Miroslaw attention was entirely on Grayson and he could not take the time to see what Neko was doing. He had him on the defensive, which was exactly what he had aimed to do. Finally, when Grayson bent down to one knee, Miroslaw was met with an opening. A smile came to his face as he struck with his sword, knowing full well it would hit. The smile promptly faded when the attack did not connect. The sight he was met with was disgusting and fear inducing.
Miroslaw had seen nothing like it before in his lifetime. Grayson was less a man and more an abomination. Miroslaw tried to pry the blade from his hands, but his grip was strong. In the next moment, he was pulled forward, refusing to loose his grip on his blade and found his head colliding with Quick's. The daze followed the bash, and he knew he was in trouble. He felt the beating as Quick launched a flurry of blows with his four arms.
Miroslaw lost the grip on his blade and was entirely helpless as he was pummeled by Grayson. He tried to block the attacks, but could only manage blocking one or two, here or there. His martial skill was never anything to be proud of. He attempted to back away from the beating just as he felt the force of Neko's lunge. He did not resist the force, as he really couldn’t. He was completely out of it after the beating he was taking.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
As Quick could feel the bones giving way under the weight of each fist, he felt an odd sensation go down his boot. He barely saw Neko lunge at Miroslaw before he realized what rolled down the leather. The Captain hurriedly took off his boot with such force that he ripped a bit of the leather as he did.
The boot hung in one of his hands as he prepared to throw it away, but before he loosed his grip the boot exploded into a blinding flash.
All seemed still for a moment, with the ring from the explosion still humming in their ears. When the dust slowly settled and revealed the fate of Grayson, it was less than what Neko would have hoped.
His right side was singed and arms bloodied, hanging loosely at his side. Quick breathed a little heavily and clenched his injured fists as he chuckled, almost madly. The beast still looked ready for a fight.
"That was a good trick, Neko. Good trick. You gotta fight dirty to tango with me, you'd make a great Sellsword, but now..."
Hydra suddenly became animate again and lashed out toward the mercenaries, wrapping a chain around each of their necks and raising them up in the air.
"I think I'm going to hurt you just a little bit more than I promised myself I would."
Just as Hydra looked ready to spear them through the gut, Quick noticed the fog on his breath.
The clearing darkened and a winter's cold enveloped them all. Frost began to form on the ground and the trees withered as though time sapped them of their remaining years. All manner of fowl and critter ran from there and deeper into the forest as if escaping a wildfire.
Quick loosened his grip around the two and let them fall haphazardly to the ground. The Captain turned around to face the other end of the clearing as if he knew what manipulated the air in this way.
"O Death, won't you spare me another day?"
From the darkness they came, cloaked in black under a darkened hood. Their feet didn't touch the ground for the earth forsook them, their skin pale for the light shunned them, their eyes sunken because time flees from them.
Neither of the mercenaries could tell for certain what manner of creature these three beings were but simply looking at them made them uncomfortable, and gave them an overwhelming sense of dread. Even Quick appeared to be shaken at the sight of them.
"Neko, use Oblivion, get out of here," said Grayson, "Someone used a card, Death."
The chains speared toward one of the nightmare monsters, but Hydra was stopped short and repelled by an unseen force. After the Quick's failed attack, the monsters cried out an ear shattering scream that ruined his focus for another attempt. The Sellsword Captain was forced to the ground and covered his ears as best he could for the duration of the sonic attack, and even after it was over it still echoed in his mind.
::When Neko hit the ground atop Miroslaw she winced at the pain the jarring impact had on her shoulder, but tried to push it down as she sprung to her feet and spun to face Quick. She hoped her attack would be enough to fell him, but knew that such was unlikely and therefore wanted to place herself between the prone Miroslaw and whatever attack may come.
She flung her hands out wide, each in the direction of her Kopii as they lay in the bodies of the fallen Sellswords. Whipthin tendrils flew from the shadows created in the creases of her armor and inder her hands as they wrapped about the hilts of her lost weapons and pulled them to her hands.
She felt their famliar weight hit her palms as her fingers closed about them, but it was too late. Already Hydra had come and wrapped itself about her neck and was lifting her off the ground as she fought for air. Pinpricks of light were dancing before her eyes as she tried to get the Kopii up the help her.
And then she felt the cold...
It went past the physical, down to her very being. As if the life inside her weakened in the very presence of the strange beings that seemed to have come for Quick.
