The Hunting Grounds III - Second Most Dangerous Game

[Holy-hunter]

Ambush trail

The man smiles an odd goofy grin but says nothing.
Instead the woman speaks again.
"I am but a weapon, a tool of destruction, much like the instruments you hold."

"Oh, Don't flatter yourself" she says with a soft laugh
"You never really had a chance anyway, your only alive because he suffered a momentary lapse of curiosity wich led to mercy, I however, don't suffer from that disease"

There is an odd fluttering in her shadow, like that of flapping wings that weren't there.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

"Got a lot of sick people in the Grounds today, I see."
The huntress considers evoking her hounds. Neh. The woman hasn't proven herself worth it, even if the time is being given and the numbers unbalanced.
She slides the letter opener through the air and makes a quick leap through the hole that appears in the air, moving herself, and not her opponent, to a nearby other plane full of shadows. These people are less and less fun.

She attempts to cross over to the analogue of where the black-cloaked man is before reappearing, sword gone, large gun in hands.

[Holy-hunter]

"Oh please" says the woman as she quickly takes straight to to the air, her sillouet outlined by the sun as she hovers in the sky and sprays down an assortment of sharp peircing blades.

Meanwhile the man twists and lunges towards the huntress, both hands stretched out slap together forming a kinetic barrier to shimmer before him. (Should be just enough to deflect the bullets trajectory to miss him as he closes in (yes that power doesn't match anything his used before))

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Ambush Trail]

"Well, I'll just explain here. Since one of you asked. Maybe you will all find this interesting enough to listen to, before turning the hunting grounds into a warzone." The Black Coated Man keeps shuffling his cards explains while still shuffling.

"I have a grievance against a planeswalker that I tracked down. All five of me went here to search for him. I ended up in a crystal. I assume my other bodies are fighting him or lost against him and trapped in crystal as well. Like me, they will be guarded by creatures like that of the Ambush Krotiq. Help me rescue my other bodies. If you do, I will gladly teach some things." He throws four cards to the huntress, and another four to the Knight.

"Who knows? One or both of you could even have the spark." He then waits for their answers and focuses on his cards. The cards he threw to them have the image of an Ambush Krotiq on them. If they catch it, they will know that after focusing ((gathering chi, energy, mana, etc.)), they will be able to summon the worm under their control. Though due to the size of the beast, the time to focus to summon it would take around a minute and twelve seconds.

However, if they thought it was a weapon thrown at them and decide to destroy the cards they were supposed to catch then one or eight Ambush Krotiqs would emerge, depending on the number of cards destroyed. They would attack all in sight. Then the black coated man would just say, "Oh dear, why would you do that?"


[Forest Regions]

Well, if the spell could not work on the cat, Orphedysseus would not expend the extra effort to try and make it work. As for the spell on Aric, it works and switches their positions. He falls into the hole, bracing himself while Aric will be replaced on a safe spot outside the hut. Although with the roar, it can't be known as to how safe it was really.

He inspects the vials if front of him after gathering himself from his legs absorbing all that weight when he fell. On a side note, the spell is still active so long as Aric isn't too far away. Unfortunately if it activates, Aric will be transported to the pit where Orphedysseus is at the moment.

[Aric Kale]

Forest Regions

Aric is startled for a moment, trying to understand why he is no longer by the dome.
Who knows how long he would've stood there if not for the earth-rending roar? Fortunately, the noise alerts Kale to the present danger, causing him to ready his spear and shield while making his way back to Orphy.

Everyone form up! He calls commandingly. Form a triangle around the domes and watch for anything that may come through the trees...

Can't hurt to be too prepared, can it?
True to the sign's warning, Aric keeps watching either side of him, waiting for the monster to show its face.

[Morty]

[Forest Regions]

"Something big is coming," Thariza says as she takes her position. "All the animals seem to have fled. It could be our quarry."

As she finishes speaking, she closes her eyes and concentrates. A floating sledgehammer made of shimmering blue light forms in the air next to her.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

"I must say, your choice of weapons disappoints me."
Shoot him? Why would she bother already? The shot is at the flying woman, her lenses cutting out most of the sun's light and leaving her outline an easy target.
She spins the gun around like a baton, a black tarry substance forming a shield from the blades in its wake. Moving lazily. Bored. A step away from the knight, twirls herself this time, to catch the cards, which vanish as soon as she has hold of them.

She doesn't turn to answer the planeswalker, just raises her voice a little.
"I don't know your grievance, so I have no reason not to agree to your offer."

