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Post by Vikram on Mar 2, 2023 15:47:57 GMT -5
Alcaldes enemies stand before him, defiant. Anger and righteous fury flared around him. The lightning sparking off the ground and the whir of blades from the knight spurred his desire to fight. The knight challenged him, but the child advances first. As though he were an anvil for a particularly upset blacksmith, twin hammers impact him solidly. The small one hits square on the right side of his femur. The lightning charged through him despite his ward, but the impact itself seemed like it should have shattered bone. When the hammer was withdrawn, an imprint of the head in gold remained in its stead emanating an icy mist.
The second hammer swung up and caught him across the jaw. The power of a lightning strike surged through once again, arcing throughout and channeling through his arms to the ground. Several seconds of high voltage arcs leapt between his fingertips, the cumulative effect freezing him in place. Small tremors shook through his body as the residual electricity stretched the mortal coils muscles to their breaking point. Another golden imprint where the hammer had struck was left on his chin.
His jaw strained as he struggled to speak the necessary components. "R-r-remo-ve C-cond-ition". A white sigil appeared over his head, quickly dropping over his entire body. Arcs of electricity followed the sigil downward, dissapating into the ground and allowing him once more to move. An unfortunate side-effect however, was that it had been miscast, Removing his own condition on top of the others. The golden imprints of hammer marks burst with light, all their physical damage hitting at once.
Alcalde winced, the crack from his leg and jaw shooting through the hall like a corsair's gunshot. His right leg was visibly shortened from the breakage, and yet still he hobbled forward, sword at the ready.
"YOU CAN'T STOP ME, YOU WON'T. MY WILL IS LAW, AND YOU WILL OBEY ME"
He swings high, over and over, left and right, attempting to find a gap in Leandros' defense. With an outstretched arm, he forms a iced axe midair, and throws it overhand to the right of the knight.
Art of the Avalanche (1/2) Myriad Barrier (Ice) Remove Condition End immortality/immunity
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Mar 3, 2023 23:44:35 GMT -5
To say Leandros was impressed with Astrid's fighting would be an understatement. She was efficient and powerful on top of being creative and resourceful. Miles ahead of where he was at that age....if she is as young as he thinks. Really is hard to tell with adventurers these days.
He was certain she had landed a debilitating blow, but the Seeker still seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve. Leandros watched in mild horror as his jaw struggled to clear space for the words to push out of his throat and regain control of his body. At this point though, the movements of Vikram were so ragged and hectic it was more akin to fighting a marionette with broken strings.
When he dives in to attack the knight, the shifting block is enough to keep parrying blows to the side, but then he sees the axe coming in. That damned axe that had started this whole journey in the first place. The first axe that would set off a chain of events that would bring these two men together. It only seemed fitting that it would end with the way it began.
As the axe arced over, Leandros swung his halberd up to try and catch it and send it into the ground behind him. The explosion of ice would spray out, raining against his armor, the glow of his guardian spirit flickering and going out, but the danger moved out of Astrid's way.
Taking one last chance to give the half-dwarf and opening, Leandros will one more thrust with his halbed, pushing the back end forward to aim for the spot between Vikram's eyes.[1] He hoped with enough power he could stun or blind the man a moment.
