and calves. Startled cries and shouts sounded out around the snakelike creature. The demon bared its fangs at Deni and lunged. From its maw, a bulbous head emerged. Scraggly, blond hair was matted to the protrusions scalp and pale cheeks. Six spindly arms reached for Deni, webbed, slimy fingers outstretched. Pale, blue, pupilless eyes stared ahead dispassionately from the abomination’s face.

The monster that lunged for Aelflead was Deni’s first sight upon exiting the disorganised rabble of the deck below. The animosity between them seemed insignificant to the velen when gobs with wings were trying to consume them. With the serpent’s kiss ready to fire, Deni strode forward.

Aelflead met the monster’s charge with forced grace, learned from her most recent encounter with a flying mouth, and flew into a rolling crouch beneath the beast’s dive and drew her shortsword. It was then that she caught the rogue moving towards her in her peripheral and the snaking shadow lunging for his legs.

A warning click flung itself at the velen from her mouth before she could think, and suddenly she was a glancing flash of silver in the winged beast’s side and rushing towards the velen.

The fish like demon left a thick layer of mucus on Aelflead’s blade, sizzling as the acidic stuff started to eat into the metal. The flying demon hissed and flapped its wings to maneuver its bulky body in pursuit of the spurrii.

Meanwhile, the pale demon that had emerged from the mouth of the sea snake grasped at Deni's limbs with cold, clammy hands, sharp nails digging in. It groaned and twitched and its throat bulged, cheeks puffing up dangerously.

By the time that the crowds had parted to evade the aquatic nightmare, Deni barely had time to respond. His free arm sheltered his face defensively, but the monster’s claws still managed to break the skin. The sudden pain caused the velen to choke on his next breath. His eyes watered as he released a sharp cough, then his teeth crunched together.

The pale gunslinger slammed his pistol against the head of the creature that held him. This time he wasn’t going to hesitate, no matter how much it resembled a woman.

Angling the auritium firearm at the dazed creature, he unleashed a round into the mass of golden hair.

Blood and bone exploded from the wound and the demonic woman sagged, grip slackening. Her cheeks also slacked, letting acidic slime seep from her mouth and onto Deni. Her corpse was heavy, twitching once, then twice before going still.

The snake she had emerged from hissed loudly and lunged for Aelflead's ankle.

The fish demon wasn't far behind, it dropped from above, jaws gaping, onto Aelflead with spiny teeth attempting to dig into her shoulder.

Aelflead met the snake with another flash of her sword, pure instinct saving her Achilles heel. Though instinct wasn’t everything.

A cry of pain, made half growl half inhuman scream flew from the barbarian's lips as the monster's teeth sank into her wounded shoulder, ripping open her still healing wound open again. In a fit of rage, mixed with pain the woman reached upwards over her shoulder.

She'd meant her hand to find the handle to her auritium sword strapped to her back, but instead of the massive hunk of metal, her hand found the fleshy appendage of her demonic aggressor, and found something different to do.

In one savage motion, Aelflead threw her hips back against the beast, threw her shoulder forward, and pulled down on the beast’s flopping appendage as hard her body could manage, tearing the demon's hulking frame forward and slamming it into the floorboards.

395
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combat notes
Aelfelad pays 500 vigor for activating Limitless and Blood from a Stone:
To attack after having teeth, plus acid sunk into her already wounded shoulder, plus attempting to break the teeth out of her attacker's mouth and free her shoulder with the throw/slam.
current vigor:[8,382/8,882]
 
“Ahh, shit,” Deni muttered as he caught a glimpse of Aelflead suffering through the bite. In the heat of battle it didn’t matter what differences they had. They were both there for the same reasons and the daemons were a mutual enemy. If anything was going make them direct their frustrations away from each other, it was going to be those blighters.

The velen aimed low as he traipsed towards the spurii’s location. He sighted the serpentine monstrosity. It had been stunned by its sudden collision with Aelflead’s blade, but the hit did not have the leverage of a masterful swing, otherwise the creature would have been cleaved in two. As soon as he had a clear view, Deni narrowed his eyes. Then he unleashed a single shot from his auritium pistol at the head of the snake daemon.

“Red, you got that one?” he shouted, keeping his aim on the serpent to ensure it didn’t move again.

[158/2,763]
 
The snake demon twitched a few times on the deck before going still, dead for the time being. Its body started to dissolve into a puddle of hissing goo, which disappeared without a trace. Other demons met a similar fate as the collection of Conexus officers and vigilantes drove back the assault.

