[Mission] [TWFNE] Week 197: Appearance In Dawn

[Mystydjinn]

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

BOOM

"Why did I come here?"

Gwendolyn dove away from the approaching piece of rubble with a strangled scream on her lips, leaving Diamantus alone. Now separated from the rest of the group, she was taking some time to re-evaluate her life choices in verbal fashion while she assessed the situation.

"Marilyn said don't leave, Moonoa said don't leave, Sis said stay home, that big ass blue guy said go home. But did I listen?" The girl reached into her jacket pocket and yanked a string of wishbones on a chain glittering with auritium free. "Nooo, of course not."

"I wanted adventure, I wanted to see Sis. I mean, couldn't just stay home forever-" Gwen curled her arm to her shoulder, wishbones clacking as they went, then snapped her arm forward. "I had just to see the world didn't I?"

On "I," a pair of thick glowing ropes burst out of the ground from beneath the golem, racing towards its mace wielding arms like angry snakes.

WC & notes [174/986]

Spoiler: combat notes

Gwendolyn used Halt on Angry Golem.
Base power 1 + Aurit catalyst = 4 magnitude, two ropes (I think?)

Spoiler: stats

Gwendolyn Noname
Vigor: 3,750
Esteem: Notable
I Featherfall
II Voice of Serenity

Skills:
Perspicax Novice- 250
Pistoli Novice- 250
Serpens Adept- 1500
Cantatus Adept - 1500
Aquila Novice - 250

Feat Slots:
1 Personal
Learned Feats:
How's your head? (?)
Equipped Feats:
How's your head? (?)

Equipped Items:
Auritium Longbow
Serpens Catalyst
Dahlitium Revolver
Bigatium Pistol

The Recludo [D]

TR Inventory:
Pulveris: 24
Dahli: 0014
Bigat: 0003
Aruit: 0007

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

World spinning, wind coiling and rushing around to find seams in her clothes and armor. It was familiar, it was terrifying. Not flying, falling, falling fast, nothing to hold her up. For just a moment, Keydis remembered the sight of Promoveo, smashed by another airship infested by a vistra; she remembered the sight of Promoveo encrusted in ice, forgotten in the crevice of a mountain; she remembered the sight of Promoveo ripping apart around her as she fought for her life, thousands of feet in the air; she remembered falling.

She remembered being in a cloud.

In the next moment, Keydis was right in front of the guardian again, shouting wordlessly as her sword slashed furiously at one of the smaller arms, aiming to cleave it off past the elbow. Her left arm pulled back, rough metal glinting: her arm band was shredded and a monstrous blade, deep violet in color, wickedly barbed and serrated, protruded from her forearm. “Keep your eyes or whatever the fuck on me!” Keydis thrust viciously into the guardian’s groin.

[180/1340]

Spoiler: What?

Throwing Keydis triggered a bit of her past trauma. She created a blade with her magnum, used the grappling ability (1% to extend and 1% to retract) to get back to the guardian, and attacked twice, while triggering the laicar racial “Glory”

Uncus, Magnum (creates arm blade)
Jaculum, Magnum (extend/retract arm blade 45m) - 300 x2 = 600 Vigor
Glory, Laicar (enemies within 20m focus attention on user for one round) - 1500 Vigor
Ambidexterity, Trained Feat (reduces penalties for dual-wielding from -1/-2 to 0/-1)

4350/30000 Vigor spent

Attempted 1 hit at 6 mag (groin), 1 hit at 5 mag (arm)

 

[MoonlitRain014]

One minute, Keydis was flying backwards right at Aeria, the next she was suddenly being yanked forward violently. The spurii stared dumbfounded at what was going on, but recovered quickly as she watched the aggressive young woman pushing forward with her attack. There was no time to lose in getting to her side to give her whatever help she could give. She was on the other side of the creature from Keydis, taking her lead from the swordswoman, as she swung the halberd in deadly arcs that aimed to shear off another of the smaller arms.

Diamantus, meanwhile, had flung herself clear of the gigantic block of stone only by an aggressive leap back driven by her powerful muscled legs, evolved to propel her through the water. She landed hard enough to leave dents in the ground and had her guns up and level again within seconds. It was time, she mused, to pull out one of her favourite tricks.