What a prize. She's only ever been able to call up artifact creatures before.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Temperate Forests]

From a perfectly ordinary patch of underbrush (from which, if you were looking at it from the perfect angle, you might see a glint of metal) comes a crack, and then a bullet, speeding through the branches to send a small blue bird tumbling to the ground.
A few moments later, when no danger reveals itself, Hunter pops up from the hideaway to try to collect the game.

Just as Hunter crouches by the bird to retrieve it, the world darkens; the sky dims to an ashen grey, shot through with dull red, barely providing any light - though moments later the entire area is lit with an eery blue-green phosphorescence, and an arrow of flame whips past her face from the side... Though in reality, it's all illusions, except for the foxfire; it's a cover meant to distract and scare her, as the massive fox-spirit leaps for her back from the top of a tree, trying to sink its teeth into her neck.

[Darkcomet]

[Tundra]

Hotaru has to hold in the urge to puke as they get closer. She leans on Sharpe (hereafter alternatively known as Klaus) as they get closer.

"What in the world..." Klaus says, but has nothing else to say as they survey the scene in front of them. They both move closer to the dead creature.

"Strange black fluid mixed in with blood in its wounds, which match with the description we were given. Wounds matching with what our dinosaur creature is capable of. And this horrible feeling is coming from this animal. What do you make of this, Klaus?" Hotaru asks

Sharpe muses. "Black bodily secretions... I think it's safe to assume that these black fluids came from its mouth. As for the horrible feeling, either it's as a result of the death of this creature, or it's as a result of the secretions..."

"Maybe it's the latter. That'd mean we are on the right track. I hope we are, at least."

"Given what we're presently looking at, I'd say we are already on the right track." Sharpe says, as he bends down to examine the creature more closely, using his enhanced vampire senses. Hotaru on the other hand, keeps a lookout while leaning on her nanostick.

Well, I'm not sure what enhanced vampire senses totally entail, can I get a bit more detail?

[Cyber Punk]

Well, I'm not sure what enhanced vampire senses totally entail, can I get a bit more detail?

-OOC Post-

[Y'know, enhanced sight (nightvision and vein-o-vision), enhanced hearing, etc. More details in the link in my sig.]

[Recaiden]

[Temperate Forests]

Just as Hunter crouches by the bird to retrieve it, the world darkens; the sky dims to an ashen grey, shot through with dull red, barely providing any light - though moments later the entire area is lit with an eery blue-green phosphorescence, and an arrow of flame whips past her face from the side... Though in reality, it's all illusions, except for the foxfire; it's a cover meant to distract and scare her, as the massive fox-spirit leaps for her back from the top of a tree, trying to sink its teeth into her neck.

There was a time when people were content to leave the grounds as they were. These days it's all transformations and transmutations and other such nonsense. She leaps up when the flame arrow passes, turning to find its source and-
Crunch, snap, tear.
Dead.
The body slumps, its glasses gone.

From a nearby brush, a small living shadow in the shape of a fox flees, racing away as quick as it can, hoping the demon is preoccupied with its kill.

[Holy-hunter]

The girl in the air really had no concept of the technology she was being attacked with, the bullet struck her hard and she was flung back in the air but didn't fall.
The hunter should hear the woman's voice intrude into her mind, she speaks with a luring tongue, convincing and compulsive, a suggestion spell aimed to make her throw her weapon into the air.



3 of the four cards sent towards the knight are rejected by his kinetic barrier and flung off to the side as he readies to attack . The fourth card was plucked from the air only moments after it had left the black coated mans hand.

It hovers in the air beside him.
"This little mess of yours has cost me an arm, forget your pathetic summoning scrolls, I want my arm back!" the knights voice angrily snarls at the man from behind the floating card.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

That's a terrible idea. But she'll humour the voice, so kind. The gun is tossed up a little bit, casually over the shoulder of the huntress.

She doesn't (yet) waste time with taunting him, rushing at the knight and striking at him 1-2-3 with the punching guns (2 shots from the left, if you're curious), hoping that some of it will get through those shields.

[Holy-hunter]

Ambush trail

((Where is the gun now? Near the black coated man?))

The first two shots where deflected just enough to avoid contact but the third, his force shield could not redirect the bullets enough at such close range. As it sinks into his shoulder it penetrates the black armour, well, as if it wasn't even armour.
The bullet cut through both layers of the seemingly steel substance and carried on like it was only clay or flesh.

The hole in his shoulder barely hindered his movements as he strikes at her with two viscous punches that bring with them a wave of kinetic energy, each fist surrounded by and releasing a shock wave of force.