The demon angler fish that had bitten Aelflead flopped on the deck, making unworldly sounds of complaint. The hisses and shrieks it emitted had the same unpleasant quality of fingernails against a chalkboard. It made wet smacking noises as it struggled to heave its body off the deck, wet, slimy flesh slapping the wood. The thick mucus drenching it ate into the boards and what had gotten on the spurii was starting to irritate her skin and scales.

With a final heave, it flopped toward Deni and Aelflead, much less intimidating without its former momentum. Really, the demon fish belonged in the sea. It was out of its element and none too pleased about it.

[167/2365]

 
The squelch of flesh and splintering wood answered the rogue first.

Her bigatium sword was lying on the ground now, having been replaced with the auritium monster she'd been carrying earlier, and both it and she were covered in angler demon. She turned to face Deni and tried to shrug, but stopped when she realized she was still bleeding. "Mostly."


[60]
shortcombatnotes
[7,882/8,882] Earthshaker -500
 
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Palamedes attention was solely focused on the avian demon that rushed him. He did not see the second demon, nor would he have cared. He did not even bother to notice the vile liquid that splashed across his matted fur.

As the first demon drew close, the vorax reared and made a terrifying sight. Standing on its rear legs, the beast was almost nine feet tall, and the majority of the grizzled beast was honed muscle. Palamedes collapsed on the rushing fiend, his spare paw flailing, clawing the air as he came down on the demon.

As the vorax fell upon the demon, the second monster became immediately visible down the sights of Ioannes’s plain rifle. It started its own charge towards Palamedes.

Squeezing the trigger, Ioannes’s rifle barked, and the bullet slammed home into the monster’s wide muscled chest.

That didn’t seem to stop it, however, as it continued its charge as if the wound was nothing. Ioannes let out an irritated tch as he loaded the next round. But while he was busy fumbling with the bolt, someone stepped up behind him, and slipped long golden auritium barrel into his peripherals.

In a split second, the wanderer flinched, his right hand releasing his rifle so that he could cover his ears just before the stranger fired.

The gold barrel kicked, a flash of fire erupting from its muzzle like a tiny dragon’s breath, and slammed into the demon Ioannes had just shot seconds ago. This time, however, the shot forced the demon to slow, as it screamed in pain.

“Do us all a favor kid,” a gruff, irritated voice told Ioannes, “leave the toys at home.” Stepping out from behind, just as the laicar was turning around, was an old spurii with more enlil in her then laicar. She shoved the auritium rifle into his chest, and on reflex Ioannes’s right hand took it.

The moment the laicar gunsmith had taken the rifle, the strange spurii turned immediately to her right and whipped out twin shotguns who’s barrels had been modified for close quarters. Without hesitation she opened fire on two imps who’d sought to take advantage of the moment.

“Don’t make me regret giving you that. I’ll be wanting it back after this.”

Palamedes let out a cry of pain, and Ioannes snapped out of his stupor, turning to see his companion still wrestling with the slender demon, albeit the vorax was handily winning with the help of Laria and the engineer.

The wanderer dropped his old rifle, and shouldered the new auritium one. He saw the gutted demon.

“Laria,” Ioannes called out, “they’re starting to surround us! Help Palamedes with the one he’s got now! I need the drone to cover the gutted-demon.” He looked down at the new rifle, tilted it slightly, pulled back on the bolt and checked the chamber. The magazine was loaded, and a round was sitting in the chamber. He didn’t dare pull back any further.

[2462]
 
Aeria turned, powerful legs flinging her across the deck, halberd held ready. Palamedes and the demon were a flaling, snarling, blood-spattering whirl of motion, but the lancer sought an opening and found it.

Driving inwards, she timed the downward slice of her halberd carefully, planting her front foot and using the range of the weapon to make up the distance. The keenly sharpened edge of the blade whipped down and with a disgusting squelching noise it found a target.

The blade cleaved into the creature’s shoulder where it met the neck, the leathery skin turning the blade, but muscle and tendon had clearly been damaged. The creature’s arm hung uselessly by its side.

She shouted in triumph and tore the blade free, sending black ichor spilling across the deck, but her triumph was short lived. In her haste to help Palamedes, she’d ignored an imp behind her, so when it thumped into her back and threw her to the deck she had no time to react.

Aeria screamed in frustration, rage and fear as it dug claws into her and held her against the deck. She struggled with it but it was strong and had the advantage of weight over her. Kicking it, she loosened its grip, but it slashed deadly claws across her arm and she screamed in pain.


[2215]
 
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