The guns she held were aimed, one at the centre of the thing's chest and one at its left arm. The trick was that she could also rapidly fire at the right arm, in effect hitting three targets at once. She squeezed the triggers simultaneously to send two bullets to their targets before rapidly flicking her right arm to aim and shoot again almost immediately afterwards. She wanted to see what the big bastard would make of that.

Spoiler: Diamantus Tech Used

Quick Draw: A quality practitioner of the Way of Pistolii could stare down as many as ten times their number and walk away intact. Each bullet has its place, and each target has one with their name on it.

This ability costs 3000 Vigor. Duelist fires at three separate targets simultaneously; the magnitude of the shots fired is reduced by one tier. Three rounds must pass before this ability may be used again. Requires a handgun.

[1338]

 

[Abbey Rose]

If the creature was taken aback by the sudden protrusions on Keydis’ arms, it made no notice of it. It simply turned its body to combat the flying warrior. It raised its mighty mace to swat her out of the sky.

However, as it started its arc down, ghostlike ropes or energy sprang up from the ground, coiling around mace and limb like an angry snake. They pulled the heavy weapon down and to the side. It crashed to the ground, spewing Keydis in a shower of annoying but ultimately harmless rocks.

Keydis and Aeria’s attacks, synchronized more by happenstance than by coordination, struck heatless blue fire right before they could store a mark on the guardians armor. The fire glowed dimly, much less oppressive than it had been. They did not stop, however, pushing off the fiery shield into another attack.

Between their first and second attacks, however, two small puffs of flame popped up, bullets flying through the air to ignite harmlessly against their foe. The third bullet, less than a fraction of a second behind its counterparts, pinged home, rocking the creature back as a small hole was put into its right arm.

Aeria’s second attack struck through and clear, severing the smaller arm at the wrist. Meanwhile, Keydis’ blade gouged a long narrow crevice through its groin. Armor was rent and torn at their attack, the sound almost deafening in comparison to their foe’s silence.

Again there was no cry of pain, no noise. There was, however, a response. Stars peaked through the new holes in the guardian, standing out against the black “night” that dwelled within. The stars seemed to almost move. No, not almost. They were moving. Faster and faster, swirling through as if caught in a black tornado.

Then, with only a slight bulging blackness as warning, black, star-spangled tendrils burst from the new wounds, flailing around violently and wildly at the closest creatures to them. One small tentacle, with no mortal target, reached from the bullet hole in the guardians arm and grabbed the spectral rope that held its weapon down. It ripped upwards, tearing the rope out of the ground before flinging it to the side. The others, solid masses of squirming, lash-like whips, cracked at Keydis and Aeria, attempting to smite them to the Earth.

385/897

 

[Mystydjinn]

An excited "WOO!" Shot from Gwen's lips as the guardian's mace crashed into the ground, followed by another, and a "Yeah! Git 'em!" As the three women's combined efforts raked across the creature's form.

This exuberance banished her fear as quickly as it had set in, and she sprung to her feet: eyes bright and daring, fueled by the trio's mild triumph like an overexcited battery.

At least until the monster started weaponizing its innards.

A sick squelch came from the creature's "wounds" as the tendrils slithered their way out of its body to strike at the two women, and all of Gwendolyn's exuberance and daring dissolved into disgust at the sight.

In her excitement the girl had drawn and notched an arrow in her bow, but the disturbing creature in front of her was making it too difficult to focus on her aim. Instead, she began to take note of the heavy pressure of the visae on the battlefield.

She recalled the spell she'd cast moments ago and noted how easy it had been to conjure and how quickly the ropes had sprung from the ground. It's like somebody spiked this particular part of mortalis with magic vodka or something, it's flowing too easily here... The girl paused for a moment and looked at the spire that their not-so-friendly giant was guarding, then at the not-so-friendly giant, and the shambling host of monsters around them.

Gwen pursed her lips in thought. This power didn't show up until that tower did, and the monsters didn't show until the tower showed too... She began inching towards the guardian trying to spike Keydis and Aeria to Araevis. All this is to protect that tower isn't it? She decided, and the bones of an idea began to click inside of her head.

