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Post by Morrigan Moonweaver on Apr 19, 2024 8:48:15 GMT -5
“I meant to do that.” Morrigan insisted, convincing none of their audience. With great reluctance the charlatan bent down, scooping the Unweaver from the mud. They patted down their pockets for a handkerchief, searching for one that they could bear parting with… oh, but everything they’d packed was so nice, they couldn’t bear to part with any of them. Ugh. Morrigan settled for the cheapest one and gently wiped at the Unweaver’s grimy metal until it shined. “And if anything, my middle name would be Slick. Because I am so smooth I simply cannot stop myself from dropping things.”
That was better than admitting that they’d learned all their sword skills from one of the jugglers from the Dreamscape Bazaar, way back when. In those days, while Madam Medb taught them alchemy, the performers would teach Morrigan all they could; from card reading to cheating, from holding the audience in the palm of one’s hand to slyly robbing them of their possessions. Well. Morrigan had attended the lesson on throwing, and then they’d gotten so bored they neglected to attend the next lesson on how to actually catch things.
“Anyways. Shouldn’t we get on with the mission?” Ah, yes. One of the few instances where Morrigan had found themselves so thoroughly embarrassed by what just happened that they were the one urging people to get back on track, for once.
It did not take them long to find Malik’s lab. The air was so thick with the ambient magic of potioncraft and spellweaving that the hairs on Morrigan’s arm stood on end.[1] They were practically buzzing, alight with energy by the time Astrid turned to them for confirmation.
“I was born ready to rock.”
The second Astrid burst through the door, Morrigan didn’t wait.
“BEISTMILD, CATCH ME!”
A gleeful cackle escaped the charlatan’s lips as they vaulted themselves at the gentle giant. In one smooth, fluid movement they pulled out the Monkey’s paw, pointing it at the man in the center in the split second of confusion that existed after their grand entrance. And as they did, the world… shifted, the laboratory taking center stage.[2] At the same time, Imann would find himself in quite the humbling position. Hopefully Beistmild would understand what Morrigan intended by giving him full reign to restrain the man that now wore their face.
Meanwhile, Morrigan felt… better than they had in a long time. “Ah… now this is more like it!”
The charlatan’s voice reverberated in the laboratory’s damp walls, a haunting melody. Their lips, wearing Malik’s visage, twisted into a manic grin of perfect teeth and glimmering skin. They raised a hand, power coursing through their body. Morrigan’s feeble attempts at scrapping together power - oh, they were a candle in the wind compared to this inferno. Distantly, the thought occurred to them exactly how wide the rift was between themselves and people like Malik Imann and Astrid Stormstone. But that thought did not matter, because right now, they held the world in the palm of their hands.
Right now, they felt alive.
Perhaps then it might occur to Astrid and Beistmild that giving Morrigan such unfettered access to power was a bad thing.
“Boss?”
Morrigan whipped towards the third goon, the one who’d not been restrained by Astrid’s spell; the man was clearly able to put together that something was wrong, even if he couldn’t quite place what. Hesitant, he looked between ‘Malik’ and the intruders, unsure exactly what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. He took a step closer to ‘Malik’, as if to protect his boss to the last.
Oh, how loyal.
But that was his first mistake.
Arcane energy burned in Morrigan’s palm, and it felt like gazing upon the sun for the first time. Unfortunately, though they had Malik’s own power, they did not have any of the finesse or control. The magic exploded outwards from the palm of their hand, the burning palm of divinity clamped along the back of the man’s skull.[3] Holy flames licked at the back of his head, and he let out a startled scream, putting distance between himself and Morrigan with a flick of his polearm. Morrigan grunted and the two were flung their separate ways; but the damage had already been done.
Morrigan smirked.
With another flick of their wrist Morrigan called upon that arcane wellspring of power - or perhaps it was more accurate to say they had no control over it in the first place - and the golden energy surrounded them before sprouting out of their back, a brilliant pair of gilded, spellbound wings.[4] They took to the air, hovering above all in the room. Perhaps a bit drunk with power. “I AM UNTO A GOD AMONGST MEN!”
Back in Morrigan’s body, Imann was slowly gathering his bearings. Within Morrigan’s body, he blinked, staring down at his hands. He glanced up at the version of himself in the sky. “… Clever trick.” It had even taken him by surprise. But he had not gotten to where he was now for nothing. Imann had no intention of being disabled so readily. 1. Witcher Pitcher Tattoo 2. Broken Monkey’s Paw (Morrigan and Malik swapping) 3. Burning Smite 4. Divine Ascent
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Post by Beistmild on Apr 19, 2024 18:26:27 GMT -5
Morrigan knew Beistmild was a pretty dependable man, and intelligent enough to pick up on the meanings of things quickly. Throwing themself into his arms and having him hold their body down while it was being used to contain Malik made plenty of sense. However, there was one simple fact Morrigan had forgotten to account for. Beist was easily flustered, especially in combat situations like this one.
"Wha- ah!" Beist gasped in surprise at the Fellblood suddenly diving in their direction, taking a moment to come to in the heat of the situation, but that moment was just a second too long as Morrigan faceplanted into the ground at Beist's feet at just the same moment as their consciousness and Malik's were switching places.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I-" Beist stammered as he knelt on one knee and helped "Morrigan" back up. Malik looked up at the giant looming figure, noting the confusion and concern on his beastly face. This strange fellow didn't even realize what had happened.
Maligan was stuck in this gaudily dressed, flimsy body that he could feel was lacking in any magic at all. How dreadful. A clever trick to capture him, but it seemed they hadn't fully planned this out. They didn't even disarm the body he'd been transferred into properly before trying to use it as a prison for him.
He reached into Morrigan's bag and sorted through its contents, seeing what was now available to him. He picked out a few bottles and vials. With his keen knowledge of alchemy, he identified the various potions instantly. How kind of them to provide him with his specialty. These would do.
Beist was concerned, and Morrigan's behavior was strange. He looked to Malik, who had suddenly gone crazed with power and even attacked his own men. It was then he remembered the plan. He looked down at who he had thought was Morrigan, realizing his mistake. He gasped and reached down quickly, trying to grab Maligan and restrain him, but it was too late.
He tossed a bottle at his own body, now with the mind of Morrigan in it. The glass vial, whether it hit or missed, shattered as it made contact with a surface and released a nauseating stench through the whole room that was even worse than it had been in the sewer. At nearly the same moment, he downed a potion that Beist was extremely familiar with. The purple horns on their head changed, angling outward and moving down on the sides of their head. Fur sprouted all over them and they grew larger and more muscular as Maligan transformed into a purple furred minotaur.
