Pathwalker - RP

[Red XIII]

OOC: Hey, glad to be back people! Let's keep it going!

BIC:

Ragnar was worried....... He had been followed many times during his missions....... And he had learned one thing.....

"If you lower your guard for a second, you're dead!"

While thinking that, Ragnar tried to concentrate and look out for the enemy.
Then, Ragnar saw something....

The shape of a flying creature that passed quickly by the moon.

"Damn! So there you are......" Ragnar thought.

"Be careful everyone!" Ragnar said loudly. "Something is flying this way.... It looks big, I don't think we can hurt it with our weapons....."

The group looked, but saw nothing.

"No, don't try to see. It's trying to stay away from the moon now, I think it knows I saw it." Ragnar said. "Damn!! It looked like one of those dragons from the ancient stories......"

Ragnar then remembered the bombs he had bought in the underground town.
Could they help?

"Ok, for the first time I've got nothing to say. Any ideas people?"

[Moosetroop11]

OOC: I'm pretty sure, from Stu's description, that it can't fly, but whatever, it's good to see you back :p

Shell walked forward. "Well, it knows we're listening now" he stated. "It's as silent as the grave out there. This is more intelligent that other beasts we've encountered."

"Just... don't let your guard down... for a second" Ragnar stressed.

Without warning, the wall of foliage beside them gave way and a truly monstrous creature emerged.

[Dragonium]

OOC: Correct. And good to have you back.

BIC:

As the monstrous thing emerged, the group scattered. Alziel turned, stumbled backwards, and fell over in the mud, drawing his bow and notching an arrow to his string. Before he could take aim, he found Shell seizing his arm and pulling him to is feet, and both made a retreat to stand facing the beast a safe distance away.

It was an enormous thing, about the size of a large house. In shape, it indeed resembled a dragon; a gigantic lizard, four strong legs, an arched back, a long tail with a few sharp spikes along its length, and a head with a vicious mouth, a short snout and two twisted horns at its head. But that was where the similarity ended, for it had no wings, and there was no sign of any fire-breathing ability. Its scales were black and green, and covered in oil, and they appeared to cover its whole body, so no spot was left unprotected.

It hesitated, and pounced forward like a giant lion, stretching out with its front feet to land some distance from Alziel and Shell. Alziel took the opportunity, and as the beast turned to look around for other targets, he steadied his arrow, and let it go.

It struck the beast in the neck, some way below its head, but where it should have been a fatal shot, the arrow only glanced off and fell in the mud. The beast turned in an instant, quick as a flash, and roared in frustration - a deafening sound like a hundred trumpets - and Alziel saw that its fangs were the same as the ones on the arrows the gnome at the village had given him, and they dripped with some vile poison that glistened black in the moonlight.

Which meant that there was a problem. For Anyan. If this was a beast which thrived on using venom, then a venomous blade would likely have no effect.

"We need to get to Anyan", Alziel whispered to Shell, "Before he tries to attack this thing". Shell nodded.

As suddenly as they could, Alziel and Shell began to move to Anyan's position. The beast moved too, closing in for an attack.

[Kinslayer]

Anyan drew his sword quickly and put himself in a guard position. He had never seen a creature such as that... almost resembling a dragon, but with no wings. He saw how Alziel's arrow struck it's neck, with no effect...

What to do?

Anyan started to watch the thing closely, searching for a weak point... but there seemed to be no place uncovered by those scales.

Anyan had no sight of both Abell and Saine... He catched Alziel and Shell running towards him...

But Liara and Ragnar? He couldn't see them as well... he was alone.

He catched his shield strongly, put it before his body and attempted to charge - seeking the creature's legs.

[Red XIII]

OOC: Jejeje, I guess I'm kinda rusty.... But I know just how to fix it without editing!

BIC:

In the second the beast made its appearance, Ragnar grabbed Liara from an arm and jumped with her to the muddy ground, waiting for the burning breath of (what he thought) was a dragon.

But then, Ragnar realized that the beast had no wings, and that some strange liquid came out of its mouth.
He didn't like that liquid. It looked too much like that thingy he used to drop in the King's enemies food.

"Damn! I must be getting really old......" Ragnar thought. The moon shining against the scales had somehow confused the old man, who thought the creature was a dragon.

"What are you doing?!?!" Liara said. She didn't understand what Ragnar had done.

"Sorry, but if it was a dragon, you would've thankful now!" Ragnar answered while kneeling.
He saw Alziel's arrow bounce, and thought "Mmmmm armored huh...."

Then, Ragnar had an idea:
"Alziel! Aim for the eyes, or the mouth!! No monster, no matter how strong is protected there!"

Ragnar lifted his crossbow, took aim and shot to the howling creature, that was aproaching Anyan, Shell and Alziel.

But.....

"clic-clack"

"WHAT?!?! THIS DAMNED THING!!! IT'S JAMMED!!!" Ragnar yelled.
The mechanism of the crossbow had mud in it, and it had to be cleaned before it could work again.