Wordcount: [299/ 1,285]

 

[MoonlitRain014]

If there had been any chance for Aeria to reason, she would have begun to wonder why this thing was full of the stuff of stars and why it was that it seemed to actually welcome damage rather than shying away from it, but she had no time for any such musings as the giant tendril of....whatever that was...came for her with blurring speed. Using her halberd's haft for extra leverage, she pushed off with her legs and used it to throw herself backwards, away from the attack.

Despite being made of something seemingly incorporeal, the hard chips of rock that cut her face and the staggering impact of the blow made it clear that it was quite real. It was evident that more physical attacks weren't going to do any damage.

Aeria thought about how it was that they might get around this guardian, in order to get to the tower, since the tower was clearly the main target that they ought to seek. However, by the time she'd started thinking, Diamantus had already acted. The muscled velen broke into a run, firing shots that zinged past the guardian, but drew its attention, as she sought to move it towards her.

The spurii needed no prompting. Aeria began to run, moving to the opposite side of the guardian as Diamantus attempted to draw it away.

[1564]

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

The snapping rope of night sky lashed in high across Keydis’ shoulder, lifting her and throwing her backward. Thankfully, her armor blunted some of the force, but even as it was, she was feeling it like a heated line across her chest. She forced that pain to the back of her mind, to worry about later.

Her eyes were locked onto the guardian’s imposing mace.

The axe she had dropped was nearby. Keydis slammed Promoveo’s tip into the dirt and snagged the heavy anvil-axe. While it wasn’t truly meant for open combat, the axe was designed to be heavy and strong to allow her to hammer on the back of its head, for repairs and rough forging.

That mace was all metal, with a nasty spiked ball at the end of a long, two-handed shaft. It wasn’t a single solid piece, though, because the cracks and chips in the pommel had not carried down into the metal haft.

Before the guardian could swing again, Keydis rushed forward and chopped her wrist blade down onto the mace’s handle, throwing up sparks as the violet metal ground its way down to the pommel, catching there. The axe lifted overhead and slammed down, chopping into the back of the wrist blade.

With a chime like a bell, Keydis’ arm blade snapped and the guardian’s pommel shattered.

Blood splattered the ground, also. No natural metal, the broken arm blade was bleeding over the rest of her actual arm. Keydis grinned fiercely as she retreated back toward her sword, knuckles white on the handle of her axe.


[260/1600]

Spoiler: Notes

Using one of the techs from Keydis’ style feat: Materia Natura. Short version, she’s working on breaking that mace, so it’s much weaker. Breaking her arm blade wasn’t really necessary for that, but there is a reason for it.

[Materia Natura] - "Material Instinct"

[Miles Ferrarii] - "Warrior Blacksmiths"

Style Description

Forged in fire, honed in war. Those following the style of the Miles Ferrarii are hardened warriors who smith their own gear, constantly improving upon it. Their dedication to the forge and hammer allows them to push weapons and armor farther than the average warrior, and the experience garnered in battle allows that to build better weapons, reinforced in the right spots.

Requirements

Skilled (Tier 3) in the Art of Aedificare
Adept (Tier 2) in any Martial Discipline

Acquisition

The user must have crafted weapons of at least three different tiers of materials, not including mundane, and personally used each in open combat.

Description

Experience working with and fighting against a variety of different materials gives a combat blacksmith unique perspective into the strengths and limitations of rigid components.

Effect

At the cost of 1000 Vigor, after three rounds of open combat involving the target, the blacksmith is capable of attacking one weapon or piece of armor, including some natural weapons, warping or damaging it. The damaged material is reduced in efficacy by two tiers of magnitude until repaired.

5350/30000 Vigor spent

Damaged guardian’s weapon by -2 until repaired.

 

[Abbey Rose]

Night slithered back into the guardian, stars receding to hide behind rusted metal. The old wounds that had been made still shown, however, dripping dust as frame to a calm night sky.

A small smattering of blue fire flickered as Keydis’ attack bore down on the weapon. However, the meager energies left within the fire were no match against the blacksmith. It sputtered once, then died out. Shards exploded, tearing the pommel and a good chunk of the mace’s shaft off from the weapon. The giant in front of her used what remained of the weapon in one giant hand, smashing straight down with it.

