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Post by Xalmann Dakarr on Nov 28, 2022 0:36:50 GMT -5
Xalmann looked at Perrath as he spoke to him. Well equipped for this situation? He was not. What did he mean by "take his leave"!? Xalmann watched Perrath vanish from sight in furious disbelief. From his armor, he'd thought this Dragonkin was some kind of warrior, but clearly he was nothing more than a coward with some magic tricks up his sleeve! He could now hear the armored man running away, his armor clinking and clanging as he fled.
Xalmann looked to the strange creature that was now rising from the volcano. Their legs rose over the edge and onto the solid ground. Their head reeled back and then shot forward, releasing a torrent of hot lava from their mouth that sprayed into the air to rain down overhead. Nope. Xalmann turned around and ran as well, following behind the invisible Dragonkin. Stanley also ran not far behind, their shrill screaming muffled by their strange suit.
The seahorsecrab gave chase, their eight legs scuttling disturbingly and its claws snapping threateningly. A seam that ran down the center of the chitinous seahorse-like torso opened up and tentacles emerged, whipping around furiously. This thing just kept getting worse. Has this thing seriously been living in this volcano this whole time!? How long has it been here and how come no one had said anything about it!?
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Post by Perrath on Nov 30, 2022 20:36:10 GMT -5
In having the choice between a glorious death or self-preservation, Perrath feels completely justified in cowardice in this moment. He doubts his magic could pose a threat to such a large creature that dwells in a lava pool. This trip has been a damn waste, but at least he'll experience some level of euphoria telling the institute that their researcher is likely long dead. He can regale them with the story of his great escape from the volcano beast.
At least he can if he survives.
Bit of magma breath rain around his shadowy form. Hot, hot, hot! His feet deftly dodge the dangers as he books it down the mountain path as fast as he can. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Xalmann and Stanley doing the same. "A wise decision, kin!" he calls back, some air of a laugh in his voice. This situation is absolutely ridiculous. And what's that? Oh Mother Moon, it now has tentacles. TENTACLES! Ginma's domain houses truly terrifying creatures of the earthen depths! Had he his true dragon form, Perrath would tangle with the beast and remove it from its horrific existence. He does not have those capabilities at present. What he does have are legs that will carry him to safety down the mountain!
The beast screams behind them, charging through rock outcroppings and down the mountain towards the fleeing group. Stanley's screams bring the dragon some joy in this encounter, but he feels them welling inside of him too. With the speed of the beast approaching, they'll be lucky to escape this alive. They could perhaps offer it a tribute? A distraction? The thought of tripping up the other two crosses his mind, but there's no time for it in this moment. All he can do is run.
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Post by Xalmann Dakarr on Dec 1, 2022 0:31:24 GMT -5
Xalmann ran as fast as he could down the mountain side. With his greater speed than the armored Dragonkin, he was starting to overtake Perrath in their race to the bottom of the mountain. The steep slope helped him run faster, but it also threatened to trip him up. Stanley did trip and fall, but leapt forward using the momentum to grab onto Xalmann's tail. The Lizardfolk looked back at the researcher clinging to his tail in anger. Stanley was light enough and Xalmann strong enough that he could still run while dragging him along, but they were slowing him down horribly and draining his stamina.
Xalmann needed to do something to distract the monster and get this idiot off of him. He placed his hands together for a moment and another Lizardfolk began to run beside him, slightly taller and thinner than Xalmann, and also covered in horrible burns and transparent.
Xalmann quickly said something to the ghostly Lizardman and he ran off, toward the monster. They did what they had been instructed, drawing the seahorse crab's attention away from the fleeing Xalmann. With that, Xalmann was able to grab Stanley and hoist him back to his feet.
"Do that again. I will kill you." he hissed angrily before continuing to run down the mountain, Stanley following behind.
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Post by Perrath on Dec 1, 2022 23:33:02 GMT -5
A few flashes of red catch Perrath's attention, and he looks to the side to see Xalmann catching up only to be dragged down by the pathetic researcher in the odd costume. The dragon can't help laughing - whether in genuine amusement or nervous fear. Either way, it's a hearty laugh. If I were you, I'd let the man act as bait for the beast! he nearly says but decides against it to save face. With the spirit guardians distracting the caldera creature, the two reptilian men make some headway down the mountain. Curse these feet, if he had his wings, he could simply fly away! His talons will need cleaning, and his feet a hot soak in a good bath after this is over.
