Solidarity: Outside the Hobbled Gobbler

[Rickter]

Solidarity In Chaos
Searing 34, 122nd Year, A.o.S.
11:01 Am

The moment he stepped out the wolf could smell it all within the air, the burning of aether as the ozone as colorful smoke filled the air southeast of their location. It was massive as debris had scattered everywhere across the Knob, as the Dreaded Miststorms quickly billowed out into the lower areas of the slums. Eikaen's balls... The wolf's eyes bulged from how shocked he went in seeing the destruction with his own eyes, the alarms of the city blaring as he witnessed the defenses blasting out smoke canisters. As he witnessed the gas he started to realize what it was, having heard about it from the Black Wedding when the palace gardens were raided. All this destruction...

He was nearly petrified by it all, the screams that were turning into horrifying sounds throughout the city, the looming threat of the violent storms stirring overhead. It was when he heard a whistling in the air that he noticed the hole in the sky, and a radiant star falling from the belly of the heavens. Oh... SHIT! He reactively threw his hands out to activate the wards within the circle, his aether responding as he charged the shields with another dosage of his reserves. Activating the emblem on his forearm Rickter channeled all the aether he could into stopping what would come next, his second resort also activated as the barrier he and Hannah made flashed into existence around the perimeter of the tavern. That second blast from the impact created a sonic boom that was near deafening even to his ears, as a sharp ringing cut off the sound from the world as he flexed the rest of the wards with his aether.

The wolf unleashed his aura completely so that in activating Monolith he would center himself, as the anchor, to both the building and the wards that would protect it. He'd feed Lyra's enchantments with as much aether as he could redirect from this blast, but even then, it's blast from the impact had nearly felt overwhelming. Within moments Rickter felt the strain on his shields as the first layer quickly became decimated upon the force, the outer layer with the Lift effect gone as the rest of the wards reinforced the residual barrier. They'd lost considerable ground coverage but that was okay, since the rest of the property remained intact by the barrier.

What was not okay was Rickter, who'd slumped onto the ground after he felt the shockwave of that blast, his mind unconscious as he could hear the audible laughter of a familiar sound. The... fuck? What's so funny to you?

"I'm sorry! The way you desperately avoid destiny, while at the same time hurdle yourself toward it, never really ceases to amuse me." The voice of the mysterious servant of the world Echoed in his head, spurring Rickter's thoughts into action the moment he heard it.

Rickter's eyes opened then as he could hear sound once more, the low ringing in his ears filtered with noises of things unpleasant. As he pulled himself up from the ground he looked about, confused initially, but moreover in awe of what had become of the Knob. It was a goddamn disaster. An event that never should've happened in his eyes, as the skies were now filled with so many different sounds and scents. Nature felt completely overthrown as balance toppled into the unknown, and a world of complete and utter chaos was born from rubble. You... call this... destiny!? No fucking way. Whatever cursed Fate deemed this necessary to transpire, it could sleep in the deepest pits of the Void for all he thought. Rickter's blue eyes already glimmered reactively in response to this, the wide-eyed horror at the rims now furrowed into a spiteful look of rage.

Fuck that shit! Fuck it all! If this was the will of the world then so be it, he was done being a tool or instrument for some higher power. Just as he intended with his predecessor of the Echo, Rickter would forge his own path and in doing so. But first to come was the first wave of abhorrent monsters now walking the streets, as the wolf's eyes shifted toward the several twisted figures that dared to approach the tavern on the hillside. I'm through with this... If I'm going to give it my everything, then I'm going to carve out a new fate! As he thought of this he tapped into aether reserves once more, already well spent from the amount of work he'd put in with the shields and the network Lyra created. Nevertheless, he felt the raging storm within him churn, his temperature finally rising in his blood once more as he felt aether course throughout his entire body.

As the wolf's aura radiated an eerie icy blue haze he shifted within the circle, his gaze narrowing on the beasts that drew closer toward the Gobbler.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Speech" Thoughts "?"

[Franky]

The Gobbler held. Time to keep it that way. Franky felt a warmth growing in his pocket. But not one of heat, but that emotional glow, reminiscent of when Franky looked upon the face of his and Dalma's first child. A hope inspired for nervous new parents who now knew that they could do this. Franky pulled out his smoke box, with light spilling out of its thin seams. Franky looked over at Weston and Lyra and Meriel.