1. Titanic Reach 2. Guardian Spirit gone
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 6, 2023 22:23:33 GMT -5
As Astrid recovers from the force of the blows she dealt to the celestial piloting her friend, she whips around to face him only to see him crumbling, desperately trying to hold on to what little control he has left. The fury of lightning leaves her, and the crackling around her subsides as she sees the damage she's done to this person that she's been through hell with and respects. This man she's grown to consider a friend is just a shell, a marionette for this other entity to use. There... There really is nothing they can do for him, is there? They have to try something, anything, to get through to what remains of Vikram below the surface. At first, her voice is quiet, nothing more than a feeble squeak. "Stop..." But the other two continue their battle. Alcalde throws an icy axe at Leandros, and the knight dashes forward for another blow. "STOP!!" With the fury of her helplessness, she throws out the only thing she can think of: the god-killer spell. The blue sparks of lightning around Astrid's form shift to an angry red hue and travel along the floor below her feet until they reach Alcalde. Concentrated white and red energy bursts forth from the ground, and bright red chains crackling with electrically charged flames strike out at Alcalde like vipers from Zeinav and constrict him in much the same way, holding him in place and bringing things to a halt. Breathing heavily, Astrid rushes over. "Vikram! Vikram! I know yer in there! Please!" Against her better judgment, she reaches out and puts her hands on his shoulders, begging him to come back to no avail. Tears bubble up in her eyes, and that same feeling from before seems to latch onto the celestial energy of Alcalde, draining it away from the Seeker. She begs to the gods, dead or not, that this will last. "Please, please, ya can't go out like this..!" she sobs. Active effects:- Dancing Chain - (passive, pet, newly active, reflavored as lightning bolt)
- Charged Object - cast on battle hammer to give lightning damage
- Scern's God-Killer - (ignoring set up for narrative, OK'd with players) fire damage, captured target cannot move, take actions/cast spells for 2 posts [round 1/2]
- Gifts Ungiven - no prestige abilities for target for 2 posts [use 2/2, round 1/2]
Passives:- War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy
- Battle hammer - ice rune, silvered, weapon tether
- Bull's Strength
- Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target
- Lightning Resistance
- Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge
- Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity
- Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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Post by Vikram on Mar 7, 2023 17:09:36 GMT -5
The last thing seen was the child shouting as the momentary distraction offered an opening. The butt of the halberd landed true, straight to the temple, and knocking the angered celestial off balance physically and mentally. He stumbled backwards for but a moment, before the chains wrapped around him. For the first time, signs of suffering and anguish crossed Alcaldes face as the searing steel wrapped around his puppets totality and restrained him. His limbs, fingers, and face twitched as electricity began to course through the confused circuit, and his binding was complete. There was no escape this time. The scent of seared flesh began to fill the area, as any amount of remaining energy it possessed went into struggling fruitlessly. The child shook the anguished being, his long gray hair cascaded limply around his head as it bobbed too and fro. Slowly, the blood pouring from the puppets jaw turned from that brilliant gold to a deep crimson, and the light pouring from his eyes dissipated to reveal the soft gold irises of a man whose gone through far too much. “A-astrid?” He said, head limply danging as though the chains were the only thing holding him aloft. “It is you, is it not? Or is this a construct of you, Alcalde. Not another performance…please. I’m tired. I feel as though this play has had me dancing for years.”
He lifted his eyes to meet hers, widening as he recognized her familiar face. A weak smile crossed his own as he chuckled slightly, another dribble of blood escaping his mouth. “It is you….It is isn’t it. And the knight, the knight, the knight. I remember now. I remember I came here. Why…Why am I wrapped in the chains of Scern? Did it not work? They, They burn. Please”
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Mar 7, 2023 19:28:34 GMT -5
Leandros turns to continue the fight, but thankfully he is trained enough to collect himself quickly upon seeing the scene. A soft and tired breath escapes him with another break in the fight. The pendulum of emotions here was hard to follow and could feel the will to fight leaving everyone, not that any of them much wanted a fight in the first place.
The knight steps forward, feeling the weight of Astrid's desperation as he gets closer. He looks up to Vikram, offering a similar weak smile. How this would all end was evident at this point, either Alcalde would come back and they would be forced to end this or Vikram would succumb to his wounds. There was no way to get a healer here in time, but he could at least offer that lie of comfort.
"Something has been off with as of late it seems, something has taken hold of you friend, but Astrid and I are trying to help. If you can release the barrier, I am sure we can get get a healer here in time. From what I saw in the Oasis, you are plenty strong enough to hold on. I'm sure you remember that, the chaos of the camels running loose, how easily you swindled me with words."