The group runs a long way down the mountain, eventually escaping the gaze of the monster and reaching a safer area of the mountain path. Perrath presses his hands into his knees, breathing heavily. "Mother Moon, this day has not gone as expected," he huffs. Then he stands proud again and lets out a breath of finality. "Great show, kin. Smart thinking to aid our escape. I admire your tenacity." It's hard to tell if Perrath's praise is genuine or not.
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Post by Xalmann Dakarr on Dec 2, 2022 0:58:38 GMT -5
Xalmann just glared in the direction that Perrath's voice was coming from as he ran. He didn't appreciate the cowardly man's praise, whether genuine or not. He didn't need the approval of a coward. He was tempted to throw his axe in the direction of the voice, but didn't think he'd actually hit the invisible Perrath. He also didn't want to do anything that might draw the monster's attention back to him.
The abomination chased after the ghost, stabbing its long, crab like legs to try and skewer the Lizardman darting away from it. Its leg occasionally would have done so if they had actually been corporeal. It grew more frustrated with its efforts having no effect and let out a loud, guttural, rumbling whinny. Its proboscis-like protruding mouth split on the sides and top opened up into a grotesque, four-pointed nightmare of jagged teeth and black flesh with a hole in the center that glowed like the opening of a furnace. Another, smaller proboscis emerged from the hole just to make things worse.
The summoned ghost witnessed this horror, but continued running. They were glad they were already dead after seeing that. They ran toward the top of the volcano, in the opposite direction of Xalmann, to draw the horrible thing away from their summoner. Eventually, the ghost could no longer stay summoned and disappeared, their spirit going back into the last surviving member of their tribe.
Thankfully, the ghost's efforts had been enough. The monster had lost sight of its original prey. With the ghost's disappearance, it let out a final angry roar before heading back to the top of the volcano and resubmerging in the lava, its tentacles being slurped back into its torso and its mouth closing back up like a withering flower.
Xalmann, Perrath, and Stenley had reached the foot of the mountain, breathing heavily from the effort of their escape.
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Post by Perrath on Dec 3, 2022 1:16:19 GMT -5
With their escape clinched, Perrath lets his cloak fall away, shadows dissipating at his feet like a cloud of smoke around him. He's breathing heavily, exhausted from the run, but in good spirits all things considered. Placing his hands on his hips, Perrath takes a deep, steadying breath and looks around. It doesn't take long for him to spot a humanoid man with a large backpack moseying his way farther down the mountain path. One eye blinking slightly after the other, he processes that there is another person around.
"Brave soul to be traveling out here on their own with all that gear on their back," he says. What on earth is that person doing here? Why would they be here? Did they not notice the entire situation that just occurred only a few hundred feet away? Hmph, not that Perrath cares if they got caught in the crossfire. Honestly, he would have thrown them back as bait for the creature. Stanley nearly met that fate himself.
Taking another huff of a breath, Perrath looks to Xalmann and Stanley. "Best we make our way back to Darkveil City before anything else goes incredibly wrong on this day." It's a struggle to keep his evident frustration from bubbling up in his tone. With that, he continues his trip down the path.
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Post by Xalmann Dakarr on Dec 3, 2022 19:44:53 GMT -5
Xalmann controlled his anger with the reappeared Dragonkin. After all that running for his life, he was too exhausted to battle the man. He could wait until another time to do so, if they ever happened to meet again. He hoped they wouldn't. He spotted the moseying figure as well. They may have been far away, but how had this person not heard the rumbling of the monster's run, or the roar of it spraying lava at them? Was this person actually that oblivious, or perhaps just deaf?
The stranger on the trail turned back in surprise at the voice of Perrath and waited for the group's approach. So now they heard them? Xalmann didn't recognize the man at all, but apparently Stanley did. He ran forward and greeted the waiting stranger.
"Oh, Winston! So you were already down here! I thought you were dead what with that big monster at the top of the mountain." he bantered cheerily.
Xalmann was surprised that this man was the Winston that Perrath had apparently been sent to rescue. How was this man even alive? Had he just left without incident, but later than expected? And why did he leave all of his camping equipment at the top of the mountain to be burnt down?