He opened the small, wooden box, and the light poured out into the room. Franky plucked out a cigarette, popping it into his mouth. "I think I need to step outside. Hold the fort." He moved to the front door of the Gobbler, slipping out to see the barriers outside lit up, shutting the door behind him. He saw Rickter there, seemingly readying himself. Looking down the road, Franky saw a group of monsters screaming and running, filling the street as they came hurtling toward the Gobbler. Franky noticed that they were ignoring open doors into homes.

That was strange. They were coming here intentionally. What was attracting them? What was different here? There was not enough time for Franky to ponder on this any longer. He struck a match, lighting his cigarette and flicking it to the ground. That warmth that shown from his smokebox was providing a very steady calm. A calm that Rickter nearby would certainly recognize as well. Franky did not reach for his sword after pulling a drag through his cigarette, as the monsters closed in. Patience. He kept feeling the need for patience. So he waited.

And he waited.

The monsters were close, approaching the edge of the barrier now.

Franky reached in the smokebox and grasped the Feather within. The moment he grasped it, his sight was stolen from him, forcing him to see the Palace of Spires, to see the Spire, to see the same stained glass window he'd seen when the shadow man visited him. What Franky did not see during this was the shockwave of pure light that shot outward from the feather at his touch, vaporizing the approaching mass of monsters instantly.

I am Hope.

The vision faded and Franky could see the distinct lack of monsters, particles of light dispersing, mists cut back deep, slowly encroaching on the vacuum once more. Franky closed the smoke box, slipping it into his pocket as another pack of monsters came around the corner of the main road. He calmly reached over, drawing his sword out in a smooth, practiced movement. Franky looked down the road through the tired eyes of a man who did not wish to see war ever again. He did not believe in the gods and their teachings. He did not know them. He'd never wanted them. Franky believed in people, Franky believed in himself. That was how he was raised. That's how he raised his children and how his grandchildren were being raised.

But it seemed that the gods believed in him.

He could work with that. The first monsters leading the pack were faster than those behind them. They were running on all four limbs like the great apes Franky had heard about living in Ecith. Franky raised his shield, looking back at Rickter, "Save your energy for those who get past me."

A deep breath, and Franky stepped through the barrier. He'd been informed that the barrier would slow down but not stop the creatures. That was fine with Franky. He slipped into his old, practiced, quiet mind. He listened closely to the feet that were running over the cobblestones. Franky's older body was scarred, aged, but he was almost as strong as he was in his final campaign, a lifetime of work put into him becoming a major in the Imperial Army.

His eyes snapped opened, and he crouched down, shield whipped up in defense in front of him in a half open posture. The first creature charged directly at Franky, and Franky's heels dug in. The creature slammed into the shield, Franky tilting it back just a bit to catch. At the exact moment the creature's inertia stopped it, Franky's heel lifted as he exploded, his muscles surging in unison from their coiled position. Franky's shield braced against his shoulder as he threw the creature across the alley into the creature coming behind it.

His sword was already stabbing from a low position, catching the next creature beneath the chin. And Franky used the momentum of the attack to step forward. Franky's sword slipped from the dead creature's skull and was already arcing in a spin as Franky separated one from its head. Another creature lunged forward to get beneath his guard and Franky slammed the pointed bottom of his shield down, the creature's skull splattering open like a dropped, overripen melon. Franky walked forward toward the creature that had been entangled in its decapitated companion's body. Franky stabbed forward easily between the eyes, walking back over to his starting position just outside of the barrier.

Mentally, he knew he was sloppy, rusty. A spinning attack like that would get him killed. He didn't have armor. Tighten it up. Fight smarter. Do better. Franky watched, waiting on see what came next, casting a glance up to the workers on the second floor looking out of the unbarricaded windows, bottles of high proof liquor with cloth in them to be lit, if needed. He nodded at them, and looked back toward Rickter, seeing if any creatures were coming up from the other side of the road.

[Nathan Cross]

"What in the?" Nathan recoiled in surprise as the explosion happened. He held on to the railings for dear life. It was hard enough keeping his hold with only one good hand. He blinked once, then twice, and he could see it. Being on a building overlooking the Gobbler, he could see the pillar of dust a bit clearer and the general direction of the blast area. He frantically scanned the sky for signs of the invading army or whatever caused the explosion. As soon as he releases his grip on the railings and prepare to vault back to the Hall of Reconciliator, the blastwave hit the neighborhood.

"Stumpy, made another deal with me and perhaps I'll help you survive this!" Crimson gleefully shouted in his ears.

Having lost his balance and facing the ground at a rapidly increasing speed, he tried grasping anything he could with his left hand, fabrics, wooden railings, anything within his grasp.

