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 Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:02 pm
The sword had struck lucky. It sliced through the globe of darkness like so much air. A dry 'thunk' like a child stabbing a pice of styrophome iwht a butter knife, an aweful, painfull scream.
The lab coats in the arena took one look at each other, shrugged, and began filing out of the room to pack up ther belongings.
Ebony lodged itself deep into Dimitri's skull. The holy light from the blade could do othing, but the blade itself held the will of the Earth Mother. A blast ripped through the room, through the caverns and cornfields. Thunder without sound. The stones lifted from their places, and everything shifted as it was lifted for a fleeting moment from the plast. The three on the wall we dropped to the floor as both the blessed sword and Dimitri's powers faded.
The sword was no longer blessed. But Dimitri was no longer 'alive' either. Falling to the floor, his hands, his skull, crumbled to dust.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:39 pm
Malik collapsed to his hands and knees, his whole body hurt, and he was drained and exhausted. but he still had to get in the last word.
"I told you, demi-gods get overconfident."
the now normal Ebony was used a a crutch to keep him from completely collapsing on the floor, but he wasn't moving from this spot for a while without help. Didn't go nearly as well as planned, but didn't completely go to hell, either. Now..about that cornfield..adn those coated sons of bitches..they might make for some interesting bonuses. spoils of war perhaps.
Then again..this might not have even been the actually Dimitri. coud have been a puppet, a corn field grown clone. probably best to burn them down anyway just in case this wasn't really Dimitri.
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:52 pm
Let's see, shall we. Bombarded by broken glass, blindingly bright light, and getting next to nowhere against that damn thing for quite a long time. He was beginning to think that blade worthless. Worthless sword...worthless thing who blessed it in the first place. This was starting to look akin to suicide. Well...at least he'd go out in blazing glory right?
Though his tugging had finally gotten him somewhere as Malik and the Lich's play duly ended with some obscure simple action and he hit the floor rather hard along with another drow and a surface elf. Well now...that hurt like a b***h and this some explicatives were the first things to come out as he pushed himself up to a kneel, hand going to his nose as runes died down. "Son of a b***h."
What had she been doing this whole time? Stuck in someplace where she wasn't there but there at the same time. Displacement techniques. Though Malik had snapped her back there the moment he put that bond between them to use...but she lacked the reason. But it had been enough at the moment to stifle old memories that wanted to blend with new ones. Though getting dropped to the floor in a pile of herself wasn't the most fun thing in the world, drawing a wince from her...though she didn't stay down long, she was up in two seconds flat and kneeled at Malik's side the next two, hands on him and looking him over in that overly concerned way that lovers often did. Of course with the overly fast asked set of normal 'are you okay' questions, no matter how rhetorical they might be.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:59 pm
Invisible manacles released and she dropped like a ton of bricks. Dammit, not enough time to react to levitate and that floor was hard. Her eyes hurt from the blinding rays, she'd had broken glass dropped on her, her hands had been chained so she'd been forced to endure Malik's constant monologing. What does all this equal out to? One very unhappy drow. Her fists clenched on the ground for a moment and she glanced over at Malik, somewhat mollified over the fact he had gotten his a** torn up. Served him right in her opinion, he was so damn cocky about that stupid sword thinking he had this battle won. Instead he'd been brought down a peg or two, just like he'd done with her. Payback was a b***h, even if it wasn't her actually doing the paying back. Point was payment was delivered in full and that was good enough for her. She pushed herself to her feet, shook bits of glass out of her hair and glanced around, picking up that hammer and slamming it against the wall in a fit of pent up anger. "Son of a b***h is right."
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:55 pm
A slight grimace sitting up a bit, to glance at Piper with a bloody grin.
"Well. he was a bit more prepared and powerful than I thought."
Understatement, but hey.
"I'm alright...just..torn leg muscles, probably four or five broken ribs, ut open hand, maybe some internal bleeding. But we still have things to do here. like burn the fields down. and kill those scientific minded labcoat wearing dogs. and bless this place."
With a little help, and a bit of pooling blood, spitting some out as well, before retrieving his helm.
"just in case that was not the real thing. if he can grow people, he can grow bones from himself."
Ebony sheathed, and stumbling, he was still determined to make it to those fields, just like he'd come here to do.
"Anyting of value we can take, take it. steel, gold, weapons, magical items..everything. and check any dungeons or cells. lets see if he had any other unwelcome guests or betrayed former allies."