Liara got up, next to Ragnar. She looked fine, though she was covered in mud.

And the beast kept aproaching the group.......

[Kinslayer]

(OOC: What's going on? :S Perhaps PMing the ones who're missing? EMERAAATES GEMINIIII PLEEEASE XD)

BIC:


"AIM TO THE EYES!!!" Ragnar's screams sounded through all the battlefield.

Anyan heard th old man's words, as he was rushing to the beast's legs. The Viper's edge was made of mythril silver... it should be strong enough...

He was wrong.

After dodging an attack from the head, Anyan stroke the beast's left leg with it's blade... but it bounced against the strong scales, making no wound. The blade wasn't broken because of luck...

Anyan looked surprised, as the beast roared and looked at him, with hungry eyes...

[Moosetroop11]

Suddenly, the beast's head was obscurred by an explosion of flame. It reeled back and screamed again, as Liara walked forward slowly, holding an arm out and her hair billowing back slighly. It was strong magic for a young Sprite, and Liara knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. As the flame continued to attack the creature, Liara's eyes darted to Alziel,  her expression asking the question "what now?"

Shell ran towards the others. "It moves fast for a creature of it's size. It will be difficult to hit it in the eyes, even for an accomplished archer such as Alziel. And we aren't the sort to use long range weapons anyway, are we?

Anyan started as he realised Shell was talking to him. "What should we do?"
"We might only be able to draw it's attacks away from the people who can do it harm. There's always the possibility that it's underbelly is less armoured, though..."

The creature writhed, trying to free itself of the flames, and lashed out at Shell and Anyan with it's tail. Shell grabbed his staff tightly and met the blow with one of his own devastating smashes, his staff miraculously staying in one piece and deflecting the creature's attack. It screamed again and Shell clutched his arm.
"How'd you do that?" Anyan asked, amazed. "That should've crushed you!"
"I'm a survivor" Shell murmered. "I can take quite a few hits before I go down. I've no real skill at combat though... You're going to have to do the stabbing."
"Right" Anyan nodded. "You're my shield. I'll try and get a wound on his belly"
Anyan drew one of his lesser swords. "A poison creature... Looks like the viper's no use here. I just hope this works."

[Dragonium]

OOC: Jim, get your arse on MSN.

BIC:

Alziel moved back and observed the creature. It still stumbled about, screeching as the flames licked over its face and burned the air. There was a different smell in the air, a tang of burning acid. The beast was panting, and its poison breath caught fire from Liara's magical flames, and that choking acid smell spread throughout the forest.

Alziel made another few shots, hoping for a lucky arrow to strike a vital point, with no success. Anyan had slowly but tactically moved closer, ready to attempt to attack the creature's belly. It would be a risky maneuver, and Alziel doubted whether a creature of that size would go down from a single attack, but it was their best option currently.

Liara's spell faltered for a moment, and the beast saw its opportunity. Infuriated still, it lunged forward, seeing the sprite as its target. Alziel was faster, and he too lunged to where Liara stood, frozen to the spot. As the beast reached out with dripping fangs, Alziel caught hold of Liara's hand, feeling the tingle of magic there, and pulled her back. The beast fell forward, scattering mud, and looked ready to strike, before a bolt from Ragnar bounced off its shoulder and it pulled back.

Shell came forward, seeing an opportunity, and sruck the thing hard on one of its rear legs, sending it screeching again, before turning to busy itself with its new target.

Alziel looked over to Ragnar and winked. Ragnar noticed his gesture, smiled, gave a saluting gesture, and continued to load his crossbow.

"Alziel", Liara whispered in his ear, breaking him out of his thoughts, "Do you have those arrows?"

Alziel nodded. "I don't think they'll work, but...". He drew one of the poison arrows, seeing the head that he knew was made from the fang of one of these very creatures.

"Worth a try", Liara smiled.

Both turned, Alziel taking aim with one of the poison arrows, and Liara reading a new assault of magic.

[Kinslayer]

Having saved the Viper and using a smaller blade (it was a small sword, only used in some trainings and quick assaults), Anyan tried to get under the creature, as Shell absorbed it's tail's impacts, and Alziel, Liara and Ragnar attacked form a distance.

The beast had armor everywhere... and there was noticiable spot...

Shell kept hitting over and over again with his mighty staff, which surprisingly stood in one piece...

Anyan quickly moved under the beast, and noticed that indeed, the creature's belly had less armour.

A fast slash form his blade made the creature scream in pain... but suddenly, it stood in it's back legs, and fell on it's forward legs strongly.

The cut seemed deep, yet it seemed to be a scratch for the beast.

The blood, mixed with poison, started to drop as a disgusting rain on the floor - having Anyan moved from the place, fearing to be poisoned...

"The belly!!!" screamed Anyan: "Indeed, the point is at the belly!"