As it did this, it’s minor arms moved again, the one still with its hand sliding over its body and down to grab chunks of rubble from the ground, lobbing them haphazardly at the three flankers. The mutilated one tried to mimic it, but with no hand with which to grab the rocks, it was instead forced to act as an awkward sideswiping club, flowing down to the guardian’s feet to try and sideswipe Keydis.

180/

 

[MoonlitRain014]

Diamantus squeezed off a shot as she ran past the guardian. It was so focused on Keydis and smashing her that it wasn't able to aim properly with the chunks of concrete. The velen had aimed right for the back of its head. She reasoned that, no matter what it was, having the back of its head missing was likely to slow it.

Aeria dodged to the side as the hunk of concrete was hurled in her direction. Keydis, in her mad attack on it, seemed to be drawing it towards her and it gave the halberd-wielding spurii the chance to dart in and thrust the razor-edged blade of the polearm up towards the body of the beast, aiming for what seemed like a gap in its armor. She only hoped that striking it would do more damage.

[1702]

 

[Mystydjinn]

While the women armed with swords, spears, and guns ducked, dodged, and dove out of and into the way of the strange guardian's attacks; Gwen was slinking towards the tower entrance with , one hand pawing the ground for balance on the uneven turf and her bow gripped tightly in the other.

Based on what the girl could feel from the surrounding area, she was about twenty to seventy percent sure the "guardian" -gross as it was-, along with the rest of the monsters that had been mysteriously still throughout their combat with the hulking behemoth, were golems. Specifically, golems programmed to simply protect themselves and spread.

This was the bit she was only twenty percent sure of though.

"Twenty percent is good enough to act with right? I mean, if I'm wrong I'll only die. Maybe, probably." The girl muttered to herself quietly while she slunk close to the tower's entrance, occasionally glancing back at the warriors trying to deflect the unnervingly built golem's attacks.

"They ought to be alright, right?" She asked herself, watching the spurii dancing herself away from the golem's chunk of rock and her spear into its... Flesh, and found herself remarking at the woman's graceful movement and the chunk of dirt and rocks flying straight towards her.

"Huh, she almost moves like sis...."

"Huh, that's a big rock..."

She slowed for a minute to observe the angle and velocity of the projectile's flight, concerned, but impressed that the deadly dirtball had managed to keep it's shape despite the lack of mud.

"Maybe that was garden dirt or something."

A near audible click sounded from the green feathered spurii's mind.

"HOLEE ShEET tHAt's A fUCkIN'- sHIt! FrOm wItHin- J-just STaHP! FlaCCiD, pEAs, aQuILA SANcTity tHe vIoLENCe!"

A flash of soft blue light exploded from the the girl's body and a storm of silver sand, nearly as frantic as the spurii's butchered recitation flared up around her, then fell inert, to the dirt around her. In its stead a turquoise bubble had popped into existence around the caster to face the fast approaching dirt clod flying at her while she tucked herself into a ball on the ground beneath it.

WC: [363/1,648]

Spoiler: bawk bawk SQUAWK

Gwen casted Impose at mag 4 (Base 2 + Bigatium pulveris) with her garbled mess of incoherent screaming and homophones.
-200 vigor/3,750
-1 Bigat pulveris/ 3

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

The guardian’s stump slammed the back of Keydis’ knees and the world tilted back. She hit the ground, armor letting out a muffled clank. With the breath knocked out of her, Keydis barely managed to roll out of the way before the guardian’s armored boot dropped on her chest.

“Bell damn it,” Keydis muttered, spitting gritty dust from her mouth as she forced herself to her feet, eyes drawn to her axe there on the ground next to the otherworldly figure. Her schiavona was nearby but she doubted its effectiveness against the heavily-armored target. Instead, her eyes dropped to the broken blade at her wrist, dripping hot blood onto the back of her hand.

The monster inside was both pleased and infuriated. If nothing else, Keydis could revel in its frustration.

