Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:32 pm**

Rising Storm

Ash 70th, 122nd Year, A.o.S

(Continuation from here)

The auras which burned off the couple that stood in the square died away, leaving both Rickter and Telion to assess the situation; now that the immediate threat had been pushed back. Shadows that lingered were being quickly dispatched compared to before, as the mercenaries and Skyguard that lingered made short work of the new entities that cropped up from the shadows. Yet while the sky seemed lit up with rays of the Illumite towers, still, a dark an ominous cloud started to stir overhead the district.

Sounds of rumbling like thunder faintly filled the air not long after, and though every fiber in his being commanded him to move, something else caught the wolf's attention in that moment. "Mr. Maze!" The voice sounded half an octave deeper than before, but there was no mistaking who it belonged to once the couple turned to discover who ran toward them. The young boy they had met back in the Commons area what felt like a lifetime ago already, who had already grown a foot taller with a lanky build to his posture. "Mr. Maze, remember me?!"

"Martin?!" The wolf proclaimed a little surprised, as he and Telion both eyed the brown-haired boy with awe.

"What are you doing here child?! It's not safe at this time of night!" The exclamation brought an embarrassed grin out of the boy, as he bashfully brushed the backside of his head with a hand before his response.

"I was actually on my way home, but then things got hairy until you two came along!" He grinned proudly to the wolf in turn, almost with a sense of admiration Rickter could recognize in the boy's eyes.

"That so?" Rickter pondered as he noted another set of rumbles within the air, having not forgotten that his allies were waiting for them. Still, it wouldn't do any good to leave the boy alone here, thus with the press of his fingers into his mouth; Rickter whistled for one of the nearby Skyguard to approach his way. "You get home safe now, you hear?" He urged Martin with his spare hand dipping into his pocket, pulling out one of the minor-grade Illumite shards he still carried around. "Take this while you're at it."

Martin's eyes fell upon the shard with a mesmerized gaze, his expression purely awestruck as a blonde Skyguard with snow-white Synnekar wings reached them. "It'll keep you safe in the meantime."

"Thank you, sir!"

"See to it this one gets home for me, if you would please." The wolf addressed the Skyguard as he looked from the couple to the child, an understanding nod on given to them as Martin held the shimmering stone close.

"Are you going to stop the shadows, Mr. Maze?" The inquiry caught both Rickter and Telion off guard, but the soft chuckle from his beloved was enough to illicit the smallest tug of a grin from the wolf.

"That's the idea, lad." He assured the boy as the Synnekar gently urged him to move, seeing as how Martin wasn't quite out of the immediate danger zone just yet. Seeing the boy grin hopefully at him though before the pair left, well, that somehow instilled a greater hope in Rickter than he anticipated. One that even his beloved shared, when she tilted her head to gaze up into his expression.

"He's certainly grown, hasn't he?" Still slightly grinning the wolf could only nod, his gaze finally drifted from the leaving boy to the clouds overhead. "When this is all over, we'll have to find time to visit with him again."

"Certainly." Though Rickter could only hope such a chance would ever come up again. "We should keep moving though."

"Agreed!" The bard nodded in turn, her and Rickter's gaze falling on the path leading toward the Court of Gold Pages. "Let's go!"

Thus with earnest haste, the two charged onward, quick to cut down any shadows that might've cropped up on their path. They needed to reunite with their fellow companions and quickly, so that they could regroup and deal with all these shadows at the source.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Patrick"

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2023 8:36 pm**

Rising Storm

Ash 70th, 122nd Year, A.o.S

Honestly, this had just become her luck. She had heard about how mages in general became useless during the Eclipse, but she didn't actually believe herself so unlucky enough to fall in the same crowd. It was just... rotten luck!

Nevertheless, Hannah's scowl of disgust changed back into one of focus as she dipped out of a shadow's path, the blackened humanoid flailing about wildly as it aimed to either maul her or grab her. The rogue wasn't interested in figuring out which, when she twisted a heel to perform a quick cleave to slice the being in two. "Honestly, how long does it take to clear an entire fucking square?!" She remarked as the rogue peered around to gauge her situation, having made it at least halfway toward their destination, before shadows had managed to cut her off in the middle of the street.

Dark clouds brewed above the court she was just shy of reaching, and for a moment Hannah cursed the fact her magic seemed wonky to use in that moment. It wasn't that her spells failed her so to speak, they mostly did though, it was just that most of the time they seemed useful until now. Thankfully she had the elixir and the dragonshard that Rickter gave her, which the latter remained useful enough against the teeming shadows that surrounded her. Were she able to just riot on them all with her Kinetics rune, she would've sent them all back to their shadowy hell where they belonged.

