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 Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:07 pm
Malta was far more motivated to track the blood trail than the ghargon, despite her stomach's insistence on being fed, and soon found herself at the edge of the woods, facing what appeared to be tilled fields.
“Its here!” she hissed to Reegel, suddenly wary. What was she doing? Why was she here? These were magescians, all likely armed and...
Actually, there was nobody here, not that she could see. And she knew why she was here, and what she was doing: she was helping a cute talking creature in need. She took a tentative step out of the woods, and then another, and then another, and finally, shook herself off. “Ok, Reegel.” she said, walking into the fields and towards the town, “We should sneak in and find the dead Giogimar and bring them back.
“Listen to yourself.” said Reegel, “I know what you're doing.” it hadn't been hard for the warrior to keep up with the Alchemist, “you're procrastinating.”
“Mmm...” Malta neither confirmed nor denied it.
“Anyway, if you want to sneak...” the Diabi looked around him, “Follow me.” he said, walking into a shadowed and shady path...
(194/500)
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:14 pm
Raemos took out the giogimar carcasses and pondered them. The felines looked about as disturbing in death as in life, and Raemos knew he had to get their pelts off of them somehow. Otherwise, by the time they arrived at his sister's store, they would be rotten and their fur would be unusable.
Unfortunately, the local tanner had been one of the casualties of the Mara invasion. Fortunately, Raemos had some experience in skinning an animal. Admittedly, a sheron was a wholly different beast than a giogimar, but hopefully, he thought, it would be about the same.
The tanner's hut – likely because of the smell of the positively rancid solutions used in the trade – was at the edge of town, near the hill that Raemos climbed on his shifts in the pasturelands. It was, of course, unoccupied, with all of the tools of the trade, and Raemos decided to