Her grin returned. Keydis pushed her pain and her doubts to the back of her mind. Her fingers found a clasp on the leather bands wrapped around her right arm, clicking it loose. Once the straps fell away, a new blade burst from her arm, a twin to the one that had just shattered. Keydis punched forward and the blade hissed, cutting through the air to sink into the guardian’s helmet, connected by a chain of pulsing sinew and violet metal shards. The living rope snapped taut and in a blur, Keydis was suddenly flying at the guardian’s head, boots leading!

[240/1840]

Spoiler: Notes

Blood From a Stone, Skilled Pugilis (ignore pain up to 5 rounds) - 200 Vigor

Uncus, Magnum (create arm blade)

Jaculum, Magnum (extend/retract arm blade 45m) - 300 x2 - 600 Vigor

Ambidexterity, Trained Feat (reduces penalties for dual-wielding to -1/-1) (wrote it wrong last time)

Attack with arm blade: mag 4 (head), 3 skilled, +2 material, -1 ambidex

Dropkick: mag 2 (head), 3 skilled -1 ambidex

Note: with the damaged mace and Keydis’ trained feat, Aggressive Defense, the guardian’s attacks are currently at -3. I know you’re not going by hard numbers, but that’s between half and two-thirds as dangerous, by my estimate.

6150/30000 Vigor spent

 

[Abbey Rose]

The guardian moved to defend itself, its four arms starting up to club Keydis from the sky. It’s emotionless, soundless stare taking no note of the spike of steel lodged in its helmet.

That was until, however, Diamantus’ bullet came streaking through the air and punched a new hole into the back of the helmet. It rocked the guardian’s head forward, and though it felt no pain, even the gargantuan knight had to concede to the laws of physics. Its arms were thrown up and out slightly. Not much, but just enough so that Keydis breezed between them, small bits of her blood flying off to stain the creature’s arms as she flew towards it.

The blacksmith’s boots planted into the guardian, sending it fall back and down to meet the deadly blade of Aeria. With an upward swing, she carved a new chasm up the creature’s back… and through its head.

The guardian… stopped.

It paused for a second. Then another. Then another. The silence, though so similar to how it had sounded before, was somehow tenser. It was the difference between a man watching the sky and a man at the precipice of an enormous canyon. Subtle, but unmistakable.

Then, there was a small sound. The quiet breeze of wind blowing through the air. It grew stronger and stronger, the sound seeming to come faster and with more weight to it. As the sound built, the armor of the guardian started to shudder. Keydis could see the gleam of whirling stars through the eye holes of its helmet. Aeria saw a veritable river of white speckled darkness coursing up through hole she just made.

The top of the guardian’s body exploded, black tentacles ripping out through its chest, head, and arms, seeming to consume the metal that had constrained them. The weapons of empty night lashed about indiscriminately, substituting skill with ferocity, speed, and force. Rivets of dirt and rock were thrown up where they hit the earth. A crack formed on young Gwen’s barrier, then another, and finally with a large crack, it shattered as a dark appendage struck straight down towards her!

Spoiler

SURVIVE

360/1447

 

[MoonlitRain014]

There was no time to do anything but react so that's precisely what Aeria did. She could feel the deadly lash of the tentacles smashing towards her, knew that if any substantial part of them struck her, she'd be driven into...well...whatever came after this life. With all of the power she could muster, she planted the haft of the halberd on the ground and used it to gain leverage and fling herself away from the smashing tentacles.

The plan half-worked. She managed to clear the worst of the striking limbs, but she wasn't quite fast enough. One of them caught her in the chest, a glancing blow, but enough to propel her off line and toss her to the ground and wind her. As she struggled to get her breath, she kept rolling away. Her eyes were transfixed by Gwen as the tentacle came down and she hoped the young woman could get out of the way quickly.

Struggling to her feet, the spurii tried to gather herself to make another attack. Meanwhile Diamantus was moving, throwing herself towards Gwen in an attempt to push her out of the way. However, before she could reach the young woman, her body was struck hard by a tentacle and thrown off course. She crashed heavily into the ground and felt a dull pain numb her left arm. Ignoring the pain, she dragged herself to her feet and started limping towards Gwen to see what might have happened to her.