His elbow shot out behind him, into Beist's stomach. Beist let out a pained grunt, but still wrapped all four of his arms around the Minomaligan, doing his best to restrain him even now. He knew he'd messed up and let this happen. He needed to make sure things didn't get worse. It didn't matter that Morrigan hadn't given him any warning of the plan before enacting it so suddenly. The blame for this situation didn't matter as long as they fixed it.
"Pretzels, a little help!" Beist grunted with a grimace as Minomaligan continued struggling in his grasp, hammering his stomach with elbow strikes and his thighs with hooved kicks. The golden snake charm on his necklace glowed, the rainbow iridescent gem in the center becoming a dull white as the massive mechanical winged snake appeared behind him, coming out of the charm.
"Ugh, disgusting! You really had to call for me in a sewer, of all places? Put me back in the charm." Pretzels complained instantly. How a mechanical snake even had a sense of smell, Beist didn't feel like asking at the moment.
"Help me and then you can go back in the charm!" Beist argued and the snake finally took notice of the situation around it.
He moved his tail, starting to coil it around the minotaur, stopping their struggling as much as possible. Maligan wouldn't be so easily contained though as he pulled another bottle from Morrigan's bag. He popped the cork out with his mouth and poured it on two of Beist's arms which immediately began to go numb and lose their grip on him.
Malik- Bogwater (Morrigan's) Malik- Beist's Transmutation Tonic (Morrigan's)- Horns, Bull's Strength Beist- Extra Arms Malik- Numbing Poison (Morrigan's)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 25, 2024 20:57:48 GMT -5
“Smoothed-brained, maybe,” Astrid says with a smirk toward Morrigan. “Ya would a’ dropped it with more finesse if ya did it on purpose.” For a moment, Astrid considers disconnecting her prosthetic and tossing it to them to prove a point, but she doesn’t for two reasons: one, she doesn’t want to start up the conversation about her missing arm, and two, she really doesn’t want to drop it in the muck.
At a moment’s notice, there is a hole in the wall, and both Astrid and Morrigan leap into action, leaving the flustered Beist behind. Well, sort of. Astrid catches a mere glimpse of Morrigan’s half of the monkey’s paw, and she knows immediately that they’re in for even more chaos. And chaos does Morrigan bring.
“Uh, ya know, I’m startin’ ta think that the universe cursed ya fer good reason!” Astrid shouts as she starts to consider her options. Gods, she really wants to just take that away from them because watching them fall flat on their face would be funny, even if it’s within Malik’s body. That can wait because right now, there’s a raging minotaur struggling against Beist.
Pulling an orange potion, an empty bottle, and a strange solution from her bag, Astrid pours half the orange potion into another bottle then fills both bottles with the solution. Corking them, she gives them both a shake. That’s two uses of Space Jam.[1] Slipping one back into her bag, she uncorks the other and dumps it across her hands, then she dashes[2] past Maligan struggling against Beist, laying her hands upon the minotaur’s back and literally pulling his knowledge of potions out of him as a glowing aura that Astrid absorbs through her hands.[3]
Maligan blinks a few times, pausing in his struggle against Beist in the way that one does when they walk through a door and forget why they came in the room. That was strange. No matter. He has plenty of things at his disposal! Digging into Morrigan’s bag and pulling out a few potions, Maligan grins victorious. Then the grin falters. Why can’t he tell these apart?!
1. Transmuter - Alchemical Mastery 1/3 2. Bullet Dash 3. Space Jam - stolen Alchemy skill Scern’s God Killer - ends on next Astrid post
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Post by Morrigan Moonweaver on May 4, 2024 13:59:57 GMT -5
Astrid was on the right track when she bemoaned that it was probably a good thing that Morrigan had been cursed. There was no telling what might happen if Morrigan had truly been blessed with the ability to wield mana as any other. This consideration was neither here nor there - they just had to make the best of what they could while they had it.
And oh, Malik had magic aplenty. High in the sky, heart thumping in their chest, it was all too easy to see the allure.
“Now… let’s get this party started, why don’t we?”
Malik was a potionmaster, wasn’t he? Surely, he had a few brews on his person. Morrigan rifled through the pockets of his outer cloak, finding a rather large bottle clinking around with other glass vials. For a moment, they entertained the thought of just dropping every single one of his potions on the floor at once, but… no, Beistmild and Astrid would probably just yell at them. Better to stick with a little controlled chaos, for now. They pulled out two bottles from his menagerie of things, and with a flick of their wrist and a tug of magic, produced a third.[1]
“Alright, let’s see what this does!”
They juggled them in the air for a moment, laughing all the while, before throwing them in every which direction - and the three all detonated with a sickening BOOM.[2]
Flames licked the air as the explosive powder contained within the bottles caught on some of the potions contained on brewing tables. The air simmered with heat. So triumphant Morrigan was, so gleeful at the chaos, they nearly missed the fact that someone had already wizened up to their trickery and was currently going a little mad with power, same as them. Beist was injured, Astrid fuming.
But more importantly…
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY BEAUTIFUL FACE?” Morrigan screeched, staring at the fuzzy purple minotaur that Malik had made of their person. ”I’ll save you, me! And, uh, Beistmild!”
Still held aloft by the magical wings, Morrigan flew to their own body - Malik had stopped his rampage, confused about… something. It made it easy for Morrigan to pluck the monkey’s paw from their belt, uncurl the finger, and end the magical effect that had brought this on.[3]
The world shifted with a subtle glow, and power ebbed from Morrigan’s veins.
So there they were. In a minotaur’s body, staring down an angered, avenging angel in front of them, Beistmild injured enough to lose his grip on Minotaurrigan, and the lab on fire. Well. No better time like the present to jump back in. First thing’s first, get their gorgeous face back-!
Wait, why didn’t they recognize any of this?
Morrigan stared at the host of foreign potions in their bag the way one might stare at writing in a language they didn’t speak. “Ugh, what the hell’s going on? Why can’t I figure this out?”
At the same time, the third thug picked himself up, angrily nursing a burn - his face contorted in an ugly sneer, looking between Malik - now back in his own body and recovering his senses - and the intruders. Evidently, his loyalty won out. He charged at Astrid, the only threat he could reach, with a swing of his staff intended to knock off any visible armor.[4,5]
Meanwhile, Malik waved his hand, coating the air in a thick mist, giving him a chance to put some distance between himself and the group.[6] Morrigan coughed, their vision clouded with smoke. So now the room was starting to catch on fire, and their vision was fucked.