Leandros tries to force his smile wider and laugh. Keep Vikram talking, keep him active, don't let him slip away. That's all Leandros can think of at the moment, anything to give this man a chance to hold on and survive.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 7, 2023 22:37:01 GMT -5
Hearing the feeble words coming from Vikram, Astrid chokes out a sob. But it isn't of relief. She still doesn't know how to fix this.
"I-It was all I could think of," she sputters, tears streaming down her cheeks and leaving rivers of clean flesh amongst a layer of dirt. "I-I'm sorry. I can heal ya. I can give ya a potion. J-Just tell us how we can fix ya... Please. I wanna help. I wanna fix ya. This thin' inside of ya, it's..." The words tumble from her lips until she runs out of them entirely.
In some attempt to make herself feel better, she fumbles to pull the little pendant from beneath her damaged cuirass. It's hard to tell if her hands are shaking or if the afterimages are making them difficult to see. Everything feels so faint, especially her will to continue to hurt someone she calls a friend. She fishes out the pendant, The Essence of the North, and offers him the cool, soothing touch of its healing waters, willing him to accept it, willing him not to give up.
"Th-This'll heal all yer wounds," Astrid says feebly. "A-And then we can get ya some help. But ya gotta tell us how. Th-The chains, whatever's holdin' that entity back... It won't last forever. There's people who care about ya. I-I care about ya. I wanna help ya. Don't let it take ya again."
At this point, she's begging. Losing people is hard. It's an impossible task that must be overcome. Vikram is so full of life. He has so much life to live.
But she couldn't possibly know the anguish of an old adventurer on his last leg.
"A-At least tell me what we can do...!"
Scern's God Killer [round 2/2] Gifts Ungiven [round 2/2]
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Post by Vikram on Mar 7, 2023 23:53:47 GMT -5
“Yes…yes the camels. I remember now. The tradesmen running about to corral them, I remember. You were there, knight. I remember freeing the Angel from the cage in Gaza…Gazablaak? No…it was something else…Lilicors. Right…” His voice was weak behind a pained smile as he recalled. “He was within me then, He had found his way… through the weakness of my heart. That’s what you can do for me. Save your potion, but steel your heart. A hard decision comes next.” A long sigh comes from the mans exhausted, bloodstained mouth, the red painting his beard like a flag of war. He was tired, hardly even felt the burn and crackle of the chains over his own muscles screaming at him to give up. To just stop. Something within him propelled the desire to continue to live, despite all evidence leading to the contrary. No, selfish desires do not trump the Sukhbirs mission. The enemy must crumble, no matter the cost. “My friends. I have caused you both so much trouble, but I must ask one final favour of you. Alcalde, his grip on my mind is that of steel. Totality, no tricks may be done to undo it. I must ask you, knight, to put an end to me before he returns. I wish as most do, to end as I am, not as a monster. Just, allow me a final word with my friend, I wish her not to carry the burdens with her that I have.”
His tired eyes look over the small group of huddled civilian clergymen, and then to Astrid. “I beg you, live well. You are strong, one of the strongest I have ever known. But…but… Please, don’t allow the pursuit of it to be it’s own end.” Cryptic last words, a Seekers final gift. Vikram the Seeker looked back at the knight. Giving a nod, he opened his lips one final time. “My apologies…for the troubles. Your name, a warrior deserves to know the wielder of his fates name, at the least.” “Thank you…”
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Mar 8, 2023 6:46:30 GMT -5
The decision to surrender was not something Leandros was expecting, yet somehow it also doesn't come as a surprise. Thinking of it as a surrender wasn't fully correct though, this was not a resignation to fate but Vikram's final choice that would be fully his own. The chance to send this being back to wherever it came from and die not as the puppet of some twisted being but as himself.
He gives Astrid the time she needs to grieve and say goodbye, but their time is limited. He's not sure when all of this magic might fade and the other entity will take control, the fight inside Vikram is surely just as exhausting as the one out here.