[1949]

 

[Mystydjinn]

"Yiiiagh!" Gwen screamed and dove as her shield shattered around her and the strange golem's tentacle hit the packed ground like a cannonball, tearing away a layer of turf as it retreated into the air again.

Gwen herself had hit the ground hard when she dove, scraping her palms badly on the rough earth, and wasted no time scrambling to her feet. The air was alive with the writhing tentacles stemming from the golem's body, and she had to move.

Not that fear would stop her chatter.

"Alright so maybe that backfired, but I can still move and keep going righ-Castus!" But more tentacles might.

Another tentacle exploded into the space just ahead of her, tearing the ground away as it reared up, and another whipped by with it. Snatching the words from her lips and nearly her head with it.

She fell backwards and hard on her ass, but took the second meeting with the ground to put her lips to work on something useful. "From within, peace. From without, sanctity. To the violence, cease. To the violent, placidity."

The words tumbled out of her mouth rapidly, but with more poise than her panicked bleating from before and Aquila seemed to respond that much faster to her plea for it.

Bronze dust furled into the air this time, and Impose's bubble surged into place around her again with a silent surety. Tossing away another emptied pouch, Gwen moved to make her newest spell count for more despite its weakness, and took off for the tower in a sprint.

She was less concerned with her theory about the strange entity being a protective golem at this point, and more concerned with escaping the surprising dervish of tentacles that were doing a sore job of living up to her lofty expectations.

The tower may have been uncertain territory, but it had to be safer than being outside.

WC: [316/1,964]

Spoiler: clarity notes

Gwen sent out Impose!
Gwen used 1 Dahlitium Pulveris on Impose!
Impose's magnitude went up by 1!
Gwen used haul ass.
Impose status: Base + Dahl + (no catalyst for Aquila) = 3mag Impose

Vigor: (expenditure) current/previous/max
(-200 vigor) 3,350/3,550/3750

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

With a harried growl, Keydis twisted her forearm, bending the metal helmet but failing to free her arm blade. Without thinking, she tightened her left hand into a fist, hard enough to turn her knuckles white underneath the gloves. A sick feeling rolled through her before the shattered blade on her left arm shuddered and the violet-colored metal grew back upon itself, reshaping into the arm blade, only red stains showing where it had broken.

Keydis didn’t pause to question it and instead set her eyes on the tower: the reformed blade shot from her arm and buried into the stone wall, immediately tightening to reel Keydis in. With a loud scraping sound, her other arm blade ripped free of the guardian’s helmet just before it exploded into lashing tentacles. “Fuck, that’s nasty!”

Before the brunette slipped out of range, a large one snapped across her back. Her scaled armor held, but below the rib level, she had leather armor, light and easier to move in: the tentacle ripped through the outer shirt and bit deeply through the leather plating, leaving a bloody gash and setting her nerves afire. A second, smaller tentacle sliced in, cutting through the side of one boot and into her calf.

The pulsing, burning ache felt unnatural, the work of something corrupt. Keydis hissed in pain, gritting her teeth from where she hung on the side of the wall, above the thrashing monstrosity. Monstrosity… like her.

Like another monstrosity she already killed.

Blood dripping down her back and the side of one leg, Keydis felt fire welling up inside her again, remembering the rushing cold, the goading of the vistra, the burning pulse of her heartbeat in every wound. Her right arm snapped out and the blade launched again, sinking into the mass of tentacles.

Keydis shouted, a wordless battlecry as she yanked on the barbed blade, throwing herself back down at the guardian, right into the center of its pulsating mass!


[325/2165]

Spoiler: Notes

Blood From a Stone, Skilled Pugilis (ignore pain up to 5 rounds) - 200 Vigor, 2nd round
Uncus, Magnum (create arm blade)
Jaculum, Magnum (extend/retract arm blade 45m) - 300 x4 - 1200 Vigor
Ambidexterity, Trained Feat (reduces penalties for dual-wielding to -1/-1) (wrote it wrong last time)

Attack with arm blade x2: mag 4 (head) {3 skilled, +2 material, -1 ambidex}

7550/30000 Vigor spent

 

[Abbey Rose]

Keydis fell, a bladed dive bomb crashing into the mass of physical night. Her blade worked as she moved, slashing incoming tentacles as they reached up to lash against her. The black appendages fell, still twisting and writhing as they crashed to the ground. They kept writhing impotently at the guardian’s feet. The woman landed, feet first, on top of the writhing mass of darkness, and a battle hunger shown in her eyes.

