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Post by Leni-Aura Thunderpaw on Jun 4, 2023 11:24:31 GMT -5
Leni-Aura’s eyes snap towards the head which she had thrown her lightning spear into; its maw twitches, dagger-like fangs baring as it lunges towards her past Leandros, in the same moment that he slices at a different head. Its heads tangle; a labyrinth of ebony and steel scales; but a creature with so many heads is certainly used to the maze of its own limbs.
She brandishes her spear; its teeth snap at her, piercing into her armour (1. Pauldrons — -1 Hit Prevention, Broken) when she tries to circle around its massive maw, aiming for its eye. She feels the unbearable pressure of its jaws closing, and the groan of her armour; but before it can fully break through, the hydra shrieks.
She pierces it’s eye, using its momentum towards her as a guide for the blade of her spear; and once she hears it howl, she pushes away as quickly as she can. (2. Long Stride) The Hydra snaps her pauldron as she does, and pulls her spear from its face with her long stride into the shadows; its head follows her, angry, but meets resistance before it can reach her.
She feels the wind against her heels; the humid, warm breath of the hydra sends a chill up her spine as the hydra’s jaw snaps shut again behind her. Lightning sparks from the darkness of the surrounding canopy as Nimbus shoots a small orb of static electricity at the creature in defense of Leni; his tiny hiss is drowned out by the growling and howling of each of the Hydra’s heads.
Leni-Aura turns to look towards Leandros when she hears her name, watching as he parries away one of the heads. The outrider barely misses a snapping jaw, slicing his blade through the soft underjaw of the head; but it’s only a matter of time before a single mistake, or time, tires them all out. “On your cue!” Leni-Aura calls back, spinning her spear to grasp the haft firmly; the wind seems to kick up around her, disturbing the surface of the water in ripples; but her eyes remain keen in the case that the hydra's heads lunge for her before Leandros can carry out his end of the distraction. (3. Howling Gale)
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jun 4, 2023 11:33:47 GMT -5
Leandros takes the brief moment the heads pull back to exhale slowly, a shimmer coming to his armor and enveloping him.[1] He would need all of the protection he could muster for this to work. As Leni resets herself, he charges in with his halberd at his hip as if he is going to spear it.
Just as expected, the heads all turn to descend upon the knight. Every tooth seems to hunger for the taste of blood they had so far struggled to get. Leandros takes a hard step in before suddenly feinting with his strike.[2] The false movement draws the heads in further, but leaves their back entirely exposed. It'll still take a good hit and timing to strike the core, but it'll be a lot easier without five heads bearing down.
If Leni is quick enough she should be able to get up and past the heads and land the deadly blow they are looking for. Leandros knows he will take a hit or two, but the plates of his armor are thick, not to mention the spiritual barrier surrounding him. It's a high-stakes bet, but he trusts the rabbitaur to pull this off.
1. Caller of Spirits
2. Shaa's Flinch
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Post by Leni-Aura Thunderpaw on Jun 4, 2023 11:58:49 GMT -5
It’s risky to allow Leandros to take a risk like this; but, having been trained a warrior throughout her youth, Leni-Aura knows the value of such risks— and if a risk isn’t taken within this fight, she has no doubt they’ll all pay the price for it. With Leandros’ armour and presumed experience, she can only trust that the knight knows what he’s doing, and what he’s risking to do it.
There’s not any time to argue about a plan; this is as good as it gets in this moment.
As the heads lunge towards Leandros, Leni-Aura makes her move; she leaps, leaving ripples of water and thrashing gales in the wake of her dash which follow her upwards in the arc of her leap, almost as though she’s been pushed. (1. Gust Thrust) Bog water explodes in a circle around the impact point; and the arc of her leap brings her to the Hydra’s body; just enough for her to sink her back claws into the curve of its side, and push herself the rest of the way upwards. (2. Long Stride)
In a blur of quick motion and an aftermath of hissing wind, Leni-Aura finds herself above the Hydra; she pulls her spear back, sparking with cyan waves of electricity; and narrows her eyes as she uses a precious second to pinpoint her target.
There.
The rabbitaur throws her pole arm downwards, at an angle, using all of the strength she can possibly muster (3. Bull’s Strength). In the Hydra’s eagerness to claim Leandros’ life as its, the creature’s scales lift just slightly— enough for the blade of her polearm to slip between them, piercing diagonally through the back of its shoulder blade, angling towards the front of its chest.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jun 4, 2023 21:46:18 GMT -5
Teeth scrape against the spiritual barrier and heads slam into the knight, but he holds firm in that moment to let Leni strike. When the spear rips between its scales, all five heads arch back in a screech and a wail. The hyrdra begins to thrash in pain and anger.
Time to finish this off for real. Leni dealt a killing blow, but rather than risk someone getting caught in its death throes Leandros would rather eliminate all risk in front of them.
"You will learn today beast, your rage means nothing when compared to the strength of a lion!" He spun the halberd around his hips to gain momentum before sweeping wide in front of him, the techinque and strength carrying his blade through all five of the heads. [1,2]
He panted softly as the heads made dull and wet thudding noises as they fell into the muck of the swamp. Leandros gathered himself out of his stance, wiping some of the blood from a small forehead cut.
