[METAPLOT] Bastion of Flame (Squires' Finale - Part 1)

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Harveer frowned, seeing how few of them had made it here. There was already so very few of them, and now half their number... No, now wasn't the time for this.

"Harveer, assist me with the healing. You take Eligor?"

The pale angel snapped out of his worry, "Sure." He gave her an easy smile, moving to Eligor. He didn't seem to need as much healing as Alethea, but it was still something to help. Calling forth just a little of the light, Harveer moved to Eligor to cast a small healing spell.

"Shall we go then?" He questioned once he'd finished. The others seemed to be running off quickly, and then he saw the points coming out of the wall. If they didn't move fast they were all going to get stuck in there, or out here and it didn't look like there was another way in.

He glanced to those who remained near him. Not many, good. He tucked his wings tight behind his back and sprinted forward, only barely avoiding any of the spikes jutting from the walls as they closed in on them. Harveer passed Genesis and paused. They had made it through the spiked hall. Thank the Guardians, they were safe for the moment.

Wolfs Heart

Teigra

 

[Antidia]

Alethea had managed to make it to the guard tower check point without further incident with the help of the overhanging limb of the tree she'd crashed into. She'd had to say goodbye to her beautiful new wing as well.

---

The healing received from Genesis was the best healing she'd ever felt in her life. It was really just like any other, but because of harrowing the ordeal she'd just gone through, it felt great and better than any other. It was invigorating and relieved the pain. It felt like a hug from the Guardians. It was not, however, restoring magical energy. She'd need to refrain from using her Light energy to build that back up.

"Thank you, Genesis, you're a life-saver." She was so glad it was Genesis helping her, and not only because she liked and respected her sister-in-arms, but it also meant that Eligor wasn't being treated by her.

The pink angel - battered and looking even worse for wear - tried to stand on wobbly legs. She was exhausted and the mission hadn't even really started yet. Her magic was used up - for now - and again, the mission hadn't even started. She closed her eyes a moment and tipped her head upwards, repeating her prayer to the Guardians silently.

"When we get to the other side, we should pray, and thank the Guardians."

Then the announcement to go through the guard tower was made, so with the group she shuffled through, dragging her tired body and trying to catch up with Eligor to learn how he fared. She wanted to be sure he was alright.

But the rumble and dust falling from the walls and ceiling, and the vibration from the floor created a sense of urgency. She didn't have the magic to run faster, or fly out of here. She'd have to rely on her exhausted body.

Then suddenly a curtain of spikes closed behind them. Then another sprang from the wall only moments later. Then another from the opposite wall, and even some from the floor hitting the ceiling. They were speeding up and Alethea knew they had to get out of there quick or become a pae-kebob. Her first thought was "Where's Eligor?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Dante limping with his staff. He'll never make it. She almost missed him in her search for Eligor. It took only a half a second to decide to help her friend once she noticed Eligor was handling himself well enough, so she approached Dante, put one of his arms around her neck and intended on running as best as her tired little body could under the circumstances. "We have to move quickly, don't stop to look back, just keep going forward! We have to hurry!"

Wolfs Heart

Menelie

I took liberties with Dante to try and save him, and if you don't like it, I can change it

 

[Teigra]

As her comrades in arms took turns healing one another from their injuries, Lailah decided to scout ahead for trouble. She was uninjured herself, and honestly, the others were all likely better at healing than she was. Unless it was an emergency and there was no other choice, she'd leave that to someone else. She'd keep on with what she was good at.

The dark passageway loomed before them and Lailah had not forgotten the horrifying sounds that had emanated from below when Alethea had screamed. Though that likely lay further ahead, she'd rather know about any other surprises that could be waiting for them. Already, they had injured. Not a good start for this mission. The angel slipped into the darkness, her footsteps silent and her eyes alert for any signs of trouble.

Eligor had been...more than a bit alarmed to see Alethea launched into the air by one of the traps. He knew it! The shield hadn't been good enough! He was cursing himself for letting her give him the sword...he should have gone to find another himself. She'd given up the rightful protection token so that he could have it. Had she known what she was doing? He'd honestly thought there might have been something to the shield theory, but apparently he'd been wrong.

Had she known though all along?

And if she had..then why...?

When no one else seemed concerned enough to go check on their sister-in-arms, Eligor's frown deepened and he started to take to wing to go after her himself. Until the spasm in his left wing caused him to halt. Must have strained it earlier. Dammit! As much as he felt they needed to go check on her, it seemed he wasn't in able condition to do so at the moment. He reluctantly halted to receive healing aid, though he kept casting worried glances back towards the outer wall. Relief flooded his system when he sighted Alethea returning, though without her new prosthetic wing.