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Ambush Trail]

To the Knight he replies, "You lost an arm, fighting a girl. Not to the beast by which I was imprisoned by, but by that huntress girl who you keep letting toy with you." He sighs, he has given them a reward for helping him. Though it was just a side effect of them bloodlusting after the beast, and in no way from the kindness in their hearts or compassion for other sentient beings.

"As neither of you find the magic I can teach in reward useful, I have nothing more to offer either of you. Now if that is all, I have to go save my other selves by myself. I bid both of you good luck in whetting the snow in each other's blood." He says, quite irritated. Not surprising, who wouldn't be annoyed trapped in crystal. He tips his hat, "Fare the unwell and Adieu."

He stands from his chair and opens a portal to planeswalk away. Just before he leaves completely, he snaps his fingers. The four cards that the Knight had so much disdain for and did not accept exploded to life. Four Ambush Krotiqs ((You'll have to Gmod these since BCM is leaving.)) start to rampage. The portal closes. The huntress' cards will remain intact as she accepted her prize without the tantrum that the knight gave. Even the nicest of people can become petty when irritated enough.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

((I believe the knight accepted one of his four cards, and let the other three be tossed aside. The 'him' meant the knight, not the BCM.))
((And yes, given where they were I think the rifle is now lying halfway into the snow where the man's portal was.))

"What is that?" The unarmored arm, that is.
She ducks and twists out of the way of the first swing, but the second catches her in the side and blasts her back to tumble into a snowdrift.
The huntress here rolls to the side, hoping to avoid any follow-up attack, and then swings herself up standing again.

The wizard-knight has the initiative!

No, wait. I mean the trio of krotiqs currently tearing through the earth. They have armaments, speed, unstoppable force, and the element of surprise.
One swallows the snowdrift that held the huntress, while the second crashes out from under a sheet of ice on the knight's left and attempts to swallow him whole (it didn't see what that got its unlucky predecessor). The third coils around a rock outcropping and roars!
((Feel free to post your own actions for the monsters as well, of course.))

[Holy-hunter]

The creature that was going to swallow him whole stoped it's attack short.... Bitting his body in half as he stood dumbfound before the mighty trio of monsters.

As the monster recoils there is but two legs left, that is all that remains of the man. As they collaps in the snow they melt and shift into a very different pair of legs. The imposter creature now dead, what's left of it shifts back to normal.

Even from a distance the fear on the flying woman's face is clear.

"I.. I can't... Cant do anything... I'm sorry"
She stammers, and with that takes even further into the sky.


There is a familiar loud thundering 'BANG' as the next Krotiq to lunge at the huntress, who may be feeling all alone, finds it's mandible suddenly blown off by a bullet that exploded out from her own gun behind her.
The beast recoils in pain.

"One minute and a half! Go on! start summoning!" Yells the 'real' black clad knight as he steps infront of the huntress, his invisibility washing off, his one arm holding out her gun as he lets loose a few more deterring warning shots.


((When he was talking to BCM he was actually right next to him. The man eaten was a demon decoy, hence he had two arms and never spoke, the knight would also never give that goofy grin... Oh and it just assumed there's no magical lock on the gun... I'll change my post if there is.))

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

The gun is not protected in any way.

Well revealed duplicate. This explains the card's odd movement.

"Seventy two seconds. I have a better idea."

The huntress fires until her punch guns are empty or she's forced to stop.
Towards the knight who just stepped in front of her and has his hand(s?) full.

The krotiq without a mandible, well, it will be reeling in pain for a while.
Another is deterred by either the flying woman or the warning shots.
The third charges towards the two of them, jaws wide.

[Holy-hunter]

The charging Krotiq won't make it to them in time.

"Thought you might"
The knight says as he stumbles forward under the full grunt of her guns. His armour ripples under the gun shots, the sleek black surface frantically shifting as if combating each and every bullet. It took the lethality out the shot but hardly hindered the impact. As for the areas not protected by armour, mainly his legs, they gave way after the fist few shots and he collapses to his knees.

As soon as the madness began the ground beneath their feet grew with an increasing trembling as hthe fourth Krotiq, his Krotiq was about to burst out of the ground from beneath the huntress.

((Anyone infront of him will see his chest is now only lightly covered by thin strips of metal as most of his armour has shifted to his back.))

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

Poor krotiq. At least it will have the other such beasts to fight.