And Morrigan still looked like a giant bull.
Great. 1. Alchemical Mastery (1/3) - Malik 2. Explosive Cask (3/3) 3. Monkey’s Paw Ended Early
Sky/Polearm Minion 4. Lightning Armor 5. Agile Reach
Malik 6. Bog Fog
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Post by Beistmild on May 8, 2024 16:52:30 GMT -5
Beist was finally getting a handle on the situation. Malik in Morrigan's transformed body was being restrained with the help of Pretzels wrapping around their legs and Astrid taking away his alchemy abilities so he couldn't pull out and use any more of Morrigan's potions. Beist's lower pair of arms hung numbly at his side, but his upper pair was strong enough. He pinned the minotaur's arms to their side and held them in a bear hug against his front.
The plan had been a little rough, but it was under contr- oh, Morrigan switched back into their own body.
Over on Malik's side, the bog fog he cast started to spread and choke the room, until he caught a whiff of the horrid smell of the bogwater he himself had stolen from Morrigan's bag and thrown. He was aware of his own magic and, not realizing the oaf would undo the ruse that had stolen that magic away so suddenly, had taken the precaution of preventing his magic from being used against him. Now it seemed that was coming back to bite him.
The bog fog dispersed as he gagged on the smell of the bogwater along with the mercenaries near him. It seemed careful planning wasn't this group's specialty. Trying to think ahead of someone who wasn't thinking at all about their actions wasn't going to help him. He'd have to keep that in mind going forward.
It took Beist a moment to even realize he should stop squeezing, the shock of Morrigan's actions needing a chance to wear off.
"Morrigan! Why did you- Wha- Ugh- Wha-" He stammered, not even knowing what to say right now. They had Malik!
"Pretzels, forget this one, we need to go after that one now!" Beist told the huge mechanical serpent wrapped around Minotauriggan's legs, motioning toward Malik, now returned to his own body. They had to course correct. Beist released Morrigan and looked around, trying to regrasp the situation. This was a straight battle with Malik now. Their trick had... failed? It worked, but had been undone suddenly. Yeah, he'd just say it failed.
Pretzels looks annoyed, but listened as he uncoiled from Morrigan. Except for one bit of Morrigan's pants catching on the metal plates and tearing away with a loud rip. Beist looked down in confusion at the noise, but looked away again quickly without a word. Nope, he wasn't going to say anything about that, not right now in the middle of this mess.
Hopefully the fur they had at the moment as a minotaur would keep Morrigan from noticing that the entire seat of their pants had been ripped away, leaving their hindquarters on full display.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on May 11, 2024 18:35:04 GMT -5
Okay, things are going roughly according to plan! Malik doesn’t know what potion is what, Morrigan is causing absolute chaos in Malik’s body, and– Wait, what is Morrigan– No!!
It takes little time at all for their current hard work to be undone by one vain Fellblood offended by having a bull for a face. Of all the actually bull-headed things to do, this is the time they choose themself over others?!
“MORRIGAN!!” Astrid shrieks, absolutely furious. There’s little time to scold them because Malik quickly surrounds the group in thick fog. She does her best to waft the fog away, and even in the thick of things, she finds that she’s unacceptably close to the revealed ass of one minotaur when Pretzels pulls away. “YER SHOWIN’ YER ARSE, MORRIGAN FULL-MOONWEAVER!” Astrid shouts. “Yer not gettin’ yer potion knowledge back, ya vain dummy!”
With that, Astrid rushes out of the fog in an attempt to get some distance and put herself in a better position for a fight in the tight quarters only to find the staff of one of the shaken up minions shoved right between her helmet and her face and ripping it off her head.[1] The metal clatters to the ground, and Astrid looks at the guy covered in lightning with surprise. Oh. Lightning. Well, that ain’t a problem at all.
“I got this one!” Astrid calls out as lightning starts to wreath her body and consume her form entirely.[2] “Let’s fight lightnin’ with lightnin’,” she taunts.
Meanwhile, Malik finds himself comfortable in his own body again with his knowledge returned to him. These three are disorganized, and he thinks they can easily be beaten, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to take chances. A second pair of arms sprouts from his body,[3] unfolding from his torso unnaturally and giving the alchemist an almost spider-like appearance along with his angelic visage. He pulls out a scythe that seems to be made of black glass, and along with the obsidian like weapon, he pours a bottle of what appears to be lava across its blade, making it glow red hot.[4] His other pair of arms dig out a potion that he quickly drinks, giving him the ability to see through the fog he conjured.[5] Morrigan and Beist can’t see him, but he can see them.
And with that, the alchemist rushes forward to take pot shots at the two beast-like Consortium members.
1. Agile Removal hit, Astrid’s helmet removed 2. Full Elemental Manifestation - lightning immunity, deals melee lightning damage, phase through objects
3. Extra Arms Tattoo 4. Volcanic Golem Extract 5. Eagle Sight Potion [1/2 bottles used]
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Post by Morrigan Moonweaver on May 18, 2024 14:34:34 GMT -5
See, the plan was going off without a hitch.
Except for the part where Morrigan was involved in it.
They had Imann on the ropes; he’d already been restrained within Morrigan’s body, and the lab was well on its way to being consumed by the flames. Except for the fact that it wouldn’t be a proper victory if Morrigan still looked like a bull by the end of it. Not that it was a bad thing to look like a minotaur, but Morrigan put a lot of effort into their makeup this morning! Could you blame them?
As the situation quickly went from bad to worse, many people present would find it in themselves to properly place all the blame on the charlatan. Except for Imann, who’d been given a get-out-of-jail free card to victory. The Consortium must truly have been slipping if this was the force they could muster to stop him. Not that he was complaining. It would be all the easier to take care of these punks if they couldn’t even muster themselves into a coherent threat.
Thick smoke curled around the hot laboratory, making it difficult to see, for all but Malik.
The minions were clearly equipped to handle the comings and goings of the laboratory; as Imann brought about a blinding fog, each of them pulled goggles over their eyes, blinking to adjust to the clouded environment. At least now, they could navigate better.[1] “I’ve got more than just lightning at my disposal, little girl.” The counterfeiter smirked, waving his hand in a circular motion, as if spurring the winds forward. The cloud-choked air began to swirl, wind surrounding his staff and creating a highly-pressurized blade of wind jutting out from the wooden weapon until it resembled his master’s weapon.[2] He was cocky, that much was for sure. He’d seen her do magic, but she was still a child!