Underneath her, more and more tentacles crashed their way out of the armored warrior. Every piece of stone and metal above its stomach was completely gone now. Whatever man or creature it had resembled was gone now, replaced by something that was just as monstrous outside as it had been within.

Gwendolyn’s run carried her, of all things, towards this monster. It’s nightmare limbs beat into her shield, cracking it as she charged. It gave a valiant defense, but it was for naught. One of the large tentacles wrapped itself around the discarded half mace and swung it in a circular arc at nauseating speed, bringing it to crash into the ground…

...and on the archer’s leg.

There was a wet, popping sound as the archer was flung away from ground zero, a shroud of blood splattering against her lower half to match the firespout of pain that was blossoming from her knee. A similar smear covered the bottom of the mace as it was lifted up and thrown at Aeria. Small chunks of meat stuck to the spikes, the foot still dangling from where it had been impaled at the ankle.

265/1712

Spoiler: ”Minj”

I talked to the GMs and we all agreed that running into melee range towards a closed door as an archer was a very bad idea.

 

[MoonlitRain014]

"OH this is fucking ridiculous!"

The lithe spurii had barely managed to get to her feet when the big bastard threw the bloody mace at her. She jumped sideways, using the strength in her legs to throw her away from the huge metal projectile even as it smashed into the ground next to her.

Keydis was insane, but that insanity was saving them all. Aeria wasn't nearly as much of a fighter as Keydis, but she still could hold her own in battle and she wasn't about to let the madwoman have it all her own way.

She drove in, aiming for the center of the tentacles where Keydis was, feinting in to push the creature's middle section off center and then ramming home an attack before dodging sideways to get out of tentacle range and propelling herself backwards away from the grasping tentacles.

There were moments of stomach-churning horror as Diamantus watched Gwen's foot being torn off in a gory welter of blood and tissue, but there was also a surge of adrenaline spiking through her. The velen was not going to allow this young girl to die here today, no fucking way. The pain in her arm was forgotten as she barreled across the ground between them and lifted Gwen with her right arm, the muscles bulging as she hoisted her to her shoulder and began to sprint hard away from the battle.

Once they were further away, the velen stopped and set Gwen down behind a large boulder, so that she could rip off her belt and fasten it as tightly as possible around the lower part of the archer's leg. She cinched down brutally, knowing that the greatest danger for the girl was blood loss. Jamming her guns into her waistband, Diamantus hoisted Gwen again and began pistoning her powerful legs forward again, driving her back towards the camp and its healers.

By the time she made it, Diamantus could barely move. She shouted for a healer and collapsed to her knees, still protecting Gwen, as the strength ebbed further from her legs and arms.

[2298]

Spoiler: ALL the techs

I used Feint, Fall Back and Comfort Zone

 

[Mystydjinn]

Gwen had been completely silent for the first since the awkward disaster of a fight she'd embroiled herself in had begun. Shock claimed her tongue when she found herself suddenly falling into the ground, and it kept her tongue until Diamantus' belt went taut around her leg.

"Fuck-Castus that thing ripped- oh vis I can remember it tearing-GAAAAAAAAAAAH, MY LEEE-" And her mouth continued in roughly that same pattern while the haggard healers worked to seal up her wound.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Gwen was aware of all this and lamented not being able to take her foot with her, hopes of reattaching the foot disappeared as she felt the flesh sealing up over her knee. Somewhere else in her mind she lamented the awkwardness of her injury atop how she'd gained it.

What kind of coward turns into a pirate because they ran toward a fight while trying to run away? More upsetting she couldn't imagine running as very adventure-ey or anything like her idol either.

"Viskar immaculate don't touch i-AAAH FUCKING-!" Unfortunately those thoughts in the back of her head would have to stay there until the ones in the front of her head were finished speaking.

Those less tied up with work passed by Diamantus with water and a once over while some checked for major injuries. It wasn't much, but it was something.

