Ash Rose Jackals
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jan 21, 2024 11:29:16 GMT -5
The arrival of one of the Black Quills is more than welcome. However where the other two were remained a mystery. Clearly, the assassins did a lot of prep for this ahead of time and intercepted Kamille's followers to ensure they would have the advantage. The appearance of Shael, Eirynor, and Snow must have complicated things, and should they have arrived later in the day it could have been far too late.
Shael gives a lopsided grin as the assassin with an arrow in his neck gasps and drops to his knees, clutching at the wound as blood gushes between his fingers. Just before he stands any chance at recovering, he gets absolutely bulldozed by one of the gargoyles.
"Serves you right, jer-URP." Shael's expression turns green as she covers her own mouth and does her best to keep her lunch down. The sleep poison was wearing off, but not without giving her some wicked nausea.
"Guh, my head is spinning," she bemoans as she tries to get to her feet before Sir Prize scoops her up. "Gods, I'm going to puke..."
Eirynor is just starting to get some feeling back in his limbs by the time the gargoyle tromps over to him and slings him over its rocky shoulder opposite of Shael. The younger dark elf gives him a smug smirk.
"Look who's deadweight. Deadweight buddiiiiies."
The mute elf starts wishing that the electrical burst had fully knocked him out so he didn't have to suffer Shael's mockery.
Still, she was right in a way. Neither of them were in any condition to help and them being here only hindered the witch's ability to use more destructive spells. Best if they retreat so she can focus on finishing this thing. Snow is still up too, the catfolk will not likely leave her side until the situation is resolved. Hopefully, that didn't mean ending up like the assassin being turned into a blood pulp by Miss Fortune currently.
"I-I'm okay," Snow reassures Kamille as she comes to their aid.
The catfolks looks around at the absolute chaos that has erupted all around them. One of the assailants was finally down for the count. Another had been given a one-way flight to the other end of Moonglade. And Disaster was about to clobber the one threatening Allan. There could be more, but with how things are going, it wouldn't be long before they made their presence known.
Snow spots their bow nearby. The string was snapped, but the bow itself was intact unlike Allan's. The catfolk quickly goes and grabs the bow and then make a dash for Allan's. If they could at least have one functioning bow between them, then they wouldn't be completely useless. They manage to grab the bowstring off the broken bow and start flexing their bow to re-string it. It's not easy as Allan's bowstring is a bit shorter than what Snow is used to, so they have to flex the bow a lot further to try and hook one endloop over the arm of the long bow.
"Come on, come on," Snow huffs as they throw their weight against the flexible limb. Their gamble, however, would cost them dearly, as there's another twang noise from somewhere in the trees and something strikes them in the chest just as they get the bow re-strung.
Snow gasps and glances down to see an arrow shaft sticking out of their fur.
Shit.
They feel blood bubbling up in their throat and a prickling sensation spread through their limbs. They have no idea where the arrow came from, so firing back at his point would be a waste.
Allan was nearby though.
He needed a weapon.
As the taste of iron fills Snow's mouth, the catfolk unbuckles their quiver and bundles it with the bow before closing the gap between themselves and the other archer. They hand off the bow and arrows before skidding their knee on the ground and coughing up blood onto the ground.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Mar 2, 2024 17:47:39 GMT -5
The same hand that rose in the air to stab Allan was the hand that Disaster caught, magically quickened by Kamille's spell, pulling the assailant away from him. Thus the giant tree golem proceeded to, as Shaa would put it, "turn him into a pretzel shape". The minotaur would be proud. Allan seemed distraught, but alive enough to stand up - and sane enough to quietly pray for being on the Witch's good side.
Meanwhile, Sir Prize didn't waste any time in taking the two injured people to the house, carrying them both as sack of potatoes over both of his shoulders, yet not smart enough to avoid their heads hitting the doorframe as he turned sideways to enter the house, hurling the door out of his way. The other gargoyle, Miss Fortune, looked done with her assassin and retreated to the side of the Witch, waiting for orders. The stone gargoyles weren't particularly bright, but it was clear they were useful.
Kamille went to check on Allan as Snow seemed okay for now. The Black Quill got back on wobbly feet.
"Edgar? Poe? How many of them there is?"
"Not sure how many. We got separated. Edgar and Poe went down the river."