When it is time, he lifts his halberd again and points the spike towards Vikram's heart. The least he could do is make it as quick and painless as possible.
"Leandros Aurthurian of Capitol Landing.....I am sorry I could not do more for you." There is no time for hesitation, with a quick and firm push the halberd pierces the Seeker before pulling back.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 15, 2023 18:38:56 GMT -5
As Vikram recalls freeing the Angel, Astrid starts to put things together. That burst of golden magic, the very thing that Vikram used to save her life from a bloodthirsty champion… That was this entity breaking its chains? That’s what caused this? A cold chill runs through Astrid’s limbs as a pit forms in her stomach. No…
A-A hard decision? No, that can’t mean–
“S-Steel’s fer protectin’ hearts,” Astrid says through a sob. That’s what armor is for. That’s why people wear armor. To protect themselves. But there’s no steel to protect one’s mind from an otherworldly entity, is there? There’s no steel that can save someone’s emotions.
Why are the things we can’t see the most fragile?
Astrid’s finally starting to understand why some people are so guarded, why they hesitate to get close to others. If this is the pain of losing someone… More tears well up in her eyes and fall, her lip quivering as Vikram makes his final request.
“Vikram– no, Vikram, please, we can do somethin’!” she begs. But the request is made. Through her tears, Astrid’s eyes meet Vikram’s, and the man, once so full of life, just looks tired. He’s ready to go. Who would she or Leandros be to deny someone a final mercy?
All she can muster is a tearful, “Y-Yeah… I-I will. I’m… I’m alive ‘cause of ya… I’m–” -sorry... But the words don’t come. Only sobs. Her will to fight anymore is gone, and the chains holding Vikram in place crack and falter. Golden light starts to return to the man. It has to be quick. Leandros has to pull her away, and she lashes out at him, trying to stop him from driving the end of his halberd into the Seeker’s chest.
Blood seeps from the wound and drips from Vikram’s broken jaw as the last vestiges of life leave him. But this was his last wish. The light leaves his eyes, the golden glow ceases taking over his form, and the chains fall away. His limp body crumples to the ground, and Astrid rushes to try to catch him, collapsing to her knees with her fists balled against his bloody, broken chest. As much as she begs and pleads, he’s not coming back.
Her wails fill the darkening temple.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Mar 16, 2023 17:29:42 GMT -5
Leandros is quiet for a time, the halberd is flicked to the side, a splash of crimson arcs across the floor with the last remnants of Vikram. The knight sheathes his weapon and takes a quiet step back. He has lost friends in battles, sure, but never people he was close with. Never something like this.
A noble education teaches you a lot of fancy words and how to craft a speech, but it all seems pointless in this moment. For all intents and purposes he was a spectator to this final moment, he knew not the history between these two or of the individuals personally. His meeting with Vikram was a chance annoyance that neither could have expected to come to this.
As the light field around the temple begins to fade, he can hear the guards starting to approach but turns to stop them with an outstretched hand and a slowly shaken head. He can bear the brunt of offering the official explanation for a later time. The few people that had been trapped inside do flew as fast as they can.
"I am sorry." The words are offered to both Vikram and Astrid, a soft break in the silence. There isn't much more he can add.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 18, 2023 19:49:29 GMT -5
If she weren’t crying so hard, the quiet splatter of blood against the floor would make Astrid flinch. Her weeping echoes off the broken temple walls, creeping up the columns, and drifting their way out of the holes in the ceiling, escaping into the evening sky like banshee wails.
It’s the first time anyone she’s ever cared about died, let alone in front of her, let alone because of her. Vikram’s life was snuffed like a candle, and the world is darker because of it. If only she had been more careful in the arena, if only the celestial hadn’t clawed through his defenses because they were desperate and in danger. Was this made even more possible because of the Sol Stone’s destruction? How many more things did she do wrong?
Leandros’ apology strikes her heart like his halberd did Vikram’s. It breaks her sobs, turning them into hiccups and coughs. Pain in her stomach wants to force its way out of her mouth. If only grief could be freed from one’s chest so easily. She feels sick. What does she do?