Of course she was going to attack him. These monsters are just beasts, he is a true enemy.
The huntress races forward to the knight, both to carry on the fight and to see that any attack by the monsters would be aimed at them both, that if it charges, he'll be in front, and if it bursts up from below, they'll both be in place to be torn up by its claws or crushed under its bulk.

For herself, she just tries to grab ahold of him by the arm that she never hurt.

[Holy-hunter]

[Ambush trail]

As she tries to move something is holding her back, deciding to lock itself into that exact position in space a time the black band around her wrist becomes immovable.

The knight begins chanting as he waves his arms around and a strong gust of wind starts growing around him.
Should it continue there will soon be a small obscuring blizzard.

Both beasts draw nearer.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

The huntress starts fading away like her weapons when exchanged, leaving the black band there in the air.
She seems surprised at this, starting and struggling.
Gone.

[Holy-hunter]

Oh how he hated technology, the band should act as a dimensional anchor, and prevent most forms of escape assisting magic, but would do nothing if her disappearance was more of the scientific nature.

And this was his reason behind his attempts to seace violence.

Any hopes of using her as an ally in understanding and benefiting from this future tech was quickly vanishing.

He couldn't deny, as he knelt on the ground, surrounded by a fleeting white sheet of ice and snow, his only barrier from the monsters surrounding him, that this huntress had the upper hand. She might beat him, injure him, force him to reach into realms he didn't want to travel... But she would not defeat him.

Opening the flood gates that connects the remnants of his soul to the realms of demonic and infernal beings, the air around him darkens as the shadows writher and grow. Nearby shrubery wilts and burns and his control of the nearby demons becomes absolute.

Grabbing the essence of the half eaten poser, the legs in the snow turn to a red mist as it trails into Krotiq who ate its other half and was about to strike at the knight. The giant beast stops in its tracks as the demons essence begins possessing and 'demon-fying' the monster.

The escaping woman in the air madly claws at the sky above her as she is slowly dragged downwards by an unseeable force that begins to pull her apart.

Unaware where the huntress currently is, he continues his ritual in the middle of his little self shielding snow storm as his Krotiq bursts out the ground behind him.

[Recaiden]

The huntress thanks the goddess of the hunting grounds for giving her the prey she took her relocater from, and the clients from that faraway city for getting the hunt started.

From the moment the knight appeared behind her and spoke, there was no hope of cooperation. She doesn't know why he's doing this, or what he wants, but he won't get away with it. In the hunting grounds, many things are unforgivable. A mark of death is over this battleground. One or the other or both will perish here.
And it's increasingly looking like that will be the huntress.

She reappears on a high rock outcropping above where the first krotiq appears, railgun taking shape in her hands again, transported in from a place few can see. Watches the hardy cold-weather plants withering away, horrified. Whatever he's doing to that krotiq, her own summons likely won't be up to the task of defeating it.

A small shape is thrown through the air towards the demonic ambush beast. Another example of scavenged (and then replicated) technology, the one-use device erects a temporary barrier throughout timelike dimensions, effectively freezing everything around it for a good quarter of a minute.

A shot from the rails, fired a moment later into the heart of the storm, easily outstrips the time-grenade. Snow and ice? This took krotiq limbs clean off. Barring some serious magical reinforcement, the barrier won't mean much.

[Holy-hunter]

The bullet pierces the snow unhindered, should time act normal the storm will abruptly stop, the swhipping snow gracefully falls so too does the shadowed figure of the man, dropping heavily in the centre of the falling snow.

The darkness fades, the wind dies down and plants stop dying.
His Krotiq will burst from the ground and circle his fallen body.

The other Krotiq, now looking a lot more hellish, an evil fiery aura emitting from it, launches into raging attack against one of the others to begin a mighty colossal battle of giants.

[Darkcomet]

[Tundra]

Hotaru has to hold in the urge to puke as they get closer. She leans on Sharpe (hereafter alternatively known as Klaus) as they get closer.

"What in the world..." Klaus says, but has nothing else to say as they survey the scene in front of them. They both move closer to the dead creature.

"Strange black fluid mixed in with blood in its wounds, which match with the description we were given. Wounds matching with what our dinosaur creature is capable of. And this horrible feeling is coming from this animal. What do you make of this, Klaus?" Hotaru asks

Sharpe muses. "Black bodily secretions... I think it's safe to assume that these black fluids came from its mouth. As for the horrible feeling, either it's as a result of the death of this creature, or it's as a result of the secretions..."

"Maybe it's the latter. That'd mean we are on the right track. I hope we are, at least."