WC: [230/2,194]

Spoiler: clarity

Gwen' not gonna leave the thread entirely since a)this is fun, b) debilitating magic is more helpful when it's being used than not. Chatting in chat gave suggestions for a solution to remaining active, so either that or another answer will be enacted.

 

[Redfin]

That was not the triumphant return Falba had been hoping for. He wiped his brow and motioned to the two mercenaries. The amount of blood was sickening, as was the wound. "Move the young one over here, immediately. I need to see to her injury. You, look over the velen and let me know if there's anything that requires my attention." He turned to another helper. "Prepare fresh cloth and a basin of water for me."

Falba's feathers ruffles, starting from the head moving down to the collar. He smoothed them down and took a deep breath. He helped move the young mercenary over to a clear examination table. He presented a calm exterior. "I'm afraid to tell you this, young miss, but you have lost quite a lot of blood." He examined the tourniquet. "It's been stopped for now, but we'll treat you immediately. Lie down and try to remain still."

The basin of water had arrived. Falba used it to wash up. "If we have any barbiturate, that will be fantastic."

He hoped the tide wasn't turning against them.

[1465]

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

The screams of pain and shouts of terror barely reached Keydis, aflame with bloodlust and viciousness. Barely, but they did reach, and in that instant when Keydis turned to look at the young girl on the ground, the tendrils of night sky slipped past her wall of flashing arm blades, slithering up her arms in seconds and forcing her arms tight against her chest.

Keydis felt her blood rushing, adrenaline pumping as the otherworldly monster started crushing her. She grunted and howled like a wounded animal. Already riding the high of battle, that brief vision of Gwen in a puddle of blood lingered in her thoughts, became the focus of her rage. Her fists tightened, arms bulging.

Even if the lashing ropes were made of the toughest steel, they would still bend to her fire.

One last growl and Keydis ripped free, throwing shred of the monster’s ‘flesh’ to the ground. Her eyes locked on Promoveo, its tip in the ground, and without wasting another second, she dove for it. Fingers wrapped around the schiavona hilt, boots skid through the grass and rubble. She watched the half-breed swinging her polearm and dancing out of range.

The winds that continually circled the sword had an immediate effect on her. Panting, sweating, and bleeding, Keydis felt her rage focus. Instead of burning out of control, it was contained, pulsing. The concentrated heat of the forge. She summoned up more winds, throwing herself back into the fray before she had even caught her breath.

Like a missile, Keydis shot through the air on the gusts of wind, sword-first. The auritium blade sheared through the tentacles that tried to intercept her, then the mass at their center. For the first time, it seemed like an end was in sight: a flash of white light shone through the blackness for just a moment, before coils of inky night rolled in to cover it up once again.

No time to rest, no time to wait. Strike while the iron is hot. The arm blade on her free arm shot upward, sinking high into the wall of the temple, pulling Keydis up with it. If she waited, it might move that white light or protect it.

She remembered the beating heart of Caeancora, remembered how it shuddered then fell to pieces when she finally stabbed it.

Keydis let herself fall, one hand on Promoveo’s hilt, the other around the base of its blade, eyes locked on the center of the guardian’s body.

“Just fucking die already!”



[420/2585]

Spoiler: Notes

Blood From a Stone, Adept Pugilis (ignore pain up to 5 rounds) - 200 Vigor, 3rd round
Limitless, Novice Pugilis (bonus unarmed attack on binding) - 300 Vigor
Blink, Skilled Pugilis (15m movement) - 1000 Vigor
Promoveo, Item (15m movement) - 500 Vigor
Jaculum, Magnum (extend/retract arm blade 45m) - 300 x2 - 600 Vigor
Breaking Point, Style Feat (double weapon material bonus for one attack) - 1500 Vigor
Ambidexterity, Trained Feat (reduces penalties for dual-wielding to -1/-1)

Limitless, mag 3
Attack with Promoveo: mag 5 (mass) {3 skilled, +3 material, -1 ambidex}
Attack with Promoveo, Breaking Point: mag 8 (core) {3 skilled, +3 material, +3 Breaking Point, -1 ambidex}

11650/30000 Vigor spent