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:12 pm
She smiled lightly despite present circumstances. Leave it to Malik to make a list of bad injuries and then scoff at them and not think twice about it. That was him all over wasn't it? Though Piper didn't care abotu his personal image at this point as she pulled his arm over her shoulders, her own arm around his waist so that she was supporting his weight some as well as keep his balance. Men they could be such a trip sometimes. "You know A'mael...you're so one track minded sometimes." Said with somewhat of a little grin past dirt, cuts, and blood.
Sevilin grumbled as he picked up his polearm, slinging it to his back as he stood and then reaching down his tunic to fish out a half concious Nym. The little guy was duly taken to being pet to bring him around. Though a look Zahara as she pretty much mimicked his sentence, then a look to Malik and Piper, then Zahara again.
A sniff, a wipe at his nose...which didn't help too much seeing as his nosebleed seemed to be steady...though it was steming with the abscence of runes. Back to petting Nym. "Well come on...have to keep on treking." Though he had a slight limp in his gate. Damn flying lizard banged him up pretty badly and it was starting to set in now.
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:26 pm
Narrowed violet eyes watched the rune mage closely. He was banged up pretty badly, a constant stream of blood seemed to be pouring from his nose. She had no idea what he'd slammed into to break his nose but from the looks of it, it was something really thick and really hard. Or at least she assumed her broke his nose, but he may have gotten lucky. Clumsy Drow. Nym's condition gave her pause for a moment but only a moment and she brushed at a bit of glass still lingering on he rclothes. She felt disgusting and only wanted a nice bath and then reverie but they still had things to do, now didn't they. So she rubbed her wrists and stretched, being on that wall had not been fun adn followed Sevilin.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:28 pm
"I know. But we need to get this done. I made a deal, and I keep my ends of my bargains."
Ogres and necromancers swarmed teh place..at least those left alive, and looted everything they could loot. which was alot considering the sheer strength of an ogre. anyone that got in teh way of malik and piper..died, quickly.
They continued like that until the got to the cornfields. without Dimitri's power to dominate and control, without thier 'master' the souless had no will of thier own. and the undead, returned to the earth, just as they do when the summoner dies. but no sign as of yet of the missing drow from Tarathiel's little adventure. which did concern Malik a bit.
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:11 pm
"I know, I know. And keep your word you always do." Another little look up at him with a smile that was of course laced with unspoken concerned. She knew Malik didn't like her to fuss over him being banged up. Besides...she'd have plenty of time to mess and fuss over it all when they got home and took care of themselves and each other. To think she wasn't feeling too well or energetic at all and Malik was a good ten times worse off than her. Then again, he was used to this kind of thing. But a blink at the cornfields as they came upon them. "Well...that's got a nice creepy look to it..."
Nym lethargically came back with a squeak and a chitter, trying to push himself up to four paws before just flopping against Sevilin's forearm, stretching down the length of it and lying there pretty limp. Another chitter from him.
Sevilin just continued his petting to Nym as the little creature came to. In response to the chitters, the red rune on the ferret's head tool a slight glow before dying off again. That would make him feel better some now wouldn't it. Oh when he got back home he was cleaning up, flopping down in a healing circle and not moving for at least a day. Damn lizard...
Mental evaluation gave answers along the lines of bruised and broken ribs, internal bruising and probably some bleeding. Torn muscles and what not. Good sized lacerations and bruising outward...nice thing that his skin was too dark to show most bruising. And then of course there was that rune over exertion induced bleeding. Stress on the mind...it'd take care of itself.
Though he came to stand near Piper and Malik, gazing at these proclaimed cornfields as he raised his arm to wipe blood from his nose again. All the fuss over this...why did that figure?
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:39 pm
Inside of what remained of the caverns the group would find a few stragling lab coats. They were unimportant and held no useful information. A few spell rods were scattered here and there, a few bottles of Bode's black chaos ooze, stalks of corn, seeds. A few rooms held cast out soulless, deformed and rotting, some still alive. The soulless were everywhere, but now they did not attack, the stumbled around as if blind, laying their lips onto anything their hands came into contact with.
The corn fields stretched to the horizon, the transparent bodies of a new crop were seen poking out from the corn husks, each full grown and ready to be birthed.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:46 pm
"Every peice of 'corn' here is a souless thing, or a jeherg, or a shapeshifter..and Innoruuk only knows what else. verifiable armies grown in mass clumps. in one harvesting of this place, our enemy could literally double his standing forces."
and maybe still could. a madman sure, but a logical one...he might have prepared for his own fall, and had a successor lined up or 'grown' a child from himself that could follow in his footsteps.