"Vault dammit! Vault!" he cursed angrily as he continued grasping on to whatever hope he could to keep himself from splattering headfirst into the ground. At that moment, he felt like he was just a mortal who had been toying with powers that were not truly his to begin with. Is this what those mages felt? The thought lingers in his mind. Regret and powerlessness overwhelm him. Dragon God of Time, huh? If only I hadn't wasted time and focused on looking for that damn Clock. Maybe this could be avoided. Perhaps this whole war could've been avoided. His left hand had been grasping at the air for some time now.

"Come on Stumpy! a deal in exchange for escaping this pitiful death." Crimson shouted in his ears.

"Fine, you have a deal!" he shouted.

"Deal!" Crimson cheerfully shouted. "Shift your weight to the left. There's a haystack below on your left." She grinned innocently.

"Cunning bastard." Nathan shifted his weight slightly to the left and landed in a wagon full of hay which acted as a cushion, breaking his fall. In truth, he would've landed in the wagon anyway. But the rush of adrenaline and his frantic state caused his vision to become narrower.

"Stumpy, a promise made is a promise kept." Crimson reminded him.

With his left hand grabbing the wagon's edge, he manages to pull himself out of the haystack. "Wwawt twe, fawking." he cursed as he spits out the remainder of hays. He raised his head just in time for the second blastwave. "Not again," he cursed as he was slammed into a nearby wall and slumped to the ground. "I need to warn HQ. Blink dammit, Blink!" Nathan crawled on the ground, using his left hand to pull himself forward. As he inched away from the monsters and the soldiers fighting, he could feel some sort of reconnection with his spatial magic and tried to vault back to the Hall of Reconciliator.

"…… that doesn't taste like dust at all…….." He coughed as he inhaled the mist that had poured into the neighborhood. "…v…au..l..t…H…Q" he tried to vault once more as his vision grew dimmer.

[Myles Arnnett]

Hope gave way to hatred, despair to apathy. Looking over the unit He’d just minutes ago been leading to the knob Myles heart broke. Almost a half of them dead, several maimed. The knob was gone… all he could see in that direction was destruction.
Standing among the gore and viscera around him Myles felt his soul crumble, all that he knew, all that he loved was being reduced to rubble around him. He’d been forced to slay his own men, twisted by the foul designs of magic. He couldn’t hear a thing, even as the dust settled. He realized the screaming in his ears hadn’t lessened one bit. His spine prickled as the realization dawned on him. He’d gone deaf. Looking to his few surviving men Myles held back a sickening feeling in his gut. They were yelling at him looking for hope, looking for an answer. Anything that could give the similarly stunned and scared men hope.

But there was none.

It was lost, he felt it in his heart. Zaichaer was lost, even if they recovered, the war was still on the horizon. There was to be no winning, only death now, or death later. Looking to his wounded men he shook his head and gave his final orders to the unit.

“Those of you still fit for combat, get the wounded back to the barracks, regroup, find more men organize, and If you’ve the will, begin to push towards the Knob. I’m going ahead alone.”

How turning his back on the men Myles strode towards their wagon. The top half was gone, the ammo and candy that had once filled it now spilling everywhere into the floor of the wagon. The colorfully wrapped packages glinting at him,

Symbols of paradise lost… the visage of the sweets almost made him retch.

The wagon was blocked by a piece of debris caulking one of its wheels. Down hill from their position where once the knob had been was a crater.

Between that crater and him, were monsters. “Good” he thought to himself. As good a way to die as any, the screaming in his ears only seemed to be growing worse and worse, all the screaming voices of those he’d failed tormenting him. None had been spared, not the old, not the infant.

Putting a shoulder against the rear wheel of the wagon he aimed it, straight down the road towards the maelstrom of death, just past the…. Past the… The decidedly untouched remains of the Gobbler… cursing Myles slammed his numb shoulder into the wagon again, finally happy with its angle. Looking back down the road to confirm that there were indeed monsters still in his trajectory Myles grinned, a bloody and mad grimace stretching over bloody teeth. If he could not save Zaichaer, then he would take what he could down with it. Kicking the debris holding the cart from rolling down the hill away Myles leaped into the drivers seat.
Already gaining significant speed Myles glared through sweat, tears, blood and the visor of his helmet. Approaching to his left was the Gobbler, and straight ahead, monsters coming up what had once been the road but was now simply the most flat area that wasn’t filled with rubble.