The Witch put a hand to his arm, focusing as flames enveloped her hand - instead of recoiling from the fire, Allan stood still. Licking at his skin and seeping into his wounds, the flames were mending and healing his injuries [1], until the Black Quill was great as new. Once again, she struggled against the feeling of a mist approaching the corners of her mind, extending dark fingers into her consciousness. Whether the several summonings were taking a toll on her or not, the fact was that she was starting to run low on mana.
She couldn't have that luxury, to be cut from her magic. She couldn't.
Kamille shook her head.
Edgar and Poe went down the river. But in what shape? Allan must've been the first to be able to recover or outwit their attackers, since he was the first to arrive back to the house.
Her line of thought was cut short by a familiar -SCHICK- of a flying arrow, piercing through the air and making her whip her head around, alarmed -
-only to see the blood gathering at Snow's fur. Warmth fled her face.
"SNOW!"
Recovered by now, Allan was quicker to spring into action, jumping to the bow and arrow that Snow yeeted towards him. In a swift move, he hoisted the quiver over his shoulder and nocked an arrow, turning his back towards the Witch and the catfolk. Even though he released an arrow that didn't hit his target, the assailant have gone into hiding again, as Disaster also went after him.
"Can you heal him?!"
How come in a matter of moments all went wrong? She needed to act quickly. Her father would've scorned her for being so trusting, but she didn't care. They had no loyalty towards her, and still they promptly went to protect her.
Magic is not all I've got.
"Go with Disaster and find them all. Find Edgar and Poe. Comb through the forest until they are all gone."
Allan seemed ready to protest, but one look from the Witch made him understand it was not negotiable. Snow coughed up blood, and Allan swallowed hard, in silent understanding. With the bow Snow had prepared in hand, his quiver on his shoulder, Allan skipped off to join Disaster on their quest.
Kamille turned to Snow, trying not to allow her urgency to turn into panic. Those were the times she needed to be focused the most.
"Please... Hang on, Snow... Hang on..."
A leap of faith.
Kneeling down to his side, she took a deep breath as her hand closed around the arrow, scorching it down to a crisp. As expected, blood started to flow, and she pressed her hand over the wound that painted the catfolk's fur red. He was warm. There was still hope.
The flames that erupted from her hands were warm, but not terribly so - definitely not scorching and eating away at his flesh and fur, but squarely the opposite: the fire felt embracing and comforting, replenishing the vital energy that quickly fled through the hole the arrow left [1]. Flesh was mended back together, as the healing fire coursed through his body, pulling Snow back.
And in the same measure that his life was restored, the Witch fought to pour every bit of her intent into the task...
...So much that her vision started to blur, and a last effort to keep Snow alive had her go over the edge, and her consciousness finally slipped through her fingers.
[1]Massive healing
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Ash Rose Jackals
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Mar 2, 2024 21:02:34 GMT -5
Snow feels the witch fall into their arms as they recover from their own injuries. "Lady Kamille!" They gently turn her around so she doesn't land on the ground face first. No good, she's out cold from the exhaustion. Allan already left to go find the others, and Shael and Eirynor were whisked off to safety already. That just left Snow and Miss Fortune left to guard the unconscious mage.
"Can you get her to safety too?" Snow asks the gargoyle which doesn't respond. Of course the thing would only accept commands from its master which the catfolk certainly was not.
Rustling from the bushes behind them catches the catfolk's ears and they look over their shoulder to see one last assassin making a final mad dash towards them. Snow doesn't have the strength to outrun the lithe attacker while also carrying Kamille, so they put their unarmed self between the killer's blade and its intended target.
"Dammit!" They hiss under their breath as they stare down the tip of the blade poised to skewer them and the mage once and for all.
As the assassin raises their blade to finally finish off their mark, there's a whoosh of air overhead followed by a squelching noise and a splatter of blood plastering Snow and Kamille in the face. The catfolk blinks through the blood to see the assassin, headless, fall to the ground with a wet thud. Their first instinct is to look to the gargoyle, but then they notice the shadow cast over them.
Snow's fur stands on end with static as they look up to see Shael's massive storm drake looming above them protectively, its throat glowing with a charged electrical breath.
The catfolk lets out a breath of relief. The drake's timing could have been better, but they're glad it showed up at all at this point.