In the meantime, however...

She drew a quick breath as the Illumite dragonshard glowed from her neck, the leather string used to keep it there often bobbing against her sudden movements. For the moment she would have to play on the defensive, but in that regard, Hannah hoped that her companions would be able to make it there on time. "Oh well," she muttered under her breath through concentration, "better keep me busy boys!" A flare of golden light trailed out from the shard, and coated her stilettos in a bright warm light once she began her move.

With the light now cloaking her weapons, Hannah had enough energy instilled in them to at least dispatch another wave of shadows. She closed in on her first few of the wave that surrounded her, and struck from overhead into a downward arc. Immediately her stilettos sliced through a pair of shadows, before a dip of her head led to the avoidance of another. As the shadow that struck at her missed the mark, Hannah pulled into a twist to perform a low kick, causing three more shadows to tumble as they crashed behind her now.

The rogue moved to strike at the one that missed her beforehand, and then pivoted around to recover her ground with the shadows now recuperating. There were so many! Too many for her to keep up with in fact, and they were threatening to overwhelm her if she did not act. With a flick of her blades, she lunged forward to unleash a volley of thrusts unto each of her targets. Each jab spiked a gilded blade into the chest of her enemies, as the shadows she stabbed quickly dissipated with another following after it.

Hannah pulled her arms toward her left to finish off her combo, and turned to perform a rising strike from her right as she hacked at a few more of the dark entities. Though quick as she might've been, their numbers still proved to many, enough to where she had actually started to lose count of the ones she'd already slain. "Damn it!!" She cursed with a brief glance over her shoulder, only to dip away from another strike coming at her from the rear, as the shadows continued to assail her from every turn. "Back to the void, you creeping crawlers!"

Several shadows leapt at the opportunity to attack her, as the rogue pulled her form back a few steps to elude them once more. Yet she was surrounded, and not a moment after she thought to dodge them, she felt two more strike her from behind as she teetered forward. A sharp cry escaped her lips before she quickly hissed, her eyes filled with pain as she grit her teeth to continue the fight. With another pivot on her heel she twisted around to slash at the foes behind her first, before pulling herself back to perform another sweeping strike at her forefront.

She was exhausted now. Utterly exhausted by all this constant fighting, and nearing her wit's end as she forced herself into another set of flourishing thrusts. More and more shadows were culled by her blades, but the light enchantment was starting to flicker out now, a sign that she had nearly used yet another charge on the waves that continued to assail her. Hannah finished her chained attacks with exuberance before she felt the weight settle in her limbs, and the need to stop and breathe nearly halted all of her movements completely. "No... I can't..."

Suddenly a cold breeze rushed down the street past her, and just as the surrounding shadows threaten to close in, a blur of motion zipped past her while cleaving through half of the dark entities. Hannah felt the wind rush past her as another draft welcomed her from the right, and before she knew it, Rickter and Telion had managed to rush in for the save in just the nick of time. The wolf's aura radiated a brilliant silver light as he didn't stop with the motion, and used his momentum to perform a hectic cleave into a circular sweep before him. Shadows were literally torn apart by the lash of his weapon, as silver flames danced off his weapon and into the air.

Telion guarded the other side of Hannah's flank with several repetitive thrusts at the shadows, culling their numbers as they were dismembered by each precise thrust of her saber. No sooner did the wolf's blade reach the end of it's trajectory, did Rickter pull himself into another hectic spin to unleash a slash of light all around. With a ferocious roar he moved in to attack with a two-swing combo, before he lunged heavily to cleave his enemies with the might of Eminence. The bard remained near Hannah rather than joining the entourage of blows, however, erecting a barrier dome around her and Hannah as she channeled the light of her Illumite dragonshard for backup.

The dome generated a layer of golden aether over them, as Telion focused to charge a set number of anchors as a follow-up plan. Shadows threatened to close in on them but the barrier remained strong, flashing to eradicate any that would've touched it while the bard cast her second spell. With ten anchors unleashed to rest in a square around their position, the dark entities around them were soon caught in eruptive blasts from the negation mines she'd set in place. In the meantime, the healer focused on Hannah next, and specifically where her injuries seemed thickest. "Took you long enough..."

From the way Hannah was panting Telion could see the exhaustion in her posture, as the rogue looked about ready to drop her weapons had she not been saved by their timely arrival. "Sorry! The shadows multiplied the closer we grew. Remain still if you can, I'll patch you up!"