It was getting harder to move. mental damage report..out of wack nervous system, resulting in small twitches now and again. most of the muscles in his legs torn. six broken ribs, probably a punctured lung. that would explain the blood that kept coming up. lots of bruising. one dislocated hip. and his shoulder probably had torn ligaments, though it wasn't out of socket. a few minor gashes here and there, and of course his hand from grabbing Dimitri's sword that one time.
"We burn this down. all of it. I don't care if those in these pods scream. this place burns to the ground. Take the soulless that are wandering with us. they'll help renforce our position, and they will at least be good for selling. they are very obediant, after all."
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:11 pm
"On an important note...if I ever catch you doing anything like this...I'll hurt you worse than you are now." Okay...so he had been doing it once before but he hadn't been for years and Malik didn't need any ideas in his head like it again. Sure she never tried to change the man....only curve those negative tendencies he had. Piper wasn't ignorant of his injuries either, seeing as she was noticing every indication and had been hurt herself enough times in a nymber of ways to know when things were screwy. Bonds helped too...Malik's end was practicaly screaming at her that particular survival need. Subconcious levels were fun. Though hm...the thought of screaming pod things...that wasn't comforting...adn she wouldn't like it, but it was as humans called it, a neccessary evil. Raised eyebrow and look up. "Are you sure we have to bring things home? You yell at me all the time for it..."
Eh...he'd seen worse. Though he only crossed his arms lightly, one hand still on a drowzy ferret. Okay...the surface thing had made another good point...why take those back. Then again...what did he care, not like he lived in thier little fortress box. A snicker before he spat some blood on the ground, kicking some dirt over it with his boot...he didn't like to leave puddles of his blood around intentionally.
"Quite the crop he has...I can see why you'd want to knock him out as soon as possible." Well...quite the thing for his first 'job' eh? Taking against a damned lich and getting crushed by some indigant flying lizard for his trouble...good thing he was getting paid for all of this.
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:27 pm
"I have no intention of doing anything this elaborate."
Though a glance at them both.
"I was thinking to sell them as slaves, myself. but, if you'd prefer not, then we'll just keep the ones we already have, and those here...well we can leave them here to starve and die. or spread throught the underdark. I don't want to have to destroy them. frankly it'll take to damn long."
Not to mention I am not in the best of conditions.
"And where the hell did Din get to. did he stay at the fortress or come with us? maybe he would prefer to run this place, to own it. then we won't have to worry about even burning it. and, he can keep supplies of slaves and disposable troops available."
hmm. that sounds like a good idea. if they could really trust Din. adn he didn't.
"Well we can find Din. or commincate with him. he agrees, we can hand this place over to him. if he'd rather not, we'll burn it."
A glance at an Ogre loading scepters into chests.
"get torches and light them, and come back here."
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:41 pm
"Correction, you have no intention of doing anything like this at all, end of argument." There was that tendency curving again. Sure she loved the elf...but sometimes you just had to stop him before he even got started in a direction. Honestly ever since this whole war thing started he'd been on an army kick and that just didn't sit well with her. If they were going to settle down here she'd rather not have it turn into some sort of strict military and business-esk thing. It was supposed to be home, not base and office. But one of those exasperated sighs and some blowing of her hair out of glowing eyes was the only outward response she gave to her own thinking. Good thing she was used to Malik's weight or else she'd be complaining. Always the passive one on everything. "Quit your elaborate thinking, just burn the place down and bless it. I doubt Din would want to take on...whatever this is."
"The human thing that followed me to the fortress right? I believe he stayed behind with the griffin...thoguh I think that was also a good idea...seeing as he can...cohabitat...in someone's body. It would of just been a mess here, making a difficult situation more so."
He shifted his own weight to one side, though it didn't particularly help. Having from waist down being crushed against a wall and ground while struggling the whole time to get yourself out of said condition, left little room for comfort now didn't it?
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:46 pm
Patience was never one of Zahara's strong suits, especially not after she'd been tied to a wall for an undeterminable amount of time. She was scraped nad bleeding, things felt broken, though she wasn't nearly as bad off as Sev and Malik. No, Malik had taken the worst of it by far, but she wasn't willing to cut him any slack. She had spider guts in places she didn't even want to think about and was really pissed. "Can't we just burn the damn place and be done with it?" she snapped crossly. "Why argue over whether the kid gets it, just destroy it already." Definitely not in the best of moods. Frankly at this point, she'd be more than happy to run around killing off all the soulless but Malik was the boss, so she rolled her eyes and stood there, waiting for them to make a decision. The whole reason she'd come on this little trip was to bless the damn fields and she couldn't do that until they got their asses in gear and burned it.
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