That arrogance would be the last mistake he ever made.
He raised a finger and shot a bolt of lightning towards Astrid – but instead of striking her, he aimed over her shoulder… and disappeared with it. In a split second the lightning struck the ground behind the half-dwarf and in that flash of light the minion reappeared… bringing his makeshift wind-scythe down on her back.[3,4]
“Tend to the fire!” Imann snapped. “Save as much product as you can!”
The other counterfeiters, now free from the burning bonds that Astrid had captured them in, were free to move once more. A minion dressed in a blue robe panicked and ran to the back of the lab, raising his hand to rapidly throw out water jets in an attempt to smother the flames.[5] At the same time, the one in red was waving his hands and controlling the outburst.[6] They were focused on saving the culmination of years of hard work. But it wouldn’t distract them for long. It was awfully nice of them to color coordinate themselves for ease of telling one apart from the other, though.
Minotaurrigan felt the pressure from Beistmild’s animal companion lessen as Pretzels turned his attention to Imann. Unfortunately, they also felt something get stuck and rip away, hot air hitting their… fur? So now Morrigan wasn’t only a furry beast, but a naked one at that? COULD THIS DAY GET ANY WORSE?
Scratch that. It could.
“ASTRID STORMSTONE GIVE ME BACK MY POTION KNOWLEDGE!” Morrigan howled as they doubled over to cover themselves out, joints clicking as they did, until they were splayed at an unnatural angle to cover up their full moon.[7] Being trained by a contortionist had its perks. Right now that was covering up their bare ass from being seen-
“Whoa!”
The scythe SWOOSHED straight overhead, the only thing protecting Morrigan from being sliced in half. They couldn’t say the same for poor Beistmild, who was still in the line of fire. Regardless of whether Imann’s blow struck Beist or not, he would stop and spin, ready to attack again…
When Morrigan straightened, turning back to Astrid with a glower.
“WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IF I CAN’T USE MY MIRACULOUS ELIXIRS?” She of all people knew that Morrigan was utterly useless without them! Fine. If she was going to punish them for something that absolutely wasn’t their fault, then they’d just have to take advantage of what they did have at their disposal. They reached into their bag, pulling out something at random, hoping it would be of some help.[8]
At the same time, Imann saw a sight that shocked him to his very core.
It was utterly ridiculous to think that some random charlatan’s bare ass would trigger his fight or flight syndrome, but you know what they say. When the full moon is in the air, the werebeasts thrive. The logic was flawed, but then again, this entire situation was flawed. Whether it was the sight of Morrigan’s butt or the situation as a whole, Imann was finally startled into losing his carefully-curated control of his emotions, and his entire body began to shift and morph, becoming something beyond human entirely.[9]
That’s what happens when you alter your body in pursuit of perfection. You become something utterly untenable, uncontrollable; a slave to entropy. Imann had created a chimera of himself in his pride… and in his pride he’d created a monster, a golden lion who seemed as unnatural and sick as his experiments. He opened his gaping maw, lion’s teeth gleaming in the light, golden ichor dripping from his mouth like saliva. Though he’d temporarily lost grip on his senses, he’d not lost sight of his prey. He lunged back at Minotaurrigan and Beistmild with a roar. 1. Sun-Sparked Goggles 2. Summon: Wind Blades – Sky Domain Minion 3,4. Lightning Bolt, Bolt Dancer (Path of the Elementalist) – Sky Domain Minion 5. Create Water – Sea Domain Minion 6. Control Flames – Earth Domain Minion 7. Disjoint Tattoo 8. Yasaka’s Summer Beach Bag Y6YLk84Y 9. Primal Form - Lion
Bog Fog (Post 2/3)
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Post by Beistmild on May 26, 2024 12:50:29 GMT -5
Beist yelped in surprise as he threw himself to the side to avoid the scythe of wind heading straight toward him. He was an old man, not an acrobat! His landing was lacking in any grace as he sprawled on the ground with a heavy thud before scrambling back to his feet, not wanting to stay prone and an easy target for more attacks.
He let out a sigh of relief as he felt he successfully, though not very elegantly, dodged the wind blade. It took him a moment to look down to his side and notice that, in fact, he did not dodge it quite as successfully as he though. With the poison dulling his nerves and rendering his arms numb, he couldn't even feel it as one of his lower arms was missing about half its forearm.
"AH!" Beist shouted, holding his bleeding stump and trying to stem the flow of blood as much as possible. After another moment, a golden glow enveloped his hand holding his stump which spread to his wound. Bone and flesh began to sprout like a new branch from the remaining limb, fur sprouting and claws emerging as his arm regrew.
He let out another sigh of relief before looking himself over to make sure nothing else had been cut off without him noticing. His tail was still there, along with all his other limbs. Pretzels was fine. His horns were there. Yup, everything was still attached except the severed arm on the ground near Morrigan.
He returned his focus to the battle just in time to see something very unexpected. Malik was transforming right before his eyes in a way Beist was far too familiar with. Not only a transformation brought on by the curse of a werebeast, but one altered by alchemy to make it even more horrifying. The alchemically enhanced werelion lunged at him and Morrigan with a maw full of razor sharp teeth dripping in a black ichor.
Beist used his long tail to shove Morrigan to the side, out of the way of Malik's attack. At the same time, he braced himself and caught all four of Malik's hands in his own. Thankfully, the numbness in his arms had been washed away by the sheer adrenaline of losing his arm and being face to face with such a horror.
The two beasts grappled each other, Malik lunging and attempting to bite at Beist, but the latter still had a size advantage compared to Malik, who had grown larger in his werelion form, but not as large as the 15 and a half foot giant. Beist brought his tail around, wrapping it around Malik and squeezing like a snake constricting its prey.
"You really are a monster, inside and out! Did you do this to yourself on purpose!?" Beist asked Malik, a hint of anger in his voice. Did this man really infect himself with a werecurse intentionally? Beist had gone through so much hardship because he was born with such a curse, and Malik had actually inflicted himself with some version, twisted by alchemy, just to gain some power? Revolting. He could have used his mastery over alchemy to help people, to cure this curse, but this was what he used it for. Making counterfeit potions and monsters.
Malik gave no words in response, his mind too lost in his transformation to think coherent thoughts. The only response he gave was a roar in Beist's face and continuing to snap his jaws, attempting to bite the beastman he was locked in a four-armed grapple with.