Xalmann then noticed something odd. Stanley's large bag on his back. Wait, had that campsite up there been someone else's entirely? How many people had been camping at the top of this cursed volcano!?
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Post by Perrath on Dec 4, 2022 5:18:43 GMT -5
Winston, the very oblivious researcher, turns back to see the odd group approaching him. Recognizing the odd suit and the voice of his tiefling colleague, he calls out. "Ah, Stanley! Good to see you, friend! How did the testing of your new material go?" The metallic-suited man starts babbling on about the days he's spent atop the volcano and starts animatedly going on about the situation they just escaped. Winston seems in awe. "I hadn't even noticed!" He looks up at the volcano to see the creature just reaching the caldera in the distance. "Incredible! I've been trying to get a good look at that beast for weeks!"
Seeing the two mortal go on and on nearly makes Perrath lose his cool in this heated situation. One could almost see a vein pop on the side of his head as he contains his boiling rage. If there's one thing Perrath doesn't like, it's for his time to be wasted. The second thing he especially dislikes is an unnecessary threat to his well-being. Today, he has experienced both. If he weren't in the presence of Xalmann, he would surely strike both of the researchers down and throw their corpses into a lava flow. But instead, he manages to keep the last strand of his composure to prevent himself from snapping.
An entirely fake smile spreads across his face. "Winston..! It is certainly a relief to see you safe. (read: It's the opposite. I'd rather see you scalped.) I suppose I can return to the institute and inform them that you are, in fact, not dead. I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear that." Half of his words come through his teeth.
"Oh, they sent you to find me? That's a shame, sir. I apologize for your wasted trip!" Winston says. At least the mortal has the decency to apologize. Perhaps he's worth sparing. "I'm surprised we didn't run into each other earlier in the day, but there are a few paths up the mountain..."
"No matter," Perrath says, walking past. "Safe travels back to Darkveil." He is done with this day and doesn't care about the man's safety. Not that he ever did. Now he only wants to return to deliver the disappointing news and be through with this situation entirely. He calls back to Xalmann, "Good luck on your next endeavors, kin. Perhaps we will meet again."
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Post by Xalmann Dakarr on Dec 5, 2022 11:39:20 GMT -5
Xalmann glared at the two researchers in annoyance. He didn't care that they were friends or that Winston had taken a different path down the mountain and missed meeting his supposed rescuer, though he was probably lucky he had. No, the researchers really hadn't done anything wrong other than Stanley grabbing his tail on the way down and nearly getting him killed by some foul seahorse from hell. He could even almost forgive that given the panic of the situation, and he hadn't done it again. No, he was just annoyed with the entire situation in general. He was done with it and wanted to leave. He didn't care about these researchers. They were already at the bottom of the volcano. They could make their own ways home without him. He could just leave and report this mission as completed.
He walked past them silently along with Perrath, leaving the two behind to talk about whatever nonsense they wanted to. Suddenly, there was a rumble that made Xalmann stop. Behind him, a loud crack sounded and a fissure opened in the ground directly beneath Stanley and Winston. They both screamed and began to fall down, into the crack, but a gigantic crab claw burst from the ground and grabbed the two researchers before pulling them down into the fissure that had begun to overflow with molten lava. Stanley and Winston were gone in seconds.
Xalmann just stared at the fissure for a moment. The oozing lava began to cool and solidify, resealing the crevice. After regaining a small bit of composure, he just looked at Perrath.
"We found them dead." he stated, pointing to the disappearing crevice in the ground.
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Post by Perrath on Dec 5, 2022 21:04:20 GMT -5
It surprises Perrath to hear Xalmann following him so closely already, and he offers the lizardfolk a glance over his shoulder. Apparently, he finds the two mortals inane and irritating too. So when the ground cracks and the two researchers are suddenly scooped up, Perrath just stops and watches it happen. The reappearance of the beast, the breaking of hardened magma, the screams of the men, the snaps of the creature. It is a fast, glorious display. With a final splash and crash of lava and rock, they're gone, nothing more than a bubbling pool and the hissing of hot stones.
Xalmann speaks, and Perrath looks at him with a blank expression before an amused twinkle sparks in his eyes. "Dead already. Of course."
And with that, the two reptilian men make their way back to Darkveil, eventually going their separate ways to deliver the tragic news to each of the institutes.
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