The sound of more footsteps approaching the temple finally catches her attention, and she looks toward the open entrance to see a group of guards approaching with a familiar silhouette. It seems the group from earlier found someone from the Fighter’s Guild, and that someone is Shaa.
The guild. Shaa.
How is she going to explain this?? She can’t speak, and it’s her fault the celestial found a hold of Vikram’s mind in the first place. Trembling fear starts to overcome Astrid’s sobs. Maybe she should go.
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on Mar 20, 2023 9:12:43 GMT -5
3 days Earlier] [Fighters Guild Offices]
Shaa sat grumpily in a cramped make shift office fighting with the one enemy he couldn’t punch out. Paperwork. Being the interim leader of the fighters guild was full of challenging moments. Infighting. Damage claims. Mage guild relations meetings. Budgets. As soon as Athena got back, he was going to take his inbox and light it on fire. After lightly banging his head on the wooden desk for a minute, Shaa hears a soft knock on the door. Unless you are coming in here with a knife to put me out of my misery, you suck, go away. Mr. Rhunn Sir, we got a report sir. You are going to want to see this. There was something in the tone of the man’s voice at the door that gave him pause. Fine, come in.
One of the guilds pages, Joshua, gently pushes open the old door with a painful creak. I don’t see a dagger Joshua. Shaa snarks from behind the desk. I know sir, I’m sorry. It’s just….well…you said if we ever got one to bring it to you right away. Got one what? Shaa asks as he gets up and leans out towards the nervous messenger. Joshua produces a deep red envelope from his pocket and hands it over. Shaa’s name is embossed on the front. Oh. He says quietly. Taking the envelope from the young boy, Shaa slides a long bladed dagger through the top.
The envelope, Shaa already knew, came from Thunderhoof Village. In particular, from the home of an extremely powerful and accurate oracle who happened to owe Shaa her life. Ever since he and Ray had saved her from being sacrificed by cultists, the oracle had apparently been keeping an ethereal eye on them. Every once in awhile, he would get a red envelope, just like this one, that would give him a heads up on something important in his life. The only problem was, even knowing the future, sometimes there was nothing he could do to stop it.
After slicing open the envelope, Shaa pulls out a piece of parchment paper with a single name written on it in red ink. Turning the envelope on its side, Shaa taps the open corner on the desk. Out of the envelope pours black ash out onto the table. A lot more than seems possible for one little envelope. Joshua looks at the scene puzzled as Shaa’s face gets grim. I don’t understand Sir. Joshua asks. What does it mean? Shaa tosses the paper and envelope on the desk and grabs his gear from a side closet. More @$&* paperwork. Joshua, go check the commission’s register. Find me where the hell Vikram is.
[Present Day]
Since receiving the envelope, Shaa had been looking for Vikram with no luck. Vikram wasn’t currently on any official commission from the guild, so Shaa had to rely on rumors on the location of the sword master. The rumors had brought him to the elven stronghold of Sol City. Several of his contacts had said that members of the guild had been around there recently. It was the best lead that Shaa had in days so he just needed to track them down. It wasn’t going to be easy as Shaa was considered persona non grata in some of the city’s burrows. But Shaa trusted the oracle and if Vikram was in trouble somehow, he was willing to risk getting into some shenanigans to get him out. He just needed to find him. It was a good thing that members of the fighters guild weren’t exactly subtle.
He had been searching all night with little to no luck. Chewing on some dried fruit he had picked up from a local stand, he leaned up against an alley wall, despondent at his lack of progress. It was near dawn when the sleepy fighter decided that he would try again uptown after a nice breakfast somewhere. But it was not meant to be as a brilliant flash of light pierced the early morning, lighting up the temple. The temple! It’s on fire! Shaa prayed a little prayer to Ginma that the guild had nothing to do with it although there was a little voice in his head that was telling him his search was about to come to a screeching end. Shaa tosses his fruit and makes his way towards the beam.