As Quick dropped her to the ground to face the things himself, she gasped for air. Her heart was torn by his words. Calling to mind the few good interactions she had had with the man before the Cards had come and turned him against her. She wanted to come to his aide, even after all he had done to her. All she had done back in return. But the sight of the things sent fear trailing down her spine and she knew to stay would mean death for everyone. And the Cards would belong to whomever had sent these things for Quick.
-MIRO! Get up, please!
Grab Quick's coat, and him if he'll let you. I need to get us out of here, or we're all dead!-
She dropped her Kopii into their sheathes with well practiced motions as she reached into her armor and drew a Card. For half a heartbeat she considered using the Knight to leave Quick with some help. But knew that doing so would prevent her and Miro from being able to use the other to get away quickly. It would also give whomever sent these things another Card, should they succeed in defeating Quick. Her only option was Oblivion. And to try and take whatever Cards Quick had in his coat with them to keep them from falling into dangerous hands.
So the Card she drew was Oblivion. Focusing on Wistvale, she tried to call forth a portal to take them out of here. She only hoped it would happen in time. And perhaps Miro could grab Quick to bring with them...
-Grab onto me before we go through. We need to stay connected!-
She wasn't sure that was the key, but she wanted to avoid what had happened before when she and Quick had come out weeks apart from one another.
-And close your eyes! Keep them closed till we come out!-
She was ready. As soon as she felt Miro's touch and thought it secure, she would go through the portal to home. Closing her eyes after checking to see that it was indeed Wistvale on the other side...::
Miroslaw realized after the fact what Neko said. What he heard was nothing more than gibberish. He could barely comprehend what was happening after the beating he took. After feeling the force and hearing the sound of the bomb, what was only nonsense became words. “Fire in the hole” he repeated in his mind. He would feel the wetness of blood on his face, but couldn’t open his eyes. He was not certain it was so much he couldn’t as he did not want to. It was similar to the need to rub his eyes after initially getting wet with water, only this he was certain was not water.
Lying on his back from Neko's tackle, he managed to move his hands to his eyes and rub away the wetness. He opened his eyes to see, it was indeed blood. He was very beat up, but the pain was bearable. It was a dull burning sensation all over his face, as well as his upper body. His gaze then settled on the Captain, the dust already settled. Miroslaw despaired at the sight. The captain took an explosion and endured it with minimal injuries. He hoped whatever gadget Neko used was less powerful than the aftermath looked.
As Hydra wrapped around his neck, he hardly had the strength to fight it. He managed to raise his hands to the thing rapped around his neck to at least mentally lessen the grip. He had not the strength to make an real effect on the grip. His hands were merely resting upon Hydra. He saw Hydra reel back a little, looking like it was ready to make the killing blow, and he closed his eyes. He lost the fight to this monster. His thoughts became truly depressive. Wondering, “Am I truly this weak?” He did not fight it in his mind and was fully ready to accept his fate. He was bested by the freak before him. There should only be a first and a last time of being bested, and this was his.
The strike never came. Then, the grip around his neck loosened and he fell to the ground. He coughed, gasping for air. His eyes opened and he, too, felt the cold. The very ominous presence before him sent chills throughout his body. One way or another, he was certain death would find him here. He tried to move, but his body felt numb and was not cooperating.
Neko's voice came with all its desperation, and Miroslaw tried harder to move. He found his feet, and crawled onto them. He stumbled as he took a step towards Grayson. His feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but her persisted. He was not sure what was truly going on, but Neko sounded like she knew. He came to Grayson's back, which now faced them as he was turned to the new creatures. He grabbed Grayson's jacket that laid on the ground and his sword, which was within grasp. He would not waste his time trying convince Grayson to come with him. Instead, he said “Grayson. Grab a hold of me."
He turned and with every bit of strength he could muster, he ran back to Neko. He had both the jacket and his claymore dragging along in his left hand. As soon as he came close enough he would grab Neko's arm as securely as he could manage. He would allow Neko to lead the way through the portal. He was unsure what was to happen after that, but he closed his eyes, as Neko had commanded.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
The void materialized before Neko, its black depths hiding the horrors she knew lay within. Before she jumped into the portal, at the corner of her eye she caught a familiar gleam hiding in the trees belonging to something small and sickly.
Grayson laughed at Miroslaw, and reclaimed that crazy look in his eye as he stood back up to face the oncoming creatures.
"Just keep it clean," he said before pushing Miroslaw into the void.