The wagon was rattling now the speed it moved at shaking the thing apart. Myles raised his shield planning to interpose that between himself and the monsters before him. Letting a roar loose from his mouth to rival the screaming in his ears. Fear of death lost to him Myles crashed into the fray. Just past the Gobbler the wagon met with the first of the monstrous bodies with a splintering crash. Timbers exploding, wagon wheels arcing off into the air.
Myles was flung forward his shield colliding with the skull of one of the creatures before him with a meaty thunk. The collision sending Myles metal incased body spinning into a wall with a clang and a heavy thud. Coming to rest on the ground Myles found himself somewhere between life and death, his dazed Mind was overlaying the destruction before him with the Zaichear he’d known only moment before. Children still ran up the street where the market had once been. One of the children stopped to look down at him, radiant, smiling like any Ziachaeri should. Scooping up one of the many pieces of candy that had flown from the wagon with him he held it up to the child. “You… lost… this…” For the wonderful visage before, Myles still couldn't understand why all he could hear was screaming.

[Rickter]

11:28 Am

Behind Rickter the door to the Gobbler squeaked it's usual sound on a good day, revealing that another had decided to step out past the wards and into the open. What Franky didn't realize was that on his way out another had followed, with her pistol drawn from it's holster on her waist as she lingered behind him. Over the wolf's shoulder, he could see rays of light beginning to protrude past his blind spots, as a feeling of hope began to well from deeper and deeper within him. What was going on? Even amidst all this chaos there were things that stirred within him, the dams that held back all he'd been keeping contained finally crumbling beneath the weight.

Yet it wasn't the crushing feeling of despair that sunk in, it was a newfound hope welling deep inside of him. And much like how the light of Franky's feather dispersed the abominations in the vicinity, that burning light within Rickter had found it's way to the surface from within. Hannah had covered her eyes in response to the sudden gleam of light, before she rested eyes upon Franky and Rickter once more in awe. The visions he had of Talon in a place surrounded by spires, as well as the memory of a love thought lost, crossed his mind but something else happened with Rickter. His thoughts felt no longer weighed down by the doubts he held before, now their weight had completely fallen of his shoulders as he focused on the barrier before him.

The light of Eminence not only kept the beasts at bay but the mists too, the icy blue aura that the wolf had emitted before now turning into a silvery white color as he breathed deeper. "What are you-" He started to call out as the bar owner walked clear past the boundary of the barrier, urging the wolf to maintain for any that might've ran past him. Rickter's eyes widened upon the man even if he saw Franky armed with familiar weaponry, the wolf's eyes immediately scouring ahead for the next wave of abominations that started after them. They were drawn here specifically, that much he could gauge from their actions.

"Leave those ones to me then!" Hannah urged as she stood next to Rickter, her pistol aimed at some of the outer ranks of the beasts drawing close, aiming at the ones that could potentially flank the Hobgoblin as he fought.

"Hannah!"

"What?!" The loud pop of her gun thundered a firebolt at her target as one of the abominations wreathed back in pain, flames consuming it's torso but hardly immolating the flesh beneath its skin. "Can't let you boys have all the fun!" Her eyes narrowed as she quickly realized how tough this would be, and while safe in the barrier she too couldn't fully use her powers to their benefit. So when she started to step beyond it, Rickter's teeth clenched hard as he felt the second wind filling his muscles. Dominion was beginning to kick in for him now and he felt stronger because of it, capable of pushing himself farther than before if he dared try.

Franky displayed great combat skill but it was evident he hadn't tasted combat in a while, and the aura around the wolf finally burst into a plume of silver fire that sweltered from the circle he stood within. All around the perimeters of the Hobbled Gobbler the wards and Lyra's schemas shone with a silver light in turn, before a blazing silver fire encompassed the property inside the boundaries like a ring. Anything related to the Dreadmists would be immediately burned if they had started to cross the threshold, and the wolf could already hear eerie screams from the beasts around the backside of the property. It was not enough though dammit! Not while his friends were still out here in immediate danger, not while they were the ones thrusting themselves into the fight!

"Hey!" He called out to Franky while silver eyes burned in his gaze, Rickter extending a hand out toward the Hobgoblin before he focused on the gear he possessed. "Keep it up, let them come to you!" At pure will he forged an anchor that shone a silver light, the node quickly scurrying through the air between them, before it orbited Franky from the rear and embedded itself onto his shield. Ghostly flames burst from the surface then as his shield burned with the radiant hues of Dawnfire, the ward placed on the shield empowered with a flair of Rickter's own personal Aetheric Repulsions. Any beast that he dared bash or block an attack from would feel that burst of aether two-fold, what with the power of Eminence present to burn them away entirely as a result.