With that worry sated, he was able to turn a gracious smile towards Harveer while Genesis moved to aid Alethea. "Thank you." He held still, the warmth of the healing magic doing wonders to soothe the aches and strains from his earlier tumble. "Yes, if everyone is ready, let's move on."

Lailah had paused, peering closely at a series of holes in the wall. These looked....relatively new, though she was no expert on rock carving or ancient structures by any means. They were...decidedly uniform though, and placed periodically along the hallway. Whatever they were...something was making her feel increasingly antsy the more she studied them. She could hear the others coming this way, joining her in the passageway...shortly before the ominous rumble shook the floor.

Eyes darting towards the entrance as the last of the Squires entered the hall, she caught sight of the spears firing, fixing themselves into the stone floor with a splintering crack and forming a gate across the entrance. They wouldn't be going back that way.

"Trap!" Lailah barked, no longer worried about the volume of her voice or how much noise she made. "Everyone, move! NOW!"

Eligor had been looking around curiously at the stone walls when the rumbling started. The splintering crash was alarming, but possibly more so was the shout from Lailah up ahead. She wasn't one to be loud on a mission, that was startling in itself. But...a trap? Eligor glanced back long enough to see the spears lodged in the floor, barring their exit, just as a second set shot across in a line even closer. They were advancing!

There wasn't time to ponder other strategies. How did one fight spears shooting from walls? Get out of the way, seemed the obvious answer. "Run!" Weariness was shoved aside by adrenaline as the demon sprinted forward. He glanced to each side, tracking his fellows, noting Alethea pausing to help Dante. Wait...when had he been injured?

Tucking his wings close, Eligor refocused on the end of the hallway, funneling all his energy into getting there as swiftly as possible.

Lailah's shouted warning had been all the hesitation she'd allowed. The others were warned, time to move. She whirled and darted into the darkness, trying not to be distracted by the passing rows of ominous holes in the walls. Those spears were flying fast and with lots of force, given how they split the rock and remained lodged.

Up ahead, the passageway led into an open space, too dark to tell much about it at the moment. As long as it was free of those cursed spears, Lailah figured they'd deal with whatever else might be there. At least it was open space, rather than enclosed like this. Reaching the end, the angel tucked her wings and dove, rolling and spinning in the same motion to face the passageway she'd escaped as she landed in a crouch. Had the rest made it?

Eligor burst into the open area soon after with several of the others. Only when he was sure this was somewhere safe to stop, he whirled to look back into the hallway. "Everyone here? Is everyone okay?"  

[Menelie]

Dante hobbled toward the rest of the group, trying to ignore the pain in his knee. He squeaked in just before the doors shut behind them, and then....barred? A shiver crawled up his spine. It was beginning, then.

The low rumble and Lailah's sharp voice barking through the air startled him into action. He gritted his teeth and limped as quickly as he could, beating his muddy wings to help propel him forward as the spear traps shot out from the wall behind him. He may have lost a few feathers--he wasn't focused on that. He prayed as he ran, to avoid thinking some other words and phrases. He must keep his mind pure, even in the face of danger, pain, and death!

Thank the Guardians for Alethea and her help! Dante signed a one-handed "Thanks" to her with the hand not leaning on his staff once they reached the end of the hallway. "Something tried to...." He paused. He wasn't sure what had happened, exactly. "Tried to eat me," he finished. "My knee--dislocated. Could use healing."

He took a moment to catch his breath and looked back over his shoulder, toward the hallway they'd barely escaped. Here he was, barely even begun their mission, and already looking the worse for wear. His heart was still pounding. The talismans had protected him from the traps, but they didn't--couldn't have--protected him from the foul beasts that dwelt in this even fouler place. It would be by the grace and light of the Guardians that they completed this mission and made it home alive, and nothing else. He shot a quick prayer skyward. Madaesos Paragon, lend me your strength! Roksana the Soldier, keep us safe in the battles ahead!  

[Doof]

Katya hesitated before the foreboding corridor. Here was one of the things she was genuinely afraid of. Although it wasn't quite claustrophobia; she was quite comfortable in her own room in the castle, for example; it was the fact that she would have to go into a tight space, where there could easily be enemies or more traps, and her primary method of both combat and escape- flight- would not be available to her. Several squires entered before she did, with a gulp and a quick prayer.