Massive Healing Extra Arms Prehensile Tail
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jun 8, 2024 17:35:25 GMT -5
While lightning is Astrid’s specialty, she has a few extra tricks up her sleeves too. Some of them she is completely unaware of how they work, because when the counterfeiter attempts to strike her from behind, an ethereal guardian manifests behind her and stops the weapon from striking.[1]
“Eh?!” the man says, wrenching his weapon free and taking a step back.
Astrid whips around to face him, hearing his confusion and makes out the shape of the increasingly familiar spirit. “You again?!” she groans. That’s when she realizes a second spirit with the same amorphous shape and tendrils from its head has also manifested. This is a first. The second one is a little taller.
Astrid only caught a glimpse of the red lenses through the fog and realizes this guy must have the same goggles as her. Oh, duh! Astrid pulls her goggles on and weirdly enough now can see through the blinding effects of the fog.[2] “There we go,” she says with a smirk, gripping both of her hammers tight in her hands. She dashes forward and slams her still electrical shoulder into the man with the staff[3] then follows up with three successive strikes.[4] Lightning courses across his body while ice creeps from each spot Astrid’s hammers strike, knocking him back and writhing on the ground in pain. That’ll keep him out of the way at least for a short time.
When she looks through the fog, she sees Beist regrow an arm and Malik has become an unholy lion-spider-werecreature. Oh gods. And the two spirits are just floating beside her, ready to defend her. “Well, make yerselves useful, I guess!” she barks, unaware that they just saved her from a smack on the back. The two spirits look toward each other then rush through the fog towards the other two counterfeiters. Both spirits grab the men attempting to tend to the fire and restrain them despite their shouts, keeping them from using their magic to suppress it further.[5] The fire spreads more as bottles and books catch flame. The bog fog may clear soon, but the smoke is certainly going to pose a problem on its own.
That’s when Astrid hears Morrigan’s shrieking about their knowledge. “Well, maybe if ya had used yer brain ya wouldn’t be in this situation!” she shouts back. “Now look at what’s happenin’!! Ya got gramps hurt, an’ yer showin’ yer arse! Say somethin’ nice about me an’ Beist an’ that’ll give yer knowledge back!! Oh, an' ya have ta mean it or it won't work!” This is, of course, completely arbitrary and a really bad time to demand something like this, but desperate times can come with hilarious and equally desperate measures.
Seeing that the guardians have caught the other two, at least temporarily, Astrid decides it’s time to make that situation over there a lot worse. She focuses her magic around them and calls down a handful of lightning bolts to trap them temporarily.[6] The smirk on her face dares them to try to get out of that.
1. Spirit Guardian [2/2 summons per topic, 3/4 HP, 4/4 HP 25ft shroud enhances allies elemental magic, reduces enemy spells by 1 level, slows enemies and prevents speed buffs within the shroud, enemies lose hit preventions inside the shroud] 2. Sun Sparked Goggles 3. Knight - Rushing Charge [1/2 per topic] 4. Cyran’s Haunting Blade [1/2 per topic] 5. Spirit Guardians - Ancestral Fervor - restrains target for 1 post (both other guys) 6. Lightning Cage - 2 post duration, exalted level, +2 electrical surge charges
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Post by Morrigan Moonweaver on Jun 19, 2024 10:22:51 GMT -5
Right as Astrid pulled her goggles over her face and lunged at the staff-wielding minion…
The fog dissipated, giving everyone a full view of the shitshow that had become of their battlefield. Beistmild and the werebeast-Malik were rolling around on the ground, the laboratory was still on fire, the minions were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and Morrigan was… perfectly fine, which didn’t really lend well to the whole learning the consequences of one’s actions thing.
Still. This was bad. This was very bad. Morrigan was still stuck in the form of a fuzzy beast, their potion knowledge - the only skill they could reliably say made them useful - taken from their mind, Beistmild was going toe-to-toe with a monster of unimaginable power, and the lab was still burning to a crisp.
No, this was wrong! This was all wrong!
The counterfeit potions were going to be lost in the lab’s destruction!
Minotaurrigan stared at the ball in their hands they’d managed to pull from their grab bag of tricks. Fortunately, they were quite familiar with the effect of this item. Morrigan spiked it in the direction that the minions were attempting to put out the flames. The air burned with the power of the sun, concentrated entirely within the center of this laboratory.[1]
There. Just try to put out the flames now.
On the other side of the laboratory, Astrid Stormstone had already turned away from her opponent; confident that her magic was enough to knock him unconscious. Perhaps it was. She really had no way of knowing that her opponent was secretly the inventor of a never-before-seen method of using one’s self as a conduit. As Astrid’s electricity coursed through his body and he suffered an onslaught of aftershocks, he redirected the current to his heart - giving himself a jumpstart to pull himself to his feet and rejoin the fight.[2]
“Heh.” The mage smirked, wiping a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Gotta admit. You’re not half bad, kid. But you’re still decades too young to harness the power of the ancient sky domain masters.”
With a roar that pierced the heavens, the minion summoned all the ambient sky domain energy he could muster, allowing it to permeate his skin like a cloak - and, in a move that would be very familiar to Astrid, hurled himself right at her.[3]
As they were addressed Morrigan looked up from where they were shoving potions on a nearby table into their bag.
“Huh?” They made a face. “Now why the hell would I do that right at this moment - ACK!”
A stray shard of earth whizzing past their head from the earth domain minion attempting to escape Astrid’s capture told Morrigan now was probably not the time to be arguing about this.[4]
“Alright, fine!” Morrigan stomped their foot - er, hoof - on the ground. Anything to get out of this form.
And help Beistmild of course.
“Uh, okay…” How the hell did someone say something nice and mean it? Okay, they could do this. They said nice things to Kvasir all the time and that was… normal, right? Except that was generally about how beautiful and witty and clever he was because it was very prudent he know that information. But somehow that didn’t feel proper for either Astrid or Beistmild, so…
Their eyebrows scrunched together as Morrigan, for one of the first times in their life, tried to solve the complex puzzle that was empathy. You could almost see it happening, too. Eventually they sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment that read on the top “HOW TO BE A GOOD PERSON, FOR DUMMIES.” Morrigan had it drafted after the fiasco last Halloween.
Okay, step one.
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
Well, if Morrigan were in Astrid or Beistmild’s position they’d want to hear all about how wonderfully they were doing at this moment. Except Astrid was pissed to high heavens and Beistmild was dying, so that was a tricky one.
Oh! Idea.