As he moves it becomes more and more obvious that a serious amount of power is being poured into whatever is going on down at the temple. As he moved closer, the hairs on his arms stand on end as a pair of guards approach him. What are you doing here bull man? We have enough of a crisis without any damn monsters running around causing problems. Barked one of the obviously tired, and a little racist, guards. I’m not here to cause problems. I’m from the fighters guild and I am looking for some of my guild mates who may be involved. The other guard looks up hopefully. Did you hear that? This has to be Shaa, they guy we are looking for. He’s from the fighters guild. We need to get back him back to that girl with the hammer. Shaa’s heart sank. Were they talking about Astrid? Just what in the world was happening here? Please, take me back in! Hurry! The trio sprint back as fast as they can.
The first thing that Shaa notices is the utter destruction. As an unfortunate expert in battle scenes and wanton chaos, Shaa knows the aftermath of an epic battle when he sees one. This was no street brawl. Whatever his guildees had been tussling with had put up a serious fight. The only question now was, was he too late to help or was it still out there somewhere? Shaa is met with confusion as he comes over the hill to the scene in front of him. Thank Ginma Astrid is still alive if not a bit bedraggled. Off to the side Shaa sees Leandros looking equally beaten up. He would be glad to see him if it were under different circumstances. He knew him to be a capable fighter and it made him glad knowing Astrid had some solid back up. But where in Ginma’s grassy beard was….
As Shaa got closer, the situation became more apparent. Astrid was next to a third person lying lifeless on the ground. The scene was so still it could have been a picture. The body belonged to Vikram and he was not moving. Shaa walks over and kicks the corpse roughly. Hey idiot, get up. You are freaking out the kids. Shaa grabs Vikram by the shirt and hauls him up. I said get on your feet! We don’t let little things like getting stabbed stop us, are you kidding me? Break time is over pal, wake up! Shaa gives him a rough shake. Son of a….you are really leaning into this aren’t you? You can’t be dead man. You know what kind of nonsense documentation I’m going to have to fill out because of this? You better be really dead or I’m getting a Necromancer to bring you back so I can kill you again myself you inconsiderate bastard! Shaa started to shake. You can’t just leave like this. You just can’t. Shaa closes his eyes a moment.
Death for Minotaurs was like breathing. Being a warrior race, dying in battle was not only normal but pretty much expected. Shaa’s time around other races had warped his sensibilities a bit so that when people died, he felt the loss a bit more keenly than most of his kind. They would have no more adventures together. He would have to be the one to explain to the others what went wrong. How it could’ve been prevented, could it have been. The problem with non Minotaur death is that it carried onto to those you left behind. Astrid, on the other hand, wasn’t a Minotaur and looked inconsolable. Shaa considers this might be the first friend that had died with her in battle. Being in the fighters guild would mean that it wouldn’t be her last, not by a long shot. Shaa’s entire life had been lived on the edge of a knife so he found himself at a loss as what to say. The warning from the oracle had given him days to prepare for the possibility of Vikram’s death but to her, this was still fresh, whatever had happened. Hey kid, look at me. Just take it slowly and breathe. Tell me what happened. I’m here now. It’s going to be ok.
As she sat quietly collecting her thoughts, Shaa turns to Leandros who was watching the scene stoically from the side. Lee, Good to see you. it’s been awhile since that mind flayer business. Shaa stops for a moment and turns to look at Vikram’s body. BTW Don’t think for a moment that I don’t know what a halberd stab wound looks like, I’m going to have some questions I think. I expect you will stick around to answer them….
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Mar 20, 2023 20:42:31 GMT -5
Given the constant noise growing outside and the chatter, when Leandros heard someone else entering he was ready to physically throw them out of the temple and out of Capitol Landing if he gave it enough oomph. He can't full turn around before Shaa is already past him though and the knight remains quiet.