Katya's heart pounded all the more heavily as she stepped into the relatively narrow space, its shadow casting a pall of darkness over her mood as well as her body. Tight spaces always made her uncomfortable, and her keen eyes noticed odd little spaces in the poorly-lit stones around them. She wondered if it was paranoia or prudence that prompted her to walk more quickly, and then begin to jog. "Lailah, Dante, I think that this might be another..."

CRACK!

With a hurried squeak, Katya's wings flared outward, and her legs shot her forward. In spite of her broad wings brushing both sides of the corridor around her, she made a single, powerful wingbeat, not to propel her skyward but forward. While there wasn't enough room around her to fly, all she needed was for her wings to assist her leap out of harm's way. She bounced off the shoulders of a couple of other squires on her way out, bounced off a wall, seemed to hit all too many things with the sound of mayhem around her.

Then, before she knew it, she was back out in the open. Well, relatively speaking, since she was still indoors, but at least not in that damned corridor. She immediately took off, flying a tight circle overhead the other squires with her bow somehow finding its way into her hand, arrow at the ready. If her heart was pounding before, now it felt like it was trying to tear its way out of her chest. She panted loudly, her golden eyes scanning the others that had come through, trying to make a headcount despite the adrenaline now flooding her consciousness. She wasn't even aware that her flight bag had been slashed open, a long cloth she had been planning on using as a bandage fluttering along behind it.  

[Guardian_Iris]

The Squires spilled into the open room in a rush...but not all were quick enough on their feet. Although the spears had been firing in a slow progression down the hallway, by some devious design, the order suddenly switched to fire a set across the hallway's exit point, like a gate slamming shut. Not every Squire had made it into the room...at the opposite end of the hall, the spears continued their rhythmic progression.

Instead of the splintering crack of rock, one firing was followed by a softer sound...the dull thud of a projectile impaling flesh. A scream echoed down the hallway and out into the cavernous room, the reverb making it difficult to pinpoint the source to tell whether it was a victim or a witness. The next few moments would happen quickly...yet seem to stretch on for a horrifying eternity. The Squires who had escaped the deadly trap were forced to watch helplessly as their comrades, their companions from early childhood, were cut short before their prime.

The spears did their work with cold efficiency, piercing stone as easily as flesh. The last of the thick iron shafts finished their crisscrossing pattern, the entire hallway filled with the metal rods of death.

As well as the bodies of three of the unfortunate Squires.

Trapped in various poses while attempting to escape, their forms hung like some kind of demented puppets from the iron shafts. Golden eyes stared, some shocked, some afraid, but all slowly dulling in death...

*****

Agnus, Elda, and Infernos have perished.

*****

((This concludes the first part of the Squires' challenge, however, this thread will remain open for reaction posts and interactions between the remaining Squires while we take a break for the holidays.

This area may be assumed safe for now, and they can stop here to rest, heal, and console one another, but please do not explore further just yet. Beyond reactions, they can be considered 'paused' here until we continue in the new year.

We will resume the Squires' challenge with Part 2 after the holidays so that everyone can return from travel and get settled back in before we kick off with more exciting events. We will have more details to give on the challenge and what we will be looking for when we start again, which will be likely around mid-January. This first part was meant to ease into the challenge, while weeding out the inactive Squires. From here on out, we will be scoring the RP. More details will be available in January, but some things to consider are teamwork, group interactions, and taking initiative with prompts to explore and have fun, rather than just minimal answers to given prompts. Not all choices will necessarily be right or wrong...

In the meantime, we'll leave our Squires here for a rest, as we all enjoy the holidays. Happy holidays, everyone! See you again in January!))  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Harveer turned to look at the hall, there didn't seem to be much else to do at the moment but hope his fellow squires made it though. It was then that he realized, three of them were still in the tunnel with the spikes. Golden eyes widened in horror as he heard the first sounds of a body being pierced through with whatever those spikes were made of.

There was no way, this couldn't be happening. Who was it in that hall screaming? Harveer couldn't tear his eyes away from the dimly lit hall to see which of his friends had just been condemned to death. The pale angel was entirely frozen in place, just watching as pae he'd grown up with were impaled and slowly killed.

It was all he could do to not scream, not attempt to go fish them out of spears that held them above the ground. The only thing keeping him from it was the fact that it would do any of them any good to have someone injured trying to save a dying soul. Slowly, he finally managed to close his eyes, turning away from the horror he'd just witnessed. With eyes finally closed, he sent a silent prayer to the Guardians, wishing them to watch over those who'd just lost their lives on this quest.