“Beistmild!” Morrigan started with a smile. “You are very good at not dying! And I do mean that literally, as you are currently not dying to Imann right now!”
At the same time, Imann - holding his own against Beistmild, though still fighting a losing battle against a larger foe who was attempting to restrict his movement with their tail. Physical brute force alone would not be enough to win. It was a good thing he was an apex predator.
He roared, an ear-splitting unholy screech.[5] If Beistmild stopped, he would attempt to press the advantage with a savage, unrelenting attack and a mouthful of gaping teeth dripping with blood and Ichor.[6]
Morrigan winced. Somehow what they’d said hadn’t felt like enough.
“And I respect your conviction to stand in opposition of a powerful foe, when I understand your aversion to combat! I have met immortals who could not hope to hold a candle to your courage! Rest assured, we will make sure your efforts will not be in vain!”
They took a breath.
“Astrid Stormstone! You make people’s lives better just by virtue of being in them yourself.” Oddly enough, they knew they meant it. “I knew Cantio Von Lumen long before I knew you - knew Kvasir and Beistmild before I knew you - and I can see how much you’ve changed them, given them confidence, inspired them. No curse can ever take from you the light you bring into the world. That doesn’t have anything to do with your magic or circumstances. It is all you.”
Their hand felt warm… a stirring, borrowed magic in response to words they had never tried to say before. As if Kvasir himself was saying Morrigan had made the right choice.[7] Bog Fog (Post 3/3)
1. Heat Wave - Beach Ball 2. Jumpstart - Sky Domain Minion 3. Astrid’s Valkyrie Strike - Sky Domain Minion 4. Crystalline Shard - Earth Domain Minion 5. Invoke Fear (Fiend II) - Malik 6. Savage Impulses - Malik 7. Kvasir’s eternity ring - Inspiring Presence
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Post by Beistmild on Jun 19, 2024 17:40:15 GMT -5
Uh, okay? Beist wasn't sure not dying was much of a compliment, but alright. This wasn't a very good time to be arguing about whether something counted as a compliment or not. And, it seemed like the compliment wouldn't hold up for very long anyways as Beist felt in extreme danger of dying as the monster he was locked with opened its maw with an unholy screech and lunged at him, just managing to scratch his cheek with one of his pincers.
Suddenly, as if the drop of blood he'd drawn from Beist was enough to drive him into a frenzy, he managed to overpower Beist for a moment and lunge forward again to clamp his jaws around Beist's shoulder. Beist let out a scream as a chunk of his flesh was torn away. He breathed heavily, feeling himself go into shock from the pain of the horrible wound. He was sure he also felt some kind of venom enter his system.
Beist's ears perked up as he heard Morrigan continued, just managing to hear them through the pain. He didn't know if he'd call himself courageous. At the moment, he was full of fear, even more so than usual. Fear of the monster in front of him. Fear of dying here, in front of Astrid. He'd barely gotten to spend any time able to call himself her grandpa. And what would all of his animal companions do without him? Would they be alright without him?
No, Beist was always a huge coward. He was afraid of combat, of losing anyone he loved, and of being seen as a monster. His eyes glanced to Astrid who was also busy fighting for her life. Between a choice of her watching him die or her possibly being afraid of him, he didn't like either choice, but he knew which one he had to make right now.
Malik, or what little of his mind was left in there while he was in this state, felt victory was at hand. He had some trouble with the big one at first, but he had turned the tables with. Soon, he'd be tearing out his opponent's throat and then he could move on to the other two making a mess of his lab.
So, why was he being forced back again?
The lion-spider abomination let out a roar of confusion as he was being lifted into the air by the beastman. It took a few moments to realize this wasn't because Beist had begun to shove him back again, but because Beist was growing larger beneath him.
Beist glared at Malik and let out a beastial growl as his face began to change slightly, his mouth extending into an ursine muzzle. His horns grew longer and branched more, until they truly were a massive pair of grey antlers. His body grew larger and larger, his torso and arms outgrowing his legs which had bent to become digitigrade.
Quickly, Beist's growth was too much for the sewer tunnel to handle as he piled on fur and muscle until, with Malik crushed between his fist and the ceiling, he broke through the tunnel ceiling and the ground above it. Grass, dirt, bricks, and a half-crushed manlionspider went flying into the air, scattering across an area enclosed by some kind of fence, a 62 foot tall, four-armed, giant beast standing in the middle, wearing an equally giant pair of fishing waders.
Below, the whole lab rumbled as more and more of it began to collapse. The rubble of what must have been some kind of building directly above the lab began to fall and fill in the void around the giant's feet.
Giant Size
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jun 29, 2024 22:57:00 GMT -5
With the other two goons caught, at least temporarily, snatched by the weird spirits following her around and lightning bursting in a cage around them, Astrid turns back to rejoin the fray with Malik only to see this incredibly persistent jerk getting to his feet. “Not half bad?” She’s fought two gods for Charon’s sake. This guy is barely standing up to her, a pre-teen who’s been doing magic for all of a year at this point.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, this guy has the nerve to use magic that is, in fact, VERY familiar to her. Lightning collects around him, and he throws herself at her while wreathed in lightning despite the fact that Astrid’s very form is still sparking with electricity, made of the stuff itself.[1] When he strikes her, she feels the surge of electricity explode out around them. This spell isn’t just familiar, IT’S HER SPELL!
Her glowing voids for eyes become cold with fury. Rather than letting the lightning exploding around them dissipate, Astrid instead gathers it up, siphoning it away from the environment and back into her form.[2] The smug expression on the goon suddenly drops as he realizes he has royally fucked up. Astrid grabs him by the shirt collar and yanks him close with incredible force, lightning dancing around them but not harming either of them as she stares into his eyes so intensely that he can almost see her electric soul. She looks right at him and growls, “That’s my spell, bozo. You. Can’t. Use. It.”
The goon can barely gulp before Astrid’s wildly charged strength slams him through the nearest wall with enough force to shatter the bricks around them.
This is poorly (or perhaps perfectly) timed with Morrigan’s genuine compliments and Beist’s sudden transformation. Astrid would very much liked to have heard Morrigan (or at least processed what they said), but being distracted by this evil bastard using her spell so recklessly completely pulled her attention away. Regardless of whether her demands were arbitrary or not, Morrigan’s knowledge of potions returns to them.
“Oh, Avasha, Beist is real big now,” Astrid says, bits of debris falling straight through her form.[3] In all honesty, she doesn’t consider this a particularly surprising transformation from the man who made a potion that can turn her into a dracoling or whatever else she wants to be. “We should…probably go, aye?”
