The Southern Continent (part 2)

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Graybeard
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

Finally, Khoo thought of something to do, as he watched the first of the Ralkin come through the breach in the wall.

It was a trick he'd learned during testing of the glider. Well, not really a trick; in fact, it was something that Professor Takatsuka had specifically warned him not to do. "The Vacuum Bubble is very useful for turbulence testing," his advisor had said, "but you must be careful never, never, never to cast it when there is a human within the field of effect. He will be deprived of oxygen when the air is evacuated from the Bubble, and I do not need to explain to you what that means. We have interlocks to prevent that from happening in the laboratory, but in the field, there is nothing." He had given Khoo a particularly arch look. "You would be at least expelled and probably prosecuted for manslaughter, or criminal negligence at the minimum, if there was an -- incident in the field, and frankly, you would have it coming. However, the last thing the Academy needs is another wrongful-death suit, so please restrain yourself, even if the expulsion does not concern you." Khoo had gulped and nodded. Of course the lecture was unnecessary; all the testing had been incident-free ... but the point had been made.

Now, as the spell's relevance to a combat situation dawned on him (Takatsuka had never said a word about that, of course), he focused his energy, and a beam of magic shot out to where the man was drawing his weapon ... and he was encased in a glowing, pulsating sphere of energy, from which all the air immediately (if temporarily) disappeared into the aether.

The effect on the attacker was also immediate. His eyes widened, to the point where they were protruding from his face, and his chest heaved as he fought to breathe air that was no longer there. Petechiae started to appear on his skin as capillaries burst under the pressure differential. It all only lasted a few seconds ... but that was enough. A kobold fell on his prostrate body as soon as the magic dissipated, and the combat odds shifted in the defense's favor by one.

Puffing, but gratified at the outcome, Khoo looked around for his next target; this spell was tiring enough that he could only use it a few more times before collapsing in a heap, so he'd have to choose his target(s) wisely ... but it was, as they say, a target-rich environment.
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Drusia
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Drusia »

Random gunfire. Great.

I keep low, keep invisible, and keep stalking lone soldiers. I see three head into a building and slip in behind them. They're in single file. Good. I step up behind the one in the back and clap my hand over his mouth as I open up his throat. I ease his body to the ground, and then repeat the process on the next soldier. The third turns back and sees his two buddies dead. He runs back to investigate, looking around wildly. I step inside his reach and stab him in the chest. His gun goes off, blowing a hole in the wall but otherwise harmlessly. I pull the knife out and slash into his wrist, forcing him to drop the gun. He does tries to crawl away, but he's already bleeding out. I leave him to it.

Back outside, various magic and explosives have kicked up a lot of dust and smoke. Invisibility is almost redundant. Which sucks for me. I stick close to buildings, trying to find more targets.

I keep moving until I hear gunfire close by.

"Your master has his tricks, I have mine."
"<No! You can't have her!>"


I hear a hand-to-hand duel going on nearby. I edge around the building to try to get a better view.

There - that bastard with the Regen power. I duck down behind some rubble - I have no idea if he can see magic or not - and get a better look. He's fighting Alleece. His guards look like they're trying to line up a shot.

I concentrate and gate behind one of his bodyguards. I slice his throat, then charge the next nearest bodyguard. The man blinks in surprise as his friend suddenly drops - I don't give him time to think anything else. Putting all my strength behind it, I slam my steel dagger into his eye socket. The blade sticks there in his skull - I don't even try to pull it out. As his corpse hits the ground, I have my Durus out. I gate behind the third body guard and slash upward, opening him from ass to shoulder. He falls in two halves.

I keep the invisibility spell up. I doubt it will work on Regen man, but it has so far on his troops, and I don't want any of the other gun teams sniping me. Hopefully Alleece can keep him busy while I -

-- Drusia

OOC: I stopped there in case Gabriel is reacting to his bodyguards getting murdered. If he's still busy with Alleece, then I'll have Drusia continue that thought in her next post. If he's attacking Dru, then she'll use that dash as her "turn and react" break. If something else surprising is going on, then the same. If attacked, Dru will dodge if possible and parry only if necessary.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

As Gabriel heard his bodyguards going down behind him his benefactor's voice came ringing in his mind.