"That was brilliant work Lady Leni-Aura. I am honored to have fought beside you today. Both of you." How quickly he moves from the serious and battle-focused night, back to the kind and gentle giant most people saw him as.
1. Titanic Reach 2. Lion's Strength+ Baloth's Muscles
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Post by Leni-Aura Thunderpaw on Jun 5, 2023 13:07:45 GMT -5
Exhaustion seeps into Leni-Aura’s bones; a mana depletion from such an overuse of the Sky Domain that she’d been training to harness these past few months. She falls, twisting in mid-air in the hopes that she’ll be able to land on all four of her legs without the use of her magic in order to make a quick escape from the thrashing beast.
From her position, it’s hard to determine exactly the damage done; but she can certainly tell that it’s angry after the fact. Weaponless, manaless, and helpless for the most part; it’s a free-fall in the midst of the death throes of the hydra. Before Leni’s four paws can hit the ground, however, she hears Leandros’ call— and the wet sounds of a blade cutting through flesh.
Leni-Aura stumbles, landing awkwardly on the back of the headless hydra and to for her spear for support. She reaches out to grip it as the body falls, dunking into the muck after its five heads splash around Leandros; and all falls silent, save for the exhausted sounds of the warriors left behind.
The rabbitaur, partially submerged in the bogwater, takes a few deep breaths; she glances around at the party, “Everyone is okay?” she asks, attempting to do a head-count before steadying herself atop the Hydra’s back. Nimbus swoops past the outrider, squeaking and trilling worriedly as he hovers about her, and ultimately lands on her back.
With some effort, she’s able to remove her pole arm from between the Hydra’s shoulder blade (1. Bull’s Strength), and glances towards Leandros, chest heaving with the effort to catch her breath. Nimbus nips at loose strands of her hair to get her attention until she moves to rest a hand on his head to comfort him, “As to you,” she answers, looking distastefully at the remnants of the hydra one last time before she moves to join the party back in the darkening bog water.
It’ll take a while to wash the Hydra’s blood from her fur.
“Your strength was impressive, your armour was strong, and your wits were quick. Well done; it has been an honour to fight alongside you.” The rabbitaur dips her head to him, respect for a fellow warrior at the very least, before she perks her ears and glances towards the outrider.
“Well done, indeed.” He grunts; blood sloughs from one of his arms, but he seems to be ignoring the wound; it doesn't look as serious as it could have been, given what they were fighting. “That could have gone much worse without the quick thinking.” He takes a breath, looking towards the corpse of the creature as it lies, motionless, within the bog. “Shouldn’t take long for me to write the report; and don’t worry, I’m left handed.” The outrider holds up his uninjured hand in example with a tired smirk, before heading towards the crimson-stained bog— presumably to calculate any irregularities on the creature, or its presence here in the Marsh.
“When we return to the WEF, I’ll put in a good word for the work you lot have done today. It is no easy task keeping up with one of these.”
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jun 5, 2023 23:00:00 GMT -5
Leandros flicked the blood from his weapon in a quick flourish before settling it back into the straps on his back. He sighs in relief hearing everyone respond in the mostly affirmative.
"Come for a moment." Leandros waved the outrider over, placing a hand on his shoulder. The gentle warmth radiates from his hand before a bright light seems to eminate from the would. As the light fades, he is left with little more than a scar.
"I think I have enough energy for a touch more healing if you need it Lady Leni-Aura." He offers her his hand and a smile, ignoring his own wounds for the moment. The knight is far from falling over, so it is nat as iff he is risking his own health.
"The area should be clear...anything else worth fighting probably ran off when the hydra roared." Gilder reported back after taking a little sweep of the area with the outrider.
Leandros nods, trusting their expertise. Leni will be healed if she accepts otherwise, the knight is happy to begin leading the party not only out of this area, but the swamp as a whole.
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The Expedition
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Post by Leni-Aura Thunderpaw on Jun 7, 2023 17:12:46 GMT -5
Leni-Aura blinks at Leandros’ offer; there was a time where her pride would have caused her to reject such an offer; likely labelling it as, ‘An easy way out,’ because warriors were to bear their wounds with pride… but it has been some time since Leni-Aura has thought like that.
Although, she bears the many scars of a mindset which used to believe such a thing.
Hesitantly, she reaches out and places her palm in Leandros’— accepting his offer. A healing warmth spreads through her from her hand; like a ray of light, it washes the exhaustion from her body; it eases the soreness of her muscles, and the sprain of her shoulder when the Hydra had torn her spear from her hands. She takes a deep breath, then exhales in relief. “ Thank you,” she tells Lee, her otherwise stoic voice hinted by gratefulness. She pulls her hand back as Gilder approaches, and glances at the man. The outrider, after having been healed, approaches after a little while to join them. “ It’s indicative of a native, Marsh Flats hydra; but its pattern, second eyelids, and the webbing on its feet suggest it comes from a location mostly aquatic. I’m thinking this one wandered from the Flood Road; probably disturbed by the earthquakes happening around Charon.” The Outrider purses his lips, crossing his blood-stained arms while he considers the information. “ But… it won’t be of trouble to the locals around here any longer; so, a job well done. All of you.” He nods to each member of the party, before clapping his hands together. “ Let’s gather the mounts, and head back to town; I owe you all a round of drinks.” He gestures towards Leandros, signaling for him to lead the way back to the safety of the border town.
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