Forcing themselves free from the spirits’ grasp, the two goons stuck in the lightning cage shout for help as rubble starts to fall on them. “HELP! We’ll get crushed! Let us out!” The one with earth magic struggles to hone in on catching falling debris, sweat beading down his face as his brow furrows more and more with concentration. Finally, he decides to just get out beneath the cage around them and rapidly shifts the stone beneath his and his cohort’s feet out of the way, dropping them down and then creating a tunnel to help them escape.[A1]
“You bastards!” he growls. “You’re not getting away!” Thrusting his hands forward, he sends a shockwave through the earth, churning the stones around the three intruders and bringing them up to surround and trap them if he can.[A2]
Astrid looks completely unphased by this new development and simply steps through the rock that “captures” her.[3,4]
This does not, however, stop the sudden wave of water manifested by the third goon from smashing into her.[A3]
1. Full Elemental Manifestation - Lightning - immunity to lightning damage 2. Blue Raspberry’s Energy Drinker 3. Full Elemental Manifestation - phase through solids 4. Raider’s Loincloth - You can't be slowed/restricted from moving by spells or other abilities in any way.
A1. Mold Earth A2. Earth Bind against Morrigan, Beist, and Astrid A3. Smashing Wave
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Post by Morrigan Moonweaver on Jul 3, 2024 12:30:30 GMT -5
Admittedly, Morrigan had been expecting a bigger reaction than this.
I mean, here I am pouring out my heart and soul and I’m not even getting so much as a ‘hey, thanks’? Just look at me! It’s not like I have much soul to go around!
One would think the fact they were all currently fighting for their lives would have something to do with the fact that no one was exactly paying attention, but Morrigan had been graced with the ego of a god and enough situational awareness to fill a teaspoon, so, you know.
But, miracle upon miracles, as they forced out the compliments the way some might force bitter medicine down their throat, Morrigan felt their potion knowledge trickling back into their mind. “Yes!” They cheered, bending down to reach for an elixir in their bag as meteor-Astrid soared overhead and slammed the sky domain goon into the far wall, effectively knocking him unconscious. Or dead.
… Probably best to just let him rest and not examine deeper.
“Let’s see… healing potion, demon-be-gone, malady cure-all… nope, useless, nada - AH-HA!” They grinned as they pulled out their second helping of Beistmild’s Transmutation Tonic. “Perfect!” Er, not that being a bull was bad, but it just was not for Morrigan. What the hell were people even supposed to do with all this brute strength? Morrigan needed to play to their strengths.[1] If he wanted to see a god, Morrigan would show him just how terrible they could really be.
Their fur melted away as they sprouted a pair of feathery wings, skin taking on a sickly, almost ethereal hue as they took to the air. Oh, uh, their ass was unfortunately still out, so they shrugged off their now-ruined silk brocade and tied it around their waist like a skirt. There. That was better. Assuming no one was directly standing under them as they hovered in the air, taking stock of the situation.
At the same time, Beistmild grew big enough to smash through the ground to the surface above… and the building above that.
All the blood drained out of Morrigan’s face. “Yep. Time to go.”
They stuck their thumb and pinky finger into their lips and let out a shrill whistle - one that resonated through the crumbling laboratory. They’d not had the opportunity to bring Bubbles down into the sewers with them, considering it was too cramped for the Drake to crawl. So he’d been sent to hover around the sky nearby in case things went south. Good thing Morrigan didn’t sent him back to the wagon, because it looked like they were going to need a quick getaway right about now.
Except Bubbles wasn’t coming.
Morrigan grimaced. They’d have to hold their own until the Drake showed up, then. But what the hell could they do? The sewers were going to shit around them and it wouldn’t be long before they were buried alive. Beistmild had Imann, though who knew how long that would last? In his grip, Morrigan could see the werebeast form writhing, desperate to get free - but Beistmild carried the strength of a mountain, and no beast could ever fully conquer the earth.
The very same earth that was attempting to swallow Morrigan now.
“Whoa, there!” In a flash of the glinting steel of a haunting blade Morrigan slashed through the earth, cutting apart the magic taking shape before it could truly chain them down.[2,3] “Ha! Going to have to try better than that to cage this bird, losers!”
Their gloating was cut short by a roiling wave that burst through the room. Not one directed at them - but at Astrid Stormstone. The person who couldn’t get hurt lest Morrigan get in trouble with her father. In a panic, Morrigan dove, reaching deeper than they’d ever had to before - grabbing at that ancient, primal hunger, that envy, that desperation. It was that terrible, accursed thing that had kept Morrigan from ever reaching magic, their true dreams - but as Morrigan attempted to grab Astrid from the riptide, and the formulae arcanum fizzled out around them, Morrigan would at least make sure no harmful magic reached either of them.[4]
Hopefully, it would give them at least the chance to abscond.
“Hurry! Get out of here, go! We’ve got what we need!” An alive Imann, confiscated and definitely not stolen potions, and the destruction of the lab.
… Unfortunately, because they didn’t know the intricacies of how their mana curse worked, Morrigan had no idea they were sapping Astrid’s ambient magic, as well.
Oops. 1. Beist’s Transmutation Tonic (2/2) - replacing currently replicated grafts with wings and a breath gland - Wind 2. Deflecting Slice 3. The Unweaver - Spell Eater (Blade | Slashing | Medium) 4. Null Zone
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Post by Beistmild on Jul 7, 2024 2:34:09 GMT -5
Beist's fist squeezed around the mutated werebeast, making sure to keep him contained. He hadn't wanted to use this ability, to become such a monster, but now he was going to use it to capture this villain alive, as they needed to for the Consortium. A small instinct at the back of his mind told him to crush Malik, but he pushed it down. He wasn't a werebeast anymore. He didn't need to listen to those impulses.
He looked down at the mess he made with his transformation, feeling a twinge of embarrassment and a lot of realizing this was going to take a lot of explaining and cleaning up. He didn't know what was above them when he'd transformed. It looked to be someone's mansion, or what used to be someone's mansion. He really hoped no one had been living there. He didn't see any bodies in the rubble, at least.
Looking down into the hole around one of his feet, Astrid and Morrigan were still fighting the henchmen. Morrigan had changed their appearance with another one of Beist's tonics, and he felt a splash of water on his foot from some spell before it just vanished. He couldn't tell exactly what was going on so well. It was too small for him to get the fine details now, or really, his eyes were just too big and his height made it seem so far away. He was relieved that Morrigan and Astrid seemed to be alright though.