"Oh, don't worry," Hannah remarked through paced breaths, "I don't need to move around anymore!" Right on queue the rogue rested her stilettos over her shoulders, and reached down to pull out her triple-barrel pepperboxes instead. While she took to aim down the sights with them, Telion hovered her free hand over the wounds her close friend had received and began to channel the Mendicus emblem through that same arm. Slowly but steadily the surface cuts began to heal, though clearly Hannah's armor had been badly damaged, she had in fact been lucky it safeguarded her.

Though not nearly as well as magic would've. Soon the release of thunder followed with firebolts from each of her guns, as the rogue blasted shadows around Rickter three times with both pistols. Yet they needed to be reloaded now, and while she hadn't fully caught her breath, she felt better able to perform now that her magic seemed able to respond. "Watch 'em float away!" She mused aloud with a flourish of her guns, before her Kinetics rune vibrated to release the pulsation aether she channeled outward. Telion felt a Lift effect settle around them, as the teeming shadows surrounding the dome soon floated into the air chaotically.

Finally, they would all share a comeback round against the blighted creatures. As Telion continued to mend her companion, Rickter and Hannah focused on the rest of the wave that filled the area, the rogue finishing up with reloading her guns while the wolf moved in for another barrage of relentless attacks. "It's over!!" Rickter roared as he practically blinked his way through a small group of shadows, their position lit up with a slash of light before he reappeared. With another brief slash performed over his form, the wolf unleashed a pulsation of light around his form, before he leaped at another group of shadows that stood further before him.

As the wolf gradually paved the way down the street, Hannah focused on the spacial alignments necessary to perform her next attack. With a railway formed through the Slipspace, the rogue aimed her pistols into the ingresses made before them, and unloaded the first round of her barrels into the dimension itself. More holes in the fabric of space opened, as bolts of fire surged around Rickter to clip any shadows that dare try to flank him. The rogue launched her second barrage into the fold, clipping more of them as the wolf generated a current of aether off his aura; and unleashed four bright plumes of light that briefly rotated around him once.

With the third barrage of gunfire unleashed from her barrels, the rogue released her grip on the guns before fidgeting her fingers. The Flux responded to keep her guns afloat as she focused on spatial mapping a bit more, creating a more complex passage through the Railway, one where her next shot would surge through Slipspace with intense velocity. Just as Rickter thrust his blade upward to unleash a wicked flash of light, Hannah finished reloading a single barrel from each of her pepperboxes, utilizing Kinetics to reload them more sufficiently once she'd finished Spatial Mapping her next barrage.

One final blast rumbled from their tips when she released the barrage, and in the blink of an eye, firebolts surged all around Rickter repeatedly. Clipping shadows everywhere as their numbers continued to dwindle fast from the combinations thrown at them. Finally, as the firebolts died out and Slipspace briefly shuddered, the excitement came to another temporary standstill, while the shadows receded from the streets after being overwhelmed with such ferocious attacks. The wolf stood several feet from the two ladies with slow and steady pants, his blade still shimmering with silver flames as he looked from the street ahead, to the pair of women he'd sought to protect from the horde of entities looming elsewhere.

"Everyone alright?" He checked as Hannah lowered her guns, with a brief sneer toward the wolf before her expression grew weary with relief.

"Sure... Never better." As much as she didn't want to admit it, they literally saved her just now, and not only that... they managed to push back against the tide of shadows that swarmed her earlier. It almost disgusted her at how ineffective she seemed to be in dealing with them, though, she also couldn't use her magic until Rickter and Telion had finally gotten here as well.

"Your injuries weren't life-threatening thankfully, but you might want to take a dose of your elixir. That way you can continually recuperate as we catch up with Patrick." The bard instructed as she rested her hand on Hannah's shoulder, sympathetic concern residing in her features as she looked from Hannah over to Rickter. Then the shock actually hit Hannah once she realized what her companion told her.

"That idiot's gone further ahead?!"

"And we'll catch up with him soon." Rickter assured her as he looked from his companions toward the dark cloud, its presence has grown exponentially now that they seemed to be closer to the court itself. "Til then, stay behind me while I cut us a path." He hadn't forgotten how close Hannah seemed to be just moments ago, and he hoped that their third companion wasn't going to be overwhelmed in such a similar fashion. Time was clearly of the essence now, and while he would've wanted to buy more time for the rogue to rest, there simply wasn't enough to spare now that the shadows were gathering en mass.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Patrick"

"Gold goes so well with a diamond like me."

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Posted: **Sun Jun 30, 2024 6:34 pm**

Rickter

Points: 8 XP
Loot: n/a
Injuries: Nothing that hasn't healed since the time this thread occurred.

Comments: N/A

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