[Nexus] Outside XXVII

[Murkus]

EtherAin Manor - Walls

There's a flash of dark eyes and sharp teeth before Molodai tries to tear out his throat. Pinned that way, she doesn't expect the poor swordsman to defend himself. Provided that's successful, she'll take a couple bites and savour them. Human is a delectable flavour. Of course, like any good predator, after she begins her meal she'll look around for any 'competition'. I.E., any more threats rushing toward her.

For anyone who hasn't yet seen Molodai's description, she's a tall, pale fey, dressed in rags. Her legs are reverse-jointed, rippling with powerful muscle. Her hands terminate in huge talons, and her mouth stretches to reveal rows of vicious teeth. Carnivorous ones, by the look, meant for tearing flesh and splitting bone. Hear ears split down the middle into two seperate points, and there's not a speck of hair on her body.

[The Alexandrian]

Spoiler

Show

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele

Well, if the tongue was ripped out of the slave's mouth, rather than merely his throat (Elezibethele doesn't care which result she achieves), the healing spell will stop the bleeding and cause the wound to scar over quickly, but won't regenerate the tongue. "You are aware that your lives mean nothing to me, yes? Good. Now, I think that's the tour over. You may go and explore, though the guards have orders not to let you out or onto the roof without either myself or Azurelle being present. When the bell rings, head to the kitchen- it will then be lunchtime. You are now dismissed. Except for you, Mine, you stay here. Oh, and if any of you manage to kill yourselves, I'll chop off a finger from the survivors. And that includes Mine." Elezibethele makes a shooing motion with her hands.

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle

Azurelle will watch the slaves get dressed and when they're ready she'll leave her room, locking the door behind the slaves. She'll then walk towards the Punishment Room, although she'll try and hold one of the slave's hands on the journey.

[Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele]

Spoiler

Show

The tongue was probably torn clear out of the slave's mouth. Scarring of the wound occurs. The slaves disperse, running off to "explore the rest of the temple" (aka put as much distance between themselves and Elezibethele as is physically possible). Mine remains in his place as ordered. He stands tall, spirit unbroken despite all that he has just witnessed. He knows better than to speak without first being spoken to, so he is quite silent and attentive at this point.

[Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle]

Spoiler

Show

The slaves don their new duds in no time flat. Oh! Holding one of the slave's hands is a comforting and kind gesture. It helps the slaves get over the onset of nerves just a smidgen. It's a good thing that they don't yet realize that they are bound for the Punishment/Torture Room. That would absolutely horrify them! They've already tasted the cruelties Azurelle is capable of.

[ThirdEmperor]

[Riv's Hamlet]

A complete circuit every five minutes, eh? That's no good. That doesn't leave much time for Warsh to complete the mission if he were to take the risk of knocking out one of the guardsmen. Hmm. Those walls don't look too safe to scale either. Even if it weren't only late afternoon at this time, elevating oneself that high off of the ground would be rather conspicuous. Let's see here. It would appear as though there is only one way inside: through the front gate. Might as well give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen. Warsh removes all but one of his pistols from his pack and stashes them underneath some natural foliage, if any, doing his best not to disturb the vegetation itself. He'll then strap his (one) 9mm pistol to his side, making no effort to conceal it before attempting to boldly approach the village.

Warsh has a plan. It might not work, but it's better than nothing.

As Warsh approaches, both of the guards monitoring the gate take aim at him, a faint humming noise filling the air as the guass rifles charge up. Neither of the two open fire though, and it seems to be mainly a precautionary measure. None of the other guards are around either, so it's just Warsh versus them, should it come to a fight.

Unless Warsh attacks or tries to flee though, it won't descend into violence. Rather, when he nears the gate, one of the Drones will hold up it's hand in a "halt" gesture, while the other will step forward and try to search him. Any weapons it finds will be confiscated, as will any books.

[The Alexandrian]

[Riv's Hamlet]

Warsh won't attempt to engage the guards in any form of combat, mortal or otherwise, nor shall he attempt to beat a hasty retreat! He shall merely comply with the guards' commands/requests.