In his hand, Beist didn't notice as the lion-spider-man morphed back into his human form, exhausted, battered, and beaten from being punched through the sewer wall, all of the ground above it, and an entire mansion. He'd lost his scythe and he was sure many of his potion bottles were broken. He could feel the liquids flowing down his sides from his pouches. Or, maybe that was blood. One of them had survived though.
His final gambit. With an arm that felt like it was broken even if it wasn't, he lifted a glass bottle into the air and threw it with all his might at the gigantic beast man's face. At the same time, he tossed a small dart in the opposite direction.
Beist winced as the bottle smashed against his nose. The glass wasn't anything to worry about at his size, but he was surprised as a strange scent entered his nostrils, a cloud of gas being released from the smashed bottle into his face. He looked over at Malik with contempt.
"What was that? What did you just-" He started questioning, but the man in his paw suddenly vanished with a smile that was missing several teeth.
Beist started to look around, but almost immediately stopped, his hands on his head. The giant started to growl, his ursine snout contorting into a snarl. His eyes looked bloodshot, the pupils thinning into slits. The normally gentle giant suddenly looked around, his eyes filled with none of his usual kindness. Instead, he looked entirely filled with rage, a monster in mind and body, looking for anything or anyone to take his anger out on.
One of the three minions of Malik let out a scream as he was suddenly reduced to a red smear on the ground by Beist's foot, the giant moving with startling speed. With a crazed look in his eye, Beist started to swing his fists down at anyone he saw, including Astrid and Morrigan, attempting to do the same to them.
Malik- Plague's Pandemic Malik- Dart of Teleporting Beist's strength and speed are doubled while under the effects of Plague's Pandemic
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jul 24, 2024 16:22:26 GMT -5
Look, it’s not that Morrigan didn’t say a bunch of things to pour out their heart and soul, however truthful they may believe them to be, it’s just that there’s a whole lot of other things happening right now. Namely, the fact that Beist has become a giant monster, the whole lab is crumbling down on top of them, and the goons are still putting up a fight with earth and water.
Astrid’s eyes barely meet the wave of rushing water before it strikes her. She plants her feet firmly, expecting to take the full brunt of it but not allow herself to be washed away, and then suddenly the water just… washes past her like gentle waves at the beach. The electricity making up her body fizzles out, and she feels gravity take effect on her bonded hammer in her hand for the first time in months.[1] This sucker is heavy. But what the hells is going on?! Before she can process it, Morrigan’s hand attempts to snatch her back unceremoniously, but her feet stay firmly planted.[2]
“Morrigan, what the– Right! Gotta go!” No time to criticize lest they all be crushed by falling debris.
Except Beist started growling, which is entirely unlike him, and a horrified scream draws Astrid’s attention just long enough to watch one of the remaining minions become a smattering of red on the ground. A strange green mist lingers around Beist’s nostrils when Astrid looks up at him, and her eyes go wide with horror. She’s seen this before! Ceena used it on her and Blue! She was almost eaten alive because of it.
“BEIST, NO!!” Astrid shrieks. She tries to manifest magic to get the hells out of there, but the weird aura of antimagic that Morrigan is putting out keeps anything from bubbling up. Even her arm is struggling to stay together, bits of metal starting to fall apart as the runes can no longer hold them together. “Morrigan, we gotta MOVE!!” she shouts, shoving them forward with her good arm and trying to avoid the raking claws of the giant beastman attacking them.
Astrid hasn’t been without magic before, not in a situation like this. She’s relied so heavily on it that without it, she feels helpless. No spells, no wings, nothing! Even the strange amorphous spirit can’t reach her, its form starting to fizzle out if it gets within range to try to block any of the attacks. Beist’s hand narrowly avoids smashing into her, catching her cape and ripping it at the ends as she tries to pull away. Being below him isn’t going to help them at all. They have to get out, and the rubble is blocking their exit. And where the heck is Inman?!
Racking her brain, Astrid thinks about everything she has at her disposal. The only thing she can come up with is the traversal tool she got from the WEF, and that’s going to have to do. Struggling to dig in her bag while also trying to avoid Beist, Astrid pulls out the gauntlet with the mounted crossbow and then looks at herself. Avasha above, she can’t use this with one functioning arm!! As she reaches into her bag to retrieve something else, another raking of Beist’s claws slams into her and sends her flying into a wall. “AGH!” Astrid yelps, stumbling onto her feet with a heavy breath as she feels her armor crunching with each movement.[3] The panic is gone. Now she’s just mad.
“Ya should a’ let me just get hit with the water!!” she shouts, knowing full well that it might have hurt, but she could take it. Kvasir and Morrigan both need to just let the heavily armored combat child take the hits she’s able to take! “You an’ yer boyfriend, just let me get smacked around sometimes! I can take it!! I ain't too scrawny ta fight a guy when ya know I've fought two gods!!” Being out of Morrigan’s immediate area, she can just barely feel the magic of her arm keep it in place, so she tucks the gauntlet under it and digs into her bag for the little bottle of ooze putty given to her by Blue Raspberry. Dumping it out, she stretches the slime until she can wrap it around the metal pieces of her hand and elbow enough to hold them together so she can fit the gauntlet on it, aim it out of the hole, and fire the bolt at what’s left of a wall above.
The hook catches in the wall and holds fast, and Astrid clenches her teeth as she struggles to reel it and pull herself through the air and away from the collapsing rubble. If only she had something that could calm Beist! If only she knew something that would help! But they can’t let Beist go on a rampage outside of this small area. If they did, he wouldn’t forgive himself. When Astrid gets up to the wall, her prosthetic fully comes back together outside of the null zone, and she feels magic reinvigorate her again. Her metal fist clenches, holding her in place as she plants her feet against the wall while hanging there and starts gathering magic.
“Sorry, Beist, this might hurt a bit!!” She draws on all her magic, as much as she can focus on, and quickly runs through the various steps of Scern’s spell. It alone might not be enough, so she pulls on her knowledge of spell manipulation gained from the Mage’s Guild. Mage glows bright blue in her eyes, and four chains glowing blue and made of water burst forth from the ground to wrap around each of Beist’s gigantic limbs and hold him in place.[4,5,6]
“MORRIGAN, FIND INMAN!!”
1. Spellblade - One With the Blade (temporarily nullified for laughs) 2. Knight - Immovable Bastion 3. -2 HP Cuirass 4. Scern’s God Killer 5. Dual Cast 6. Energy Transformation - fire to water
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