Hannah stood close to Rickter but just outside the boundary, enough to where after she fired her second and final shot within the pistol, she holstered it once more before aiming with just her two hands. The wolf knew what she'd be doing next, as Kinetic waves would ripple from her palms, before a pulse would blast out and tear through a couple of the beasts walking up to them. It still wasn't enough, not even if he continued supporting them like this... He needed...

He needed more.

Rickter looked at the wards before and around him, realizing how limited his reserves still were even with Dominion to help him. Yet he had something to work with here, even if it put him at risk, there was the chance that it could turn the tide for all of them. Thus he reached out with his hand flat and fingers pointed, a split between the middle and ring finger that made a 'v' while his thumb pointed up as a means of aiming. I just need a little at a time... Placing the two fingers of his other hand near the base of the split, Rickter focused on the ambient aether being drawn in through Lyra's own schematic wards. He could feel the network pulling it all in and taking it somewhere else, but that wasn't important to him right now, because right now all he needed was access to that ambient before it went into the flow.

And so Rickter siphoned as much as he could pull into one singular form, using Osmose to pull it into his hands while the two fingers drew back in the manner one would draw a bowstring. A loud whirring noise filled his ears as soon as he pulled the aether into it's shape, as a singular silver bolt that burned with the same power born from the emblem burning on his forearm. With just a twitch of his thumbs he released the bolt from it's position, the aetherial arrow whirring with a vibrant whip as it sailed a couple feet past Franky, and pierced the body of another beast that was drawing closer upon the man.

Silver flames burst from the creature as it quickly became decimated by the arrow, the wolf already drawing another one in as he breathed deeply to concentrate on the use of Osmose. "Keep them pushed back!" He called to his companions ahead of him. "I''ll pick off every bastard that closes in on you!" Rickter urged as he started to pull out another aetheric bolt of silver.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Speech" Thoughts "Hannah" "?"

[Dreyfus]

☬ The Vampyre ☬

☬ Time Stamp ☬
Company: ??? | Thoughts: ??? | Mood: ???

☬ Dante absorbed the cornucopia of sensations around him with closed eyes and open senses. The screams of those still trying to find shelter from the mist, the sweet agony that laced their wails. The putrid smell of the dead or dying filled the air around the Knob. He could feel the pounding of the monsters as they scoured the streets in search of prey.

He felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder as Dimitri looked at him, the Vampyres eyes looking down at the human.
He could hear the sound of fighting erupting from the other front. Regardless of what was happening, Dante knew what he was to be doing. With a deep inhale, Dante felt his vitale flood his system, and his senses went into overdrive. Looking back to Dimitri, his eyes glowed luminescent red against pitch blackness where the white of his eyes was.

"Eliminate any, if any, that make it past me." he ordered, taking a few steps forward as he ran a hand across his forearm, the flesh hardening as he began to craft a large blade of flesh. He replicated the same thing on the other arm and waited for them to come.......cause they were indeed coming. The silence of the alley was deafening and it seemed it would last for an eternity, only to be broken by the first shriek of the monsters.

In an instant, the first few came barrelling around the corner into the alleyway, and soon Dante was sprinting to meet them. Both arms crossed in front of him like an X, Dante was invigorated by the power of his rune as he mentally pulled the flux of the lead monster towards him. Bringing his left bladed arm out, he sliced through the first one turning with the momentum of the slash, and caught the following monster closed to him on the chest.

With a push from within the flux, the vampyre drove the beast into the wall, twisting his bladed arm around until it stopped moving. Soon more came into the alley and a sinister smile came over him, as he was finally able to cut loose. He would continue with his strategy, manipulating the flux around them to pull one into his bladed arms and flinging the rest back. One by one he would kill the monsters, sometimes even two by two once he got a rhythm. A decapitation here, impalement there, cleaving through another.

Dante was holding his own against the beast that would come but it seemed to him that most of the forces were focusing their effort on breaking through the front. Part of the vampyre was upset that he wasn't getting to see most of the action, but someone had to guard the rear. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

---

[S E T T I N GxxT H E M E]

[Franky]

Franky nodded at Rickter as his shield was blessed with the man's magic. The sound of glass breaking and the whoosh of fire nearby, too close, caused Franky to look up at the window and yell. "Look before you throw those!" Shaking his head, Franky turned back to the main road, his eyes cast on the sky, able to see the rift from here, an angry scar on the reality of the world. The Dread Mists were pouring out, an eldritch waterfall. Franky tore his eyes away from that, recognizing it as the source of the monsters running down the road toward him.

And then the ground began to shake.