The guard's shall find a survival knife in his pack, the 9mm pistol he is openly wearing (and two clips of ordinary ammo), and one book (concerning treatment of minor injuries one might conceivably suffer from during an extended trip through the wild, untamed sectors of this world) on his person. He's carrying a map as well, just in case the guards are interested in that sort of document.

Warsh attempts to make small talk as he is investigated.

"Would you mind pointing me in the direction of a store where I might purchase some provisions? And before I forget, is there anywhere in town where I might be able to spend the night?"

[Reinholdt]

Bronze Pyramid

Oh, there here. Reinholdt thought they were just passing through. Well once he figures it out, he starts selecting information and flying around in pink cat form to get at others. This will take a fair bit longer than the other one though.

Bronze Pyramid

Reinholdt yawns and puts away the scanner and memory device, before looking around. He probably got lost at this point and can't even see the walkway anymore.

Frowning, he flies in one direction for a while, hoping to find it, then the other direction.

Darn giant vertical room.

[bladescape]

Skirmish

Rather than keep his grip on the Sword, Jakob shoves his fist forward in a short punch at the shield-bearer, attempting to force him off the wall and into the crowd of his fellows behind him while he's still unbalanced from the last blow. With the club in his other hand he manages a clumsy horizontal swipe that might manage to connect if the soldier keeps his footing.

If either one of these connects then Jakob will let go of the blade as its holder falls back, so he doesn't do any more damage to his hand.

To any soldiers, servants, or noblemen manning the wall beside him, Jakob hollers out, "Bring me pitch, oil, and a torch! Jakob has terrible idea."

The second blow with the club sends the soldier back over the walls, crashing into the men behind him, and causing the progress up this ramp to be halted, as several other sections had done with the pouring oil.

The servant next to him disappears for a moment, reappearing with the requested substances and objects.

EtherAin Manor - Walls

There's a flash of dark eyes and sharp teeth before Molodai tries to tear out his throat. Pinned that way, she doesn't expect the poor swordsman to defend himself. Provided that's successful, she'll take a couple bites and savour them. Human is a delectable flavour. Of course, like any good predator, after she begins her meal she'll look around for any 'competition'. I.E., any more threats rushing toward her.

For anyone who hasn't yet seen Molodai's description, she's a tall, pale fey, dressed in rags. Her legs are reverse-jointed, rippling with powerful muscle. Her hands terminate in huge talons, and her mouth stretches to reveal rows of vicious teeth. Carnivorous ones, by the look, meant for tearing flesh and splitting bone. Hear ears split down the middle into two seperate points, and there's not a speck of hair on her body.

The swordsman screams once before being silenced by the tearing teeth. The EtherAin soldiers that are defending the walls along-side her slightly step back at this display...

Coming up the ramp now, another spread of soldiers assault the defenders on the wall as the ramp is finally detatched behind them, sending FeyClaw soldiers to tumble backwards.

Two soldiers head for Molodai, after what they saw her do to the last soldier. One is another human, his blade already with blood on it, his ragged armour telling the tale that he's not an actual soldier, the other an elven man with a spear and a knife. The spear jabs towards her as they approach, looking to keep her and her wicked teeth at a distance.

[ZarethG]

At this point, Quinn is fully an elf, not a faerie anymore. He simply smiles.

"Sure."

Then, Jacques is attacked psionically. He hears in his mind,

"You will holster your weapon. Now."

Unless he is experienced with fighting psionics, he feels like if he doesn't holster his gun, he will suffer and be sad for eternity, then die.

Repost for BladeofObliviom.

[Slii Arhem]

Skirmish

Jakob will roll his inured hand in the pitch, effectively sealing his wounded palm shut with the sticky substance. Then, working as quickly as possible before the soldiers on the ramp regroup, he'll slather the rest of the pitch and pour the oil over his makeshift club. He's being fairly haphazard about it, but is careful to not get any on his handholds.

Only then does he accept the torch, touching it to the sticky, sopping wet bark. Instantly he is rewarded with a pillar of black, choking smoke springing from the tree.