Neko could still remember them, the thousands upon thousands of eyes and other unseemly things that take a grave interest in your passing through the portal. Nobody truly knows what they are, but any soul still sane enough to remember the venture after exiting will probably label them as 'demons,' nightmares being held by a thin veil of transparent flesh that lines the walls and is constantly clawed at.
However, hearing is almost as bad as seeing. There were the whispers too, the unnatural voices, and the shrieking; sounds not made by any material creature known to the world. The dynamic would change radically every other second, one minute you could be hearing a whisper as clear as the quiet brook, and the next a cry of damnation so bone chilling it would wrack a soul to its core.
These things are what awaited inside the void and they were what the mercenaries experienced as they traveled through its corridor. Upon exiting the portal and being refreshed in the calm sounds of nighttime, Neko and Miroslaw found themselves just a few feet away from one of the main gates.
::As soon as she felt someone touch her, she lept through the portal that she hoped would take them home. She did not take the time to look to see who had touched her. Some part of her knew that Quick would not come. A man like him would want to stay and face the threat made against him. And that part of her knew that if she saw him stay, she would to...
So she leapt, eyes closed tight, into the Void. The grip on her arm was reassuring and she tried to pull herself towards it as they travelled through the voices that called out to her. Tried to focus all her thought and awareness to that one touch and curl up as close to it as she could.
Once out the other side and feeling the safety of the earth beneath her and the silence of the voices that had been so persistant, she uncurled herself from Miroslaw and stood to look about her.
Time had passed again, as it had before. Hard to say if it had been a few hours, or days. Either way, they seemed safe, for now.
-Miro! Are you ok?-
She would help her new friend up, if he needed it. Meanwhile in the back of her mind things finally clicked. It was the Ratman from earlier that had sent those things against Quick. And now she wondered how long it would be before he sent them for her...::
Feeling the tug from his hand on Neko, and the push from Grayson behind him, Miroslaw was effectively forced into the strange portal that Neko had somehow created with a card. At first he has his eyes closed very tightly per Neko's command, but he doesn’t have a clue what is going on. Unfortunately, the screams scare him into opening his eyes. The fear that something was happening around him, urging him to open his eyes to potentially defend himself from whatever was making the horrendous screams. When he did, he wished he never had.
It was like an audience of demons, watching as he and Neko passed through this portal. Their glowing eyes pierced through his entire being even more than the bone chilling screams. He did not even think he was going to make it to whatever destination this portal was intended for. He thought the gazes were enough to cause him death. The fear became so unbearable, he re-closed his eyes as hard as he could manage, but its like he could still see the eyes. He gripped the contents of his left hand even harder, fearing the demons would steal it away.
Finally, the screams stopped and he was met with the peaceful sounds of nighttime. Crickets and other bugs playing their sweet songs. It was one of Miroslaw's favorite songs. However, he still felt nothing but tremendous fright and did not even want to open his eyes. Its like he just passed through the underworld as a manner of transportation. He opened his eyes and was met with a very welcomed sight. Somehow, he was standing before his home of Wistvale. He slowly looked around, trying not to incite any more pain from his fresh wounds then he had to. He was scanning for the eyes, scared that they may have followed. He whispered to Neko, with hesitation and fear in his voice, “What... were those... f... fiends?” He did not use the bracer.
His face was still bloodied and bruised from the unpleasant beating he took. He felt like a thousand pounds of fear weighed his body down, along with the pain his entire body had bore for far too long. With the coat and the sword in his right hand, he took one step forward and his body broke beneath the weight. Fear suffocated him as he fell forward to the ground. He could not think of anything except the eyes of those demons. He could no longer move his body, no matter how hard he willed. He just laid there on the earth, and it never felt so comfortable. His eyes closed, and he was met with only images of the underworld demons.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
::She took a deep breath in relief at hearing Miroslaw speak. He seemed ok for the moment. Her hands rubbed at her arms as she could still feel the chill upon her. Like whatever existed in the Void had touched her, though she had felt nothing physical.
She shook her head in response to Miroslaw's question.
-I... I don't know, Miro.-
And truly, she hoped she would never find out. She hated these Cards, and everything about them. More and more everytime they stepped into her life. It was time to do something about them. Time to talk to Father.
And then she saw her friend fall...
She raced to his side, all other thought pushed aside in her concern for this person she had only just met. She cradled her arm under his head and tried to sit him up. Calling out through the bracer to get a response.