This was not the shaking of an earthquake, but rather of something big lumbering along. Something heavy. Franky slipped back into his lower stance, swinging his sword and cutting out the legs of a few abominations that appeared to be made from skin and nothing else. Franky kicked the corpses into the fire from the bomb that had been thrown out the window, ignoring their high pitched screams as they burned to death. Franky knew that they had been people at one point, but there was nothing left there. Just a monster that was an echo of someone in the Knob. Someone who had likely visited the Gobbler at least once. Someone that Franky had met.

Then it lumbered around the corner from an alley. Franky took one look at it and he felt an anger rise up, a bile in his throat. The twisted behemoth looked to be made of dozens of bodies melted together in the eldritch magic spewing into the world from the gash. Franky was sure that someone had caused this. He didn't know who, he didn't know why, but something like this was not an act of nature.

There was nothing natural here, not anymore.

More and more people from the Knob killed and desecrated, their bodies unable to be burned in memorium, people unable to say goodbye. Families were shattered, friends torn apart. Franky took that anger, and he honed it in his mind, making it small, focused, visualizing it along the edge of his sword. Then he started forward, the slight march shuffle taught in the lines. The behemoth saw him and roared from twelve of its mouths. It began to run, its feet crushing the cobblestones, heavy, muscled arms swinging, eyes glowing unnaturally green.

If that thing breached the shield and got in the Gobbler, it would all be for naught. Time to hold its attention. Franky's weight shifted, no longer bracing against the road, but springy, his weight bouncing left to right. The creature was upon him, its knee at the same height as Franky's face. A massive hand sent punching toward Franky. but the Hobgoblin was already moving. His shield was up and over his shoulder, his head down, angling it so that the blow slid over his back, water moving past a fish. Franky's sword was tucked under the shield and he did a cross body slash through the monster's calf.

The creature tripped at the missed blow, at the injury, and fell forward in a heap that thundered the area. Franky turned, the monster between him and the Gobbler now, intentionally. The behemoth was rising to its feet when Franky roared at the monster. It looked at him and turned quickly, arms flailing. Franky's eyes narrowed as he waited. There was no sentient thought in this monster. It was no more than a beast. A large, hulking beast, made up of the parts of real people, with real minds.

It kicked at Franky with its slashed leg, its back to Rickter and the Gobbler. Franky braced behind his shield, braced the balls of his feet in his boots against the ground, his heels raised. Franky pressed forward, catching the shin on his shield, leaving a cushion of space between him and his shield, so as to not be knocked out by the weapon, the blow driving him backwards, sliding over the stones. Franky shifted to the side, sliding around the creature's raised leg and slammed his shield into the creature's anchor foot, feeling bones break. His sword stabbed upward, punching through the monster's thigh, a deep, long gash upwards.

The creature fell once more.

Franky stayed close, his chest heaving as he hacked at the injured leg, hitting tendon and ligament, severing the joint at the knee. A creature that heavy was nothing without being able to stand. Franky continued his butchering up the other leg, the creature attempting to crawl away on its massive, oversized torso, dragging several of its stolen faces over the stones. Franky had no inclination to get anywhere near those arms that could break him.

He shouted, "Bomb!"

One was lobbed out the window on the creature, setting it ablaze, a high pitched whistle was heard as the monster writhed from the flames. Looking back at the rift, seeing a twin forming in the sky now, watching them merge. If the first had been this devastating, the larger one certainly would destroy everything, and quickly. There was no time left for anything other than that to be focused on.

Franky ran back through the barrier to Rickter, he pointed up at the rift. "Can you get me up there? I have a really bad idea that will likely get us both killed. But might allow us to close this, once and for all." As Franky turned, he saw something in the distance, something that made him pause, and smile. "Get that ship's attention. No one else is flying back into the city unless they are on a rescue mission. I'll be right back."

Franky kicked open the Gobbler's door and stepped inside. He looked directly at Weston, "Round everyone up, an airship is coming around. Have Gug grab the chest." Weston nodded, looking relieved, and set about to distributing the orders to each of the areas. Franky pushed through into the kitchen, "We're getting out. Be ready. We'll have to move fast." And Franky disappeared upstairs into his private apartment for a few minutes, coming back down with a small, leather pouch. He grabbed a bottle of wine from the bar, putting it in the pouch with a clink, as the main tavern room began to fill up as people were let out from the basement.

Franky tied up the pouch to his back, and stepped back outside, Weston guarding the door, keeping anyone from going out just yet.