'Drusia's behind you! She's cloaked! Turn to face her!'

Drastic action was necessary, even if that meant the old man's request would not be entirely fulfilled. Gabriel slashed at the Elder in a wide lunge, leaving his torso open for the counterattack he knew she would make. The Elder's ferocity didn't disappoint, with a cry she lunged with a deep thrust which punched through the Ralkin leader's breastplate with ease. Accompanied by the smell of burning flesh as the magic lended it's assistance. The weapon finished jutting grostesquely out of Gabriel's back, blood running like a pouring tap from the injury which would have killed an ordinary man. Instead of dying agony, however, the Captain's face was alive with a horrible, unnatural vitality. He seized the handle of the weapon with his free hand and twisted his body sharply, wrenching the spear free, and simultaneously struck out again with the durus blade.

Tamina made it to the jungle floor as a piercing scream filled the air. The kobold, clutching her injured shoulder, limped hurredly around the hut and into view.

She froze at the sight before her. Then let out a scream of her own.

Time seemed to slow as the Captain turned away, raising a hand at the elf who'd butchered his bodyguard's to act as vessel for his master's magic, but Tamina's attention wasn't on the Black Guard leader.

It was on the dead kobold lying at his feet.

Gabriel's palm glowed as a dispell leaped towards the cloaked-elf and ripped the magic away with a crackle like static. His loud, rasping voice ordering the riflemen to concentrate their fire on Drusia was meaningless noise to the native fixed on the terrible wound in her surrogate mother's chest.

OOC Hope that's ok with you Dru, there's not many riflemen left (call it 6?) and all won't have a line of sight, and she can teleport to avoid them. Let me know if you want a retcon./OOC
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Browncoat »

Angrist was on his way back in when he heard Tamina scream. The flames flared, but he ignored it and dove through. He turned his dive into a roll to smother any sparks and was back upright with minimal effort.
There was Udo {Out of it again}. And there was Tamina {What's she-Oh} and the elder he'd noticed before, clearly dead, and the obvious source of Tamina's grief. Then there was that nasty leader facing... {Uh-oh, an elf}. Finally, there were some more riflemen {Ah, a few more punching bags}.

Based on the rough sense of power Angrist had detected, it seemed likely that the battle between {hopefully, it's between} the elf and the leader would be high-power. The best option would be to prevent interference from the soldiers. {I'd say Tamina has first right at him, but I just don't think she can match that kind of power...Bah, fight now, worry later} With the soldiers focused on the elf, taking them out would be easy.

[OOC: I'm trying to keep Angrist out of the grudge match while still being active. If Gabriel is dominating the fight, you can borrow him to tip the scales, but I'm trying to avoid interfering. We can just assume he's bashing the riflemen while Drusia gets to be bad-ass]
They kicked me out of the asylum. I miss the jello.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

With the remainder of the Ralkin forces trickling through the tattered walls of the village, the battle was tipping in favour of the invaders. Around Tamina were the sounds of flames, gunfire, arrows hissing, stabbing spears and swinging swords. But the native knelt by the side of her Elder, oblivious to the noise, even the agony in her shoulder and the wetness of her cheeks seemed a mile away.

A rifleman taking aim at the bereaved kobold made a choking noise as the 'sensei' struck sharply at the gap between his breastplate and helmet. He gurgled and fell.

"<I'm sorry... I'm so... so sorry...>"

Gabriel slammed his fist into the butt of the spear sticking out of his chest like a flag-pole. The weapon made a slithering noise as it left his body and clattered to the ground, leaving a trail of crimson in it's wake.

"<I wasn't fast enough... I didn't get there in time...>"

Another gun carrier went down missing an arm as payment for his foolishness of standing too close to aim at Drusia. The pair of swordsman guarding him let out cries of surprise as Khoo's wind magic took them off their feet and desposited them in a crumpled heap in front of the durus-wielding elf.

Tamina put a shaking hand on Leli's forehead, sobbing her words out as The Ralkin Captain returned his attention to his conquest.