-Miro! Miro, wake up! Please, Miro, don't you dare die on me!!-
Hopefully he would come around, otherwise it was a long way to The House of Galena and she wasn't sure she could get him there...::
The demon eyes roamed around in his mind during Miroslaw's very brief sleep. Its like they were trying to catch him and take him back to the portal. Thankfully, his eyes were promptly pried open by Neko's worried words in his mind. He transmitted to Neko, “Who said anything about dying? Just help me up, will you?” He slowly made his way back to his feet, with the assistance of Neko, and some noises of pain. It was agonizing, but he persevered as he took slow, calculated steps forward. “Lead the way” He did not know where to go to get mended. He seldom got bushed up to this magnitude.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
If Neko knew the way to the House of Galena, she would get there without effort and be greeted by someone at their door.
"Welcome, Neko Ravenhurst, I trust you are well?"
The greeter looked over to Miroslaw, "Better than him by the look of it. I'll fetch one of our healers immediately."
The man leads them both into the house and sits them both in a room to wait for a healer. The House of Galena was filled with the scents of spices and herbs, some of which grew abundantly in a few of the halls. Being late in the evening, only a few of the faction members were around tending to their duties carrying candles with them as they did.
"Our gatekeeper exaggerated your injuries," came a cool voice from the door of the waiting room. There stood a beautiful, voluptuous blonde woman who's image could make the lame men walk and the blind ones see. Were it only that her demeanor was just as pleasant, the woman didn't appear to be pleased to be called upon at this hour.
"I am Iona, welcome to The House of Galena, Miroslaw."
If the mercenary was surprised, his reaction would trigger Iona's next response who seemed to be just as amused.
"The Sellsword Master told us a few days ago you'd be dropping by, though I expected your arrival to be on the day he came to us."
Iona approached Miroslaw after dipping her hands in a solution by a table, and got touchy; raising his arms and caressing his face as she examined him closely.
"Your injuries appear fresh, interesting. However, these are not what I expected. Grayson said you both were caught up fighting werebears, yet these are more in line with a bar room brawl."
The healer backed away and tried to wrap the facts around her head, appearing frustrated as she did so. Iona went to a cabinet and grabbed a bowl of medicinal supplies and placed them by her as she began to clean Miroslaw's wounds. As expected, the alcohol burned like hell.
"It doesn't matter, I know not why that fool would lie, but I won't get caught up in it."
Last Edit: Mar 19, 2014 16:25:47 GMT -5 by Serenity
::She nodded in response to the person that met them at the door and helped Miroslaw to where they were directed to sit.
-You'll be ok, Miro. These people will take care of you.-
She stayed close to him, checking her wounds herself as they waited. She could not do anything to fix them, but she had been in enough fights to get a rough idea of their severity. And his passing out had scared her...
She took his weapon and Quick's jacket from him and set them close by. It was not until Iona entered and began to see to her friend that she stepped back to be out of the way and went to fumble through Quick's coat. More to give her something to do, and out of the Healer's hair then anything else.
When Iona first mentioned "The Sellsword Master", she simply assumed she meant whoever had taken over for Quick. However, when she mention's Grayson by name, she turns to look at Miroslaw as the coat falls from limp fingers.
She rushes to his side and places a hand on him in her excitement, careless of bumping an injury.
The pain had dulled even more as time went on, but his body felt very weak. Perhaps it was more due to the intense fear the portal brought. He was not certain.
He allowed Neko to guide him to the healers place. They were greeted by someone who was clearly familiar with Neko, and that is when he heard a familiar name. "Ravenhurst" he repeated in his mind trying to place it. He could not recall the source, and would wait until later to find out. Right now his main goal was to be healed of his wounds.
Finally, he took a seat where he was directed to do so. He felt a bit uncomfortable how Neko stayed close to him. She seemed worried. It had been a long time since anyone truly worried about his wellbeing. He just hoped she would forgive him for his treachery and dishonesty. He felt terrible just thinking about those words to describe himself. He allowed Neko to relinquish the items from his hand. They felt heavier than they were, and he was happy to loose them from his grip. The thoughts fled him as the healer emerged.
She was truly beautiful. Even Miroslaw found himself gawking a bit. He had barely looked at a woman since the death of his wife, but this one was a certain exception. He caught his awkward facial expression hopefully before she did and fixed it. He did not want to come off as uncouth. "Sorry to... Wait how did you..." Miroslaw was interrupted by her explanation.