[Moosetroop11]

The thing that hit Liara most was not the sheer size of the creature but how many years it carried behind it's eyes. It was ancient, battle hardened.

Had it ever encountered a group like the contestants before? Perhaps not. These were the people who had succeeded by working together when others struck out on their own and perished. The monster was alone against a group that actually cared about each other. The sprite had a feeling that not many of those had travelled in the western lands for a long time.

The fire spell had worked to a fashion, but she was running out of energy. She glanced around and couldn't see any wounded, but she was still reserved. The last thing she wanted was to be out of power when there were people to be healed again.

Within seconds of these thoughts the creature charged Liara. Alziel began to run to her aid but was not fast enough- though the sprite, luckily, was. She threw out her arms and the creature glanced against a green, dazzling magical barrier, screeching. Liara was still flung backwards by the force.

"Liara!"

Anyan made to run to her but Shell pulled him back. "She's okay. Alziel's there. We have a job to do."

[Dragonium]

Alziel took aim. The beast would not stop moving, and it was hard enough to find a viable target as it was. He doubted that the poison arrows would work more and more as time passed; after all why would a creature be vulnerable to its own venom?

He breathed hard, letting his aim settle, and waited for an opening.

~~~~~

The beast turned again. It knew that it had been wounded, but the cut was not deep enough yet, and afterall it was a determined old thing. It kept moving, not giving opportunities to either of the two little men running around its feet, the one with the sword or the one with the stick.

The one with the sword, it decided, would be a more worthwhile target. That one was the dangerous one, the one who could inflict pain, as slight as that pain was. Time was on its side, the beast decided; they would all get tired before they managed to do any real damage. It had been in battles before, with the other creatures of the west, and it had recovered from wounds that should have killed any lesser creature.

Be that as it may, they were a hassle. The beast was hungry, and it doubted that it would find a meal as satisfying as this one for a long time.

As quickly as it could, it turned, swinging its tail about the clearing. The one with the sword had managed to escape, just about, and the one with the stick was able to stop the attack. They had daring, and strength, but they would go down soon.

The beast waited for its moment. Soon enough, one of them would make a mistake.

[Red XIII]

Ragnar was thinking fast, thinking what to do......

The crossbow was working again (Thoguh he had to clean it), but it had no effect.

"Well.... Here goes nothing...." Ragnar thought.

He took one of the ten small black bombs he had traded for glass in the Gnomes town "It feels like a century has passed dince then.." Ragnar thought while smiling.

He prepared, and waited for a chance.

The creature had tried to attack Anyan, but was deflected by Shell.

After bouncing from that assault, it went straight against the old man, as if it tried to distract the group.
Ragnar did not hesitate, as if he was expecting that, and threw the bomb right to the beast face.

The bomb's explosion wasn't really big, but the beast felt like a boulder had hit its head.

It squeeled, and stood again in its back legs.

Ragnar jumped back and screamed "Alziel, this is your chance! Take your shot!"

[Kinslayer]

Anyan stood back, as the bomb exploded...

"Old man... always with your bloody tricks" he thought. Suddenly, the beast stood on it's back legs again, as if a bit confused from the big explosion... Anyan did not hesitate.

Quick, efficient, he ran as if he was possesed, jumped forth, and stabbed deep inside the beast's belly...

This time, the wound was bigger... and the beast screamed louder. Anyan retired the small sword quicly, since the blood was poisonus and could be acid.

But that attempt of being careful caused Anyan to be left in an open position...

"Watch it you fool!" screamed Shell form a distance.
As Anyan realized, a waving from the beast's big tale stroke his chest, and threw him several meters away.

The light armour had saved him from loosing counciousness, but next time, he needed to be more careful.

Anyan stood, proud, and suddenly screamed at the creature:

"Fiend!!! Is this all you have got?!"

[Moosetroop11]

Liara stood and began drawing her energy together again, willing a small dark cloud to begin to appear in the sky. This was the spell that had gone wrong before- she needed to prove to herself that she could do it now.

Shell ducked and ran from the creature, smiling wryly for the first time in a long time. This had been a chance to be of use to the group and he felt that he had succeeded. He made his way towards where Anyan had landed and was yelling triumphantly.

"That's a wound" Shell stated. "It's bleeding everywhere. It's bound to lose it's strength soon."

[Kinslayer]

OOC: Happy birthday to the creator of this RP!!! Have a good one Draggy!

BIC:

"Perhaps..." said Anyan to Shell: "...or perhaps it will grow angrier and fight until the very end..."

Shell looked at Anyan back. Surely the young knight had his pride, but he never underestimated his enemy.

A small dark cloud appeared in the sky, casted by Liara. Aparently, the spell wasn't ready yet, but it seemed Liara's magic had some effect in the beast.

The beast seemed a bit confused from the wound, yet it was clearly angry...

Anyan closed to it smoothly, avoiding the beast's eyes. A final blow had to be given...