All of this take quite awhile, but Jakob is so engrossed in his task it would take someone knocking the club out of his hands in order to stop him. The Feyclaw soldiers should have plenty of time to regroup, and one or two at the head of the crowd might be able to attempt an attack on him while he's distracted. Maybe they could even land a killing blow.

None of this changes the fact that Jakob is now armed with A Flaming Tree!

[Halae]

[In The Woods]

A young woman, maybe in her late teens or early twenties, is here, running as fast as she can, and with tears streaming down her face. Her ginger hair is cut short, likely for practical reasons, and her face has small features. Pale, freckled kin covers her body, and she wears a medieval farmer's style dress at the moment. She also has yellow eyes.

Whatever is chasing her, she's seriously afraid. Hopefully it doesn't catch her. For now, she just runs with all the speed she can muster.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

Heavy footfalls crunch through the underbrush, only paces behind her. A figure in armor is in full pursuit, moving as fast as the plate metal allows. A large shield and sword strapped across his back further weighs him down, but he showed no sign of slowing down. However, as close as he was now to his quarry, she would soon outpace him if the chase went on much longer.

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

The chase may not be going on much longer regardless. The girl isn't trained for this sort of thing; she's spent her adult life reading books and listening to old men blather on about things they think are important. The man in the armor though? he's a trained warrior, and likely has lots of endurance. She chances a look behind her-

And promptly one of her feet strike a root sending her in a tumble down into a small depression in the ground. It's a steep hill, and the red and yellow leaves on the forest floor only serve to cover mud. Despite this, her tumble has knocked the leaves that had been piling around, and they now camouflage her. she's by no means undetectable, but quick thinking tells her her only chance now that she's fallen is to stay down.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

The armored figure stops at the top of the hill and pulls off his bucket-style helmet for better visibility. Beneath was the face of a young man, perhaps a bit older than the woman he was chasing. Strands of blond hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.

"You can't run forever, you know!" He calls out, scanning the area for her.

[Halae]

[In The Woods]

She doesn't say a word, doesn't move, doesn't even breathe. the woman is so afraid he'll kill her, so utterly terrified of the man right now that she isn't going to make a sound.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

The armored man sighs and starts to move on, but notices something off about the color of some of the leaves on the hillside below. He gives a cry of surprise and starts to move down the hill towards her. It was slow going, though. If he slipped, it'd be a hard fall and an even harder time to get up.

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

That's enough to make the young woman bolt, picking up and running once more. She moves swiftly to the bottom of the hill, taking a tumble as she does. The armored man will likely reach her sobbing form as she's picking herself up off the ground.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

He reaches down to close a gauntleted hand around her arm and pull her to her feet.

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

The girl screams as her arm is taken, and her hand glows as she tosses a ball of force towards his unprotected head. it's blunt, and doesn't have enough force to do much, but it's a bit stronger than a muscular man's punch. "Let go of me!"

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

The blow knocks the man back, momentarily stunning him. If she pulls away fast, the girl might have a chance to break free.

[Halae]

[In The Woods]

And she runs, pulling out of the man's grip and breaking away. That blow wasn't as powerful as she would have liked. she wasn't able to Concentrate on the spell as she happens to be exhausted, distraught, crying, and covered in mud, all the while terrified and panicking.

that said, she's moving remarkably quickly as she leaves, but her legs are starting to burn. She can't keep this up much longer.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

The man grunts a curse in frustration. "Get back here!" He roars, before continuing the chase.

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

Well, the asking her to stop didn't work. She continues running. She begins screaming "Help! Help, he's going to kill me!"

She knows that's it's so incredibly unlikely someone will hear her, especially this far out in the forest. but she has to try, dammit!

[Slii Arhem]

In the Woods - A Short Distance Away

Fredrick has wound up here, still smelling of smoke from his travails just that night. He is weary and wounded and the gods answer his pleas no more this day, but that does not stop the world from taunting him. He hears the cries of a victim, and knows he must obey.