The immediate reaction the minotaur gives shows Leandros just how deep the Seeker's connections went. He had friends from everwhere it seemed. It really pressed home the weight of the loss, even for an outside to the situation like himself. Selfishly, he feels a bit powerless that Shaa has to try and control Astrid, but it's a fleeting feeling. She needed someone at least familiar, not the limp attempt at consoling that he could offer.
"I have no intentions of leaving this place for the moment...whenever you are ready, I am here." He looks to Astrid, offering her the same before his gaze rose to the side to see the guards again. "The least I can offer you three is a path out of here when you wish to leave. I can take care of the guards questions...I am a knight of this land, might as well be one of the few to use that influence to help." He isn't even sure what he's rambling about at this point, just talking to fill the silence it seems.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 23, 2023 19:46:22 GMT -5
When Shaa approaches, Astrid seems frozen in the moment. Her eyes stay wide, somehow her stare feels empty. What will he do? What will he say? It takes her a moment to process that he’s trying to wake Vikram up. When he yells, she flinches, but when he shakes the mangled, lifeless corpse, life jumps back into her, and she tries to stop him.
“N-No, don’t! H-He’s–” Tears spring forth from her eyes again as Astrid pulls on Shaa’s arm, begging to get him to stop but unable to manifest the words to say so.
D-Documentation? Is that what he’s really concerned about?? Some stupid paperwork? No, Shaa… The happy-go-lucky minotaur is hurting too. Of course, he knew Vikram. Shaa’s basically the stand-in leader for the guild at this point… He knows everyone in the guild. He knows how hard they all work for the guild. Shaa would give his all to protect anyone in the guild.
And here she is covered in her guild mate’s blood.
Something about her looks ready to run away, like she’s in danger. She’s to blame. Of course, she is. She couldn’t save Vikram. Look at all the wounds she dealt him! Astrid takes a step back from Shaa, fear rattling her body. Her breath catches in her throat. Why is she breathing so fast? The world feels like it’s spinning around her. He’s saying something. Is he blaming her? He’s blaming her, isn’t he!
“Just take it slowly and breathe. Tell me what happened.”
Her eyes seem to focus on him, and for a moment, things feel still. Not stable, but still. Astrid’s eyes cut down to Vikram’s body again, and her brow twitches as she fights back another rush of tears and sobs. “I-I… Vikram… H-He… He’s dead. ‘C-Cause of me.”
In the moment that Shaa turns to Leandros, Astrid’s eyes focus on the open doorway. It’s right there. A little spurt of magic and she could be there.
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Fighter's Guild
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Renown
King’s Valley
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on Mar 25, 2023 0:47:09 GMT -5
Shaa turned back to see Astrid staring intently at the exit. Vikram was dead and somehow she thought it was her fault. Here she was. Covered in the blood of her comrade in arms. Not glowering over him like a conqueror but sobbing the deep salty tears of regret and sadness. The kind of chest numbing pain that made you want to run and never stop. Astrid was no murderer, no fiend. She was a girl in anguish and Shaa had a pretty good idea why.
What no one knew was that Shaa and Vikram understood each other probably better than most people ever would. They had trained together as Monks in the high mountains in the deep mysteries of the monk arts. During that training, they had refined their abilities to be able to see into each others very souls and what was waiting there. What Shaa knew from first hand experience, was that Vikram was a good man. But a man, who was haunted by a deep darkness that he had to keep under wraps. It’s why he hated magic users. It’s why he trained so hard to master self control, down his inner core. Because there was someone or something waiting there for him. From the look of it, that something had tried to get out. Shaa knew that Vikram would rather die than let it. He apparently just needed a little help.
No offense kiddo but…Shaa points to the surrounding devastation… I highly doubt all of this was just you. Please tell me what happened. But, no matter what happened, I am here for you. I have a pretty good idea already but I want to hear it from you. Ugh, where was Athena when he needed her? Shaa checks his bag for some water or a snack or anything really. He had already lost one member to say and if he didn’t figure out how to get through to her, he would lose another.
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