Indra snorts out a plume of ozone as she scans the surrounding forest for any more enemies hiding in the shadows. The adrenaline pumping through the drake's veins finally able to overcome the tranquilizer from earlier. She looks down at the catfolk and witch before scenting the air for where her own master went. The tip of her tail twitches with impatience and anxiety at not knowing her rider's fate, but she holds her ground until Kalaf can take over guard duty.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Mar 29, 2024 17:10:51 GMT -5
The gargoyle just stands there, expressionless, as Snow was right to assume Miss Fortune wouldn’t move on his words. Yet, when there's movement and the promise of danger, she turned to face it.
But a shadow fell upon them first, as Indra's gigantic wings blocked sunlight and the drake swiftly took care of the attacker. It didn’t take long for the ground to shake under the weight of yet another drake, arriving at the scene with a mood as dark as his scales.
Kalaf looked royally pissed. A continuous strand of smoke escaped his flared nostrils, and with the last attacker gone, the drake turned his head towards Snow, the only one left awake. For a second, Snow would see in his scorching eyes that the drake held the strangers accountable for the incident, glaring intensely at the catfolk. And as the flames licked at his teeth, jumping to violence was the first thing on his mind.
But he stopped. Was Snow.... protecting the Witch? Was the Witch dead? No, he would know if she was dead. But what happened? Dead bodies littered the clearing, some of the original group was not there, and he could hear in the distance the roars of the walking tree, Kamille's latest pet, which was further proof that the woman was alive.
Another rustle came from the bushes, and the drake turned, whipping his spiked tail hard enough to cut across the nearby trees. The black drake took a deep breath, flames spilling through his mouth-
"Don’t fire! It's us! Kalaf, it's us!"
A familiar female's voice came through the forest. Kalaf seemed to calm down enough to have the flames subside, as two figures came out into the clearing, stumbling on shaky legs. They looked terrible. Poe struggled under the weight of Edgar, haunched over with an arm over her shoulders and an expression of pain, holding one hand over his ribs. Both of them looked fresh out of the water, drenched and miserable.
Poe looked surprised to see Snow there for a moment, but a pained grunt made her move forward faster. Her eyes fell on Kamille.
"Is she hurt? Are you hurt? Can you walk?"
It looked like she was limping slightly, which coupled with Edgar's weight, made for a terribly slow pace. She seemed in a hurry to get into the house, motioning for it.
"Take her inside! Quickly! The wards are still up. Kalaf, can you keep watch?"
Whether Kalaf understood it or not, he didn’t move from his spot, smoke still rising from his nostrils. He seemed to sniff the air for a moment, then turned to Indra - he understood the connection the younger drake spoke of, so he must've had an idea of what she was worried about the most right now.
"If your little one is inside, she is safe."
The realization that they were not the enemies seemed to come to the older drake quickly, seeing as Poe readily trusted them.
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Ash Rose Jackals
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Apr 1, 2024 14:27:00 GMT -5
Indra snorts and her tail whips back and forth behind her. She's on edge and in a heightened state of alertness to anything that moves through the trees. Like Kalaf, her attention snaps to the rustling bushes. Her body and wings lower to shield Snow and Kamille from anyone looking to take a shot at them.
Relief washes over Snow's face at the appearance of the missing Black Quills. Thank the dead gods they survived, though they still look worse for wear.
"I don't know," Snow admits, still supporting the weight of Kamille's upper body in their arms. "I think she's breathing at least."
Tha catfolk quickly checks for a pulse and breathing. Feeling the slightest quiver of their whiskers from Kamille's breath, they start to haul her up into their arms so they can move her to a safer location.
"Lady Kamille healed me before she collapsed. Allan ran that way," they point into the forest. "He was looking for you two and going to finish off any other intruders. Lady Kamille had one of her gargoyles take Eirynor and Shael up to the house."
Considering how injured they all were, walking up to Kamille's house was a little too risky for Snow's liking. They look at Indra and raise a hand to her tentatively.
"We need a ride, can you do that?"
They're not sure if the drake even hears them.
Kalaf would be able to easily tell that the younger drake is worried and desperate to get back to her rider. What he wouldn't know is that the two were rarely separated, and while Indra may seem rather worldly and disciplined, much of her own confidence comes from the bratty teenager. Every fiber of Indra's being wants to rush to her rider's side, but she doesn't know where she is and there's still danger present. The storm drake can't help but let a high-pitched whine escape between her teeth as she looks around worriedly.
Snow sighs and looks apologetically at Poe and Edgar. "Do you have any idea who these assassins are?"
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