"Given what we're presently looking at, I'd say we are already on the right track." Sharpe says, as he bends down to examine the creature more closely, using his enhanced vampire senses. Hotaru on the other hand, keeps a lookout while leaning on her nanostick.

It becomes apparent that the black substance in the wounds is moving. Pulsing. Growing. And it looks like it's getting faster, even as the aura intensifies around it. And if one listens closely, such as, say, with vampire hearing, they might hear something almost akin to a low rumble starting from within the corpse, and starting to grow louder...

It might be a good idea to back away.

[Solidarity]

Spoiler: BCM

Show

[Forest Regions]

Well, if the spell could not work on the cat, Orphedysseus would not expend the extra effort to try and make it work. As for the spell on Aric, it works and switches their positions. He falls into the hole, bracing himself while Aric will be replaced on a safe spot outside the hut. Although with the roar, it can't be known as to how safe it was really.

He inspects the vials if front of him after gathering himself from his legs absorbing all that weight when he fell. On a side note, the spell is still active so long as Aric isn't too far away. Unfortunately if it activates, Aric will be transported to the pit where Orphedysseus is at the moment.

Spoiler: Aric

Show

Forest Regions

Aric is startled for a moment, trying to understand why he is no longer by the dome.
Who knows how long he would've stood there if not for the earth-rending roar? Fortunately, the noise alerts Kale to the present danger, causing him to ready his spear and shield while making his way back to Orphy.

Everyone form up! He calls commandingly. Form a triangle around the domes and watch for anything that may come through the trees...

Can't hurt to be too prepared, can it?
True to the sign's warning, Aric keeps watching either side of him, waiting for the monster to show its face.

Spoiler: Morty

Show

[Forest Regions]

"Something big is coming," Thariza says as she takes her position. "All the animals seem to have fled. It could be our quarry."

As she finishes speaking, she closes her eyes and concentrates. A floating sledgehammer made of shimmering blue light forms in the air next to her.

((Sorry for the wait; Anniversary yesterday. Let's get this show back on the road.))

[Forest Regions]

Seconds later, the roars become much less distant. Out from the brush leap a troupe of spiny, 8' tall, bipedal beasts with thick, muscled limbs ending in razor sharp claws. Their carapace resembles the shell of a snapping turtle, lined with protrusions that look equally dangerous as their claws. With their ally currently in a pit, Thariza and Aric alone are targeted. Three of the creatures lunge for the feline-like warrior, their beaked maws gnashing about to punch holes into anything they can. The other two strafe past Thariza and swing viciously at Aric. The creatures' limbs are notably heavy if the thudding following each of their movements is any indication, though they are all quite agile. For now, Orphedysseus is stuck in a small hole and will draw no attention to himself unless he can manage to maneuver up and out. He does notice while inspecting the broken vials, that each one seems to have had a different kind of blood within them. They ranged from a deep crimson to an almost translucent scarlet mix, the latter also appears to have corroded the inside of its vial before breaking.

((If your characters have any other magical or nonmagical passive effects I don't know about, feel free to let me know.))

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Forest Regions]

Orphedysseus is an easily distracted man. Once he finds interest in something, he loses focus on previous matters. His prismatic runed eyes examine the blood and vials. The runes are running decryption magic, to see if there is anything special to be seen. If there is nothing, he will try to climb the wall by physically digging his fingers and feet into the wall. The tower shields are strapped on his back. His spell is still in effect so if Aric is about to get hit or suffer damage, he will trade places with Aric.

[Recaiden]

[Ambush Trail]

Now to make sure he's finished. The huntress cycles the gun, takes aim-
-and the krotiq is blocking the shot.
Well. Many can play at that game.
She slings the gun, letting the power-pack idle and simmer down.

Focuses on the card's image, gathering the energy to bring the monster forth.
Green magic, all around, filling the Hunting Grounds to bursting, available to anyone strong enough to take it.
Touches of earth energy in the stone and slopes here, buried under the white of the snow.
Faraway but just as available to her, the power of Skullhome, a place of fierce order and desperate struggle, both of which empower her now.

She's going to be at this a while...
Summoning is slow...
Just a slow gathering of energy...
Repeating a pattern until it becomes real....
Over and over...

[Morty]

[Forest Regions]

Thariza steps forward, mace swinging, to meet the monsters head-on. She thrusts with her shield, a blast of force erupting from it to try and stagger the creatures and envelop the shield itself in a protective glow. If the attacking monsters are staggered by the blast, she tries to bring her mace down on the head of the closest one. Otherwise, she stays on the defensive for now, her magically-enhanced shield intercepting attacks.