"<...for-give me...>"

The last Black Guard froze as he clambered over the hole his comrades fire and determined axe work had wrought. With mechanical slowness he reached up and brought a hand to the object sticking from his neck. Trembling fingers brushed the feathers of an arrow-tip before his eyes rolled up and he collapsed. A fresh war cry sounded from behind the fresh corpse. The rest of the hunters had finally returned.

Gabriel's attention however, was focused on the crying kobold.

OOC Thought I'd give Dru a momentary distraction to up the stakes and get the remainder of the kobolds hunters in the fight. The odds are tipped in the good guys favour now, although with Tamina's emotional state and her injury she's no longer in much of a state to fight.../OOC
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Drusia
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Drusia »

Hopefully Alleece can keep him busy while I -

Oh. Alleece is... unconscious? Dead? I'm not sure. Another Kobold lays dying at his feet. I'm about to charge his back when he suddenly turns towards me.

Gabriel's palm glowed as a dispell leaped towards the cloaked-elf and ripped the magic away with a crackle like static. His loud, rasping voice ordered the riflemen to concentrate their fire on Drusia.

Shit! I throw myself to the side, trying to be a moving target, changing my focus and choosing somewhere to gate. Bullets blaze around me. I come up from my roll and see a rifle pointed right at my head. I try to call up my magic, but I'm not focused and I don't think I'm going to be faster than a bullet and shit Shit Shit --

And the man falls without firing. Reinforcements! I turn back to Regen Man.

Gabriel's attention however, was focused on the crying kobold.

Good.

The energy I built up to gate is still there. I focus on my target and reality bends. I'm already slashing my blade when I arrive. It cuts into his back and -

- and the fucker blocks! My sword is half-way through his chest, an inch from his spine, and he blocks me from the front of his body.

Before I have time to wonder how he blocked a Durus blade, I hear a hum, just a bit off key from what I'm used to. Another Durus blade. He has a Durus blade, the only thing that can block a Durus blade.

Fuck. Me.

I twist the blade and pull it out about an inch away from where it went in, partly disemboweling him. He turns and tries to take my head off. I roll back, getting the hell out of his reach. Having a chunck of his guts cut out isn't even slowing him down. And I'm not going to get another surprise attack.

I haven't been in a Durus duel for over a thousand years. I'm a bit rusty.

I am so fucked right now.

-- Drusia
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Gabriel pushed a fistful of mess back inside his punctured breastplate as the the magic in his body went busily about the business of knitting it back together. He raised his guard and threw a pair of jabs at the elf with the tip of the humming weapon. Drusia deflected the attacks easily enough, as expected, Gabriel had been in enough sword fights to take his time feeling a difficult opponent out. His rasping voice jeered at her as they circled each other. Behind them, the returning hunters crossed the blockade and hit the trailing Ralkin soldiers with the ferocity of the vengeful.

"There's no-one left that can help you!" He thrust sharply before he finished the sentence, then twisted his blade into a block at the elf's sidestep and counterattack. The Captain pushed the blade away with unnatural strength then made a grab for the woman's trailing arm, which she just eluded.

"There's no breaking of my sword this time, no coward's surprise in a teleport..." He charged forward with a flurry of hard swings, going low at the last second as he neared her guard to bring his opponent to the ground. Drusia leaped over the tackling man with a parting strike that cut a furrow down the back of the Captain's neck, The pair stopped and turned to face each other. The elf could hear a buzzing noise as the terrible wounds on his chest finishing closing shut before her eyes.

"Without your advantages." He chuckled. "You're just another dumb girl playing soldier."

.....

"Tammy... Tammy...."

Someone was shaking her, but the kobold wasn't paying attention.

"<Oh... spirits, I'm sorry, I though we'd catch an early start on the eastern trail... we were too far out when we got the news... and now Leli..."

Riiki's voice, the late arrival of her friend was enough to turn Tamina's head vaguely in his direction. The other kobold put a hand on her neck which she barely registered, her eyes were glassy and blank under her kinsman's regard.

"<We're winning. It'll be over soon.>"

"<Leli's dead.>"

She saw the man's face crumple and wondered who spoken so flatly, after a moment she realised it must have been her.