He marches, tirelessly, towards the sound of the cries. As he moves he activates his life sensing so that when he is close enough to the scene he should be able to find both the culprit and his victim.

If he gets there in time for anyone to be still alive.

The wounds on his leg are healed entirely, and his left arm is mostly operable. It will have to do. Speed up old man, you can't fail this time.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

Maker give me strength. The man thought, fixing his helmet back on his head as he ran. He didn't want her to be able to get in another cheap shot if he got close again. With a grunt of effort he put on a bit more speed. He was so close now. He couldn't let her get away again.

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

The girl is slowing down. She's finding it hard to run now, despite how much she fears the man following her, and her legs are close to giving out. The man will be able to catch her in his next post, if there isn't intervention first.

[Slii Arhem]

In the Woods

Fredrick bursts through the underbrush, eerily silent except for the rustling of the leaves he disturbs with his passage. In his long flowing robes and his pale white skin, he may seem like some sort of well fed Arcane Horror to the Templar, if the man has been educated in such things.

Although, since his robes are threadbare burlap and he has none of the dangly gold jewellery such a demon would usually possess, he also looks a bit like a Hobo Horror.

"Remove yourself from this place, or face Justice." the Saint holds a hand out to the Templar, disregarding the young woman fleeing from him.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

Taken by surprise by Fredrick, the heavily armored man barely has the time to stop before nearly running into the other man. Though the helm covered his face, the look behind it was clearly saying "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Stand aside!" The Templar shouts angrily, frustrated that his quarry was getting away. "This is Chantry business. If it is justice you seek, help me capture that witch!"

[Halae]

[In the Woods]

She stops in her tracks, amazed by the fact that her cry for help had actually worked. Her knees wobble, but she doesn't fall.

"Please, stop him! I don't want to be locked up! I just want to be free!"

[Slii Arhem]

In the Woods

Fredrick does not turn from the armored man, his eyes as hard and flinty as an obsidian monolith.

"I do not recognize your chantry. Their laws mean nothing to me, and neither does your right to uphold them. I have heard the cries of Justice twice this night, and shall not be deterred. If the waif has done wrong, I shall hold her accountable for her crimes, but earlier she spoke of your intent to murder while she thought none could hear. Murder is Never Just."

A faint trickle of Fredrick's holy power shall form over his fingers, a strength he did not know he still had. It appears the gods favor him yet.

[Artemis97]

[In the Woods]

"I have no intention of murdering her." The Templar growls. "She must be returned to the Circle. For her safety and the safety of those around her. Now stand aside.

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele

Spoiler

Show

"Come then, Mine. It's time for you to learn where you shall sleep and get you in your uniform." Elezibethele turns and walks away, ignoring the blood on her hand and tossing the tongue down the hatch.

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle

Spoiler

Show

Azurelle will lead the slaves straight there. It's a surprisingly bright room with five manacles dangling from the ceiling and more attached to one of the walls. One of the other walls is used for whip storage, with many whips of different shapes and sizes hanging on it, another is devoted to cruel hooked knives and the third has racks of healing potions. Free standing within the room are some benches, tables, a wheel mounted horizontally to an axel and a brazier with several iron rods heating up within it. "Now I want you to remove your clothes. I don't want to damage them just yet."

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Outside

Surrounding the fortress that is the Hermitage is a spider-infested wood, home to an astounding array of gigantic invertebrates of different types. However, the trees have been chopped down and the roots dug up for a bowshot around the Hermitage itself, and that area has lots of giant trapdoor spiders. If the travellers attempt to get to the large wooden main door, they'll likely be attacked by the massive ambush predators, though there may be another way inside.

Bronze Pyramid

No matter which direction he flies, Reinholdt will find a walkway. If he flies down, the Encyclopede is waiting for him. If he flies up, it looks exactly the same but there's no Encyclopede. Gravity in this room is strange; both walkways are the floor, although they are also at an one hundred and eighty degree angle to each other. In fact, the bookshelves are also floors to prevent people falling or, if they're in the middle, orbiting.