[Rickter]

The wolf gave a minor look of begrudgement at whoever had decided to aimlessly throw that bomb, whatever they had concocted out of it he almost couldn't trace the alcohol in it. Oh wait... Rickter actually couldn't smell much anymore at this point, his nose having noticed the burning traces of aether in the air earlier. Damn. Luckily he was in a protected zone otherwise his poor nose would've been completely fucked. Yet the moment he pulled in that next aetheric arrow, the wolf couldn't help but rather hiss at the increasing heat that had seeped through his fingers. By now all four of them on both hands felt as though he'd shoved them in hot coals, and the palm of his left hand was gradually feeling the same heat spread as well.

If he had to guess it was because of Osmose's application to the situation, having filtering ambient aether particles through to create these light-filled arrows. Not every shot he made was perfect either, hell when he'd made the first one, he had realized he'd have a better line of shots if he focused more with one eye. He'd been such a piss poor shot at archery before that he'd never bothered to pick it up again, a mistake he aimed to rectify if they ever made it out of this alive. But gods each arrow was starting to hurt, as another shot went into an oncoming monster encroaching Franky. The Hobgoblin was a beast in his own right, even just by supporting him from a distance the wolf felt a sense of eagerness.

He wanted to just leap into the fray even though every fiber of his being demanded that he stay put. Hannah lingered closer to Rickter but just outside the boundary, rather aware of the trampling quakes of something large headed their way. Rickter felt the tremors too through his own feet, his glowering eyes narrowed with vicious awe upon what he saw. Now that was a beast that needed killing right away. Hannah stood her ground but hesitated as sheer terror filled her eyes, her hands paused in mid-cast of her next Force spell. "Hannah!! Get back!!" Rickter roared as he drained more aether particles through his fingers, wishing that Dominion would even somehow numb the pain he felt in his left arm now.

The wolf channeled the collected aether into another silver bolt as its glow came with a sharp whistling in the air. He channeled Dawnfire as much as he possibly could into this one bolt, this singular bolt, in an effort to make a clear shot against the beast... once Franky was out of the way. A chance came at just the right time, when the creatures back had been turned to him by the Hobgoblin's work. He was impressive in every way possible, leading the wolf to take in a deep breath as he ignored the pain in his forearm, and braced his upper chest for one tighter pull. The aetheric arrow flourished with a sizzling crack in the air, as Rickter felt a firm hand supportively grip the rear of his left shoulder.

"You got this." He dared not glance away from his target as he hadn't the slightest clue who spoke to him, but the wolf trusted the levity in the young baritone voice of whoever this visitor was.

Thus without a delay, he signaled the release of his arrow, nearly staggering back from the amount of force pressured into its launch. With such a quick trajectory, the bolt slammed heavily into the upper back of the monster, the big lug soon taken down moments after the silver flames burst across the creature's back. The wolf lowered his arms with sharp exhales of relief after seeing such a mighty fell, his eyes finally turned to gaze at the spectral figure standing next to him. He was a young man compared to the wolf, a surprise honestly, but then again his manifestation was also just that. For what it was worth though, Rickter could feel the energies that tied him to this individual man.

He was in his late twenties before he'd clearly passed, of the familiar brown hair and blue eyes that Rickter possessed also. Yet the armor he wore seemed to be from a different era, a time before the Age of Steel clearly, resembling a raiment of The Order which served Talon no less. "Well done, Rickter."

"Alistor." The wolf murmured as he felt Dominion wearing off for the time being, his forearms throbbing with burning tingles throughout the nerves. His fingers on his left hand were literally numb at this point now, which didn't bode well for them if he really lost sensitivity there. "Took you long enough..."

The knight could only smile somberly at his inheritor, his firm hand rested on Rickter's shoulder once more before something caught their eyes. An airship had started to fly in overhead, surely the first of many good signs that came out of this entire nightmare. Yet it was when Franky approached and pointed up to the sky past the airship, that the wolf's eyes widened at the sheer audacity that this man had right now. He wanted to get up to the rift?! This fucker was insane! Crazy enough to have planned for a means of protecting his people, but what else could the guy do that might fix all this? It was a disaster beyond mortals at this point!

Even so, the terror in his gut warred with the resolution in his heart. Something else was guiding him there now, something he hadn't planned on feeling in a long time. "Gimme a bit to recharge." He assured Franky with a look of fierce determination, before he allowed the man to walk away and help with the coordination of the evacuation. The wolf couldn't help but gaze into the rift once more with a roll of his eyes, knowing damn good well he probably just agreed to step into his grave.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Speech" Thoughts "Hannah" "?"

[Dakkur Doelish]

"Don't ask me anything I'd have to end up telling because its too much of a pain to lie."