"<T-the leader.>" Riiki's voice trembled, but he got the words out. "<The elf's fighting him now, looks too close to call. She might need help.>"

Tamina wordlessly stared at the furious fight taking place a dozen yards away, then turned back to Riiki.

"<Leli's dead.>" She said.
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Graybeard
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

"You're just another dumb girl playing soldier."

That was the opening Khoo, watching from the wall, had been waiting for.

Somebody had told him, back on the cheap Crystal-net fiction forums that he read since he didn't want to invest in books, that the bad guys always paused for a minute of gloating before going in for the kill. He'd never put much credence in that -- surely real-life bad guys were more canny than the thugs of fiction -- but by the Sea God's Testicles, it seemed to be true. The magic-resisting man fighting Drusia had pulled away to gloat.

That meant two things. One, the jig was up, and whatever happened would have to happen soon. Two, he was ... vulnerable. Yes, Khoo could slip the spell in between them. And if the man was magic-resistant, he could take down the spell ... but that wouldn't affect the fact that he would be deprived of oxygen until he did.

"VACUUM BUBBLE!"

Panting, he stopped to watch (and put a Barrier up against the bullets that were starting to discover his presence) as Gabriel was encased in translucent, almost mirror-like magic.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Gabriel froze from his latest exchange with the elf as the bubble enveloped him. He looked at the magic surrounding him with a disaffected expression, opening his mouth to offer another taunting remark, but nothing came out. He tried to draw a breath and found there was nothing to inhale. The Captain twisted his face into a snarl and raised his sword to slash at the offending barrier. He paused, as if conducting an internal conversation, then held up his hand as Aleron used the conduit of the amulet to bring the spell back down.

"No dice." He gasped, straightening himself with an effort.

Several yards behind, the returning hunters were closing on the last few riflemen with murder in their eyes. The causalities racked up by the returning tribesman had served to push the remaining Ralkin forces (some fifteen soldiers) towards the far end of the settlement. The confidence they arrived with was dwindling now; a few more losses might be enough to convince them to leave. Their leader, however, was uncaring as he prepared to launch himself at the elf again.

Several yards away, Tamina was getting slowly back to her feet.
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Drusia
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Re: The Southern Continent (part 2)

Post by Drusia »

"You're just another dumb girl playing soldier."

"Actually, I never was much of a soldier, even during the War," I reply. I have an idea, but I'll need to get low without tipping my hand as to what I plan to --

Gabriel froze from his latest exchange with the elf as the bubble enveloped him.

Good job Waiter-kun! That's just the sort of distraction I could use right now. It isn't enough for me to get in a good strike - he's too well guarded for that - but I manage a quick side step and duck down low for a moment while he's busy with a dispel.

then held up his hand as Aleron used the conduit of the amulet to bring the spell back down.
"No dice." He gasped, straightening himself with an effort.


He turns to face me.

And gets a handfull of sandy dirt in the face.

Blindness spells take a lot of effort and are easily dispelled. A handful of sand to the eyes is far faster, easier, and harder to get rid of.

Of course, blinding him (momentairly) is only helpful for certain things. He's still plenty dangerous, swinging that Durus around. He's got more reach than I do. What I need to do is limit his mobility.

I prepare a gating and, just before using it, I drop prone (neatly dodging a blind strike from his Durus) and slice off his left foot just above his ankle with my Durus blade. I grab the foot and then gate myself ten meters away - and 90 degrees to the side, so I'm standing again.

"Hey asshole," I call to him, holding up his severed foot. I then turn and throw it as far away as I can. "Go fetch!"

That should slow him down a little. I wonder if Waiter-kun has any more distractions to throw at him. If I can keep him off balance, I should be able to hit him from behind.

I'd use my four-way strike, like I used on the undead mage in Goriel, but I get the impression that Regen-Boy has an observer riding along with him, and I want to keep that trick a secret. Neither Eli or Aleron have seen me use it before, so it's my best weapon against them, but only so long as they don't know I can do it.

-- Drusia

OOC: Gabriel has the wrong idea about Dru. She was never a soldier - she was an assassin. She sucks in stand-up fights, but she's great at dirty tricks.
Also, I have this picture in my head of Gabriel hopping around on one foot saying "it's just a flesh wound!"
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