It took a great deal of thinking to come to a conclusion of the meaning of what the woman said. First, he had to conclude that there was a deal of time that passed when they went through the portal. He came to the conclusion that Grayson had some knowledge of what was going to happen. He informed the healing place of their coming before they even left. It seemed completely unreasonable, but he could not think of a better answer. After coming to this conclusion Neko came in with her excitement. "Alive? How? You saw the creatures of death. There is no way he lived." Feeling the pain that racked his body only furthered his hope that the malevolent man was finished, but he also believed that no man should have an improper end like that.
Miroslaw felt very uncomfortable with the touching, but saw no way around it. He did not fight it and allowed her to do what she needed. The confusioned was heightened by the bit on Werebears. That's when the alcohol came. With a slight hiss, Miroslaw endured the sting. He also found comfort in the fact that she clearly did not like Grayson. It furthered his belief that the man was evil, or at least, exactly what he saw in the field, A cutthroat mercenary captain.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
::Neko turned away from miroslaw and Iona as she continued to work on him. She was slightly embarrassed by her reaction, and hoped she had not caused any trouble.
She paced back and forth a few steps as she worked out in her head what must have happened and spoke with Miroslaw.
-I... I don't know HOW he did it, but he had to have. Someone he beat those things. Maybe he found that ratman that was controlling them, I don't know. However he did it, he did it.
Going through the portal is fast for us, but for everyone else time still passes. The only other time I used it a week went by for everyone else, when it was just moments for me.
So...
Quick must have survived, somehow, and come back here before we came out...
Close attention was given to the words present in Miroslaw's mind. "That seems a tad bit more rational that what I thought of... Why would you want Quick to live anyways? He's a scumbag as far as I am concerned. Though, I suppose no one deserves to die like that..." The conversation with Neko, being held entirely in his mind, helped to keep his concentration off the pain the woman was inflicting on him to "heal" him.
Miroslaw then spoke out loud to the woman, "What... umm.. day is it, if you don't mind my inquiring.." A hint of nervousness was present in his tone. Partially because a battered patient not recalling the date could lead someone to believe the injuries were more significant and in part because she was so stunningly attractive. Nothing weakened a man quite like being in the presence of a women of extraordinary beauty.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
As Neko rummaged through Quick's coat, she managed to find two more cards hidden in a pocket that lined the inside. This was proof enough that the Captain had been well occupied in looking for the rest of the ancient artifacts.
Deck of Solomon: Inferno Card These flames come from the domain of an insatiable demon whose magic shares the same attribute. Powers from the hellish dimensions were mastered by Solomon, but even he tempered himself from their use for if given the chance these flames could consume the oceans. -Once per adventure, casts a fireball equal to a Lvl. 3 fire spell. -This attack causes no fatigue and no magic levels are required to cast. Splash -This attack explodes over an area of 3 meters Insatiable -The fire catches and burns on all targets regardless of the material and will continue to burn until nothing is left. Card holder can douse the flames at will at the cost of a round (whole action must be spent in concentration).
Deck of Solomon: Excalibur Card A master of not just the arcane arts, King Solomon practiced martial arts that utilized his gifts. His weapons and armor were blessed with all manner of enchantment that made him impervious to any mundane blade, and his sword could cut through the mountains themselves. -Once per adventure, conjures a suit of magic armor and blesses the user's weapon with arcane properties for 3 rounds. Invincible -A suit of glistening white armor wraps around the card holder and makes them impervious to mundane weaponry and all but lvl. 4-5 magic attacks. -Magical effects from items and weapons have reduced effectiveness. Excalibur -The card holder's weapon becomes blessed with a shining light and is capable of cutting through any material, magical or otherwise, and all barriers.
"You have a few cuts that need stitches, and a rather sizable one around your abdomen. Though I trust this won't hurt you as much as those did," Iona commented.
She began to get the needle and thread ready when Miroslaw asked her the question (we really need a time table) and she relayed that a week and a half had passed since he and Neko went out on that mission. Grayson came back, apparently, the day after with a few severe injuries.
"Neko, you don't look entirely healthy yourself, do you need me to take a look at you after?"
Iona pricked Miroslaw with the needle and began to make a stitch all while looking at the Hatchling. Her eyes lit up briefly as she just recalled something and called out for another guild member. A young man came in and the healer made him to fetch something.
"Grayson left something for you, Miroslaw, a sack of gold pieces. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you after the third day and was planning on keeping it as a generous donation with what all the demands and advances that damned Quatrian made on me," Iona said as the young man dropped the bag right at the warrior's side before leaving. It contained 400 gold pieces.