That much was true. Dakkur did not have a clue on what exactly was happening in their current situation although it did not stop a few others, clueless outsiders like him, from going at him like some ravenous wolves for information, assurances or, someone to blame since they thought him someone important- at least a foreman in the mines, since it was only the important people carrying around effective weapons like firearms while the rest had to make do with the more ordinary weapons if not whatever mining tools they could get a hold of. But Dakkur could find out, that much was true, although he could not fathom why he actually admitted such since it only brought the unwanted questions he did not want to answer. That said after a brief exchange with the moratallen leadership he was back at the sealed up entrance of the mines with the two others from what he requested.

He checked the cave in debris by himself for a bit but his own experience at dig sites translates poorly for whats in the mines. It was the most he could do to say "Yup, those seem to be hard rocks and its going to be a long time to pick through" at least to him as he would much prefer the easier job of brushing off sand and debris until he found the valuable loot and start picking em out. Carefully he would add. No reason to sound unprofessional. However something which did translate well from those excavations was some knowledge and experience as "since these all fell down already, wouldn't their integrity be just as poor to match? Do you think you can check it out? Which are the weaker or lesser materials, or at least figure out what they are? I know this is a cave but there are differences in how refined things like sand, stone and boulders are- at least for me. We need to know where is the weakest point and most supported points are" or something along those lines. While Dakkur had been on plenty of expeditions, the ones underground can be counted with his fingers which is why only the safety points ever stuck on him.

Kind of funny that he now wished he paid better attention to those safety briefings.

But at least one thing he knew for a fact, there should always be a flow of air or they would already be dead. That was why he had asked for the second to be here too. "They say you've been involved with enough search and rescues because of cave ins. Do you think you can manage to find the flow of air out if any? And tell me when you do. I need to know every single detail about it. At that the trio split to learn every bit they could and despite being yelled at twice for nearly making the situation worse, they made good progress and collated the information. All Dakkur needed to hear and get the distractions out of the way for the next bit. "Now if conditions are favorable enough for us to get out, we're going to want to get out asap. I need you to find as much caster shells as you can as well as these components in the mines, even if you have to disassemble your tools and machinery" he told one as he gave pieces of one of his disassembled charges; everything the man needed to find so they could blast their way out.

The second probably had the easiest job but no less important. "Make sure no one comes in through here to disturb me... for at least the next 30 minutes. I mean it. Even if they are raving lunatics, just stab them to force them on their way." A little extreme but this was Zaichaer and as far as Dakkur was concerned it was better them than him. Once he was sure he was alone, he drew out the circular motion, weaving in aether to call out a name he had become quite familiar with. The confirmation there was still the flow of air through the solid rock hard debris was enough for him to make his decision on the choice of elemental spirits he could call upon although it seemed that the wind spirit was not too pleased that he had taken too long to call him. "When do you want me to call you then? Things have been really boring here. No trips for you to join. No fun new things I'm making. Unless you only want just small talk then you better be waiving whatever I have to give you." To Dakkur's surprise it seemed like the spirit was actually considering it but as much as he would like to push in for a better deals from that one opportunity, there were more important things to do.

"I need you to be my eyes and ears. We are trapped in here but there is a little bit of a flow of air you can use to get out" although how long that would take is anyone's guess. "Once you get out, scout around the area and then come back. We need to know if an attack really caused us to be trapped down here. I'd ask you to check home but I don't think its easy to give you directions. But make sure to come back since there might be more I need you to do. And if you see any people out there, just blow a little suggestion in their ear that there are people trapped in the mines. Maybe they'll think you are a ghost or something unless you want to spook them or something by showing yourself since they'd think you're a kalzasi monster." Maybe Dakkur should have given clearer instructions for the spirit not to show itself but he was taking it for granted it would understand. After a little more conversation the spirit finally got along with its task. Finally, Dakkur thought it would never leave before the end of the day.

[Aegis]

REVIEW TIME

Rickter
Lores: 8

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 10

Comments:


Franky
Lores: 8

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 10

Comments:


Nathan Cross
Lores: 3 (1/3 rounded up)

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 4 (1/3 rounded up)

Comments:


Myles
Lores: 4 (1/2 rounded up)

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 5 (1/2 rounded up)

Comments:


Dreyfus
Lores: 3 (1/3 rounded up)

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 4 (1/3 rounded up)

Comments:


Dakkur
Lores: 6 (2/3 rounded up)

Loot: None
Injuries: None

Points: 7 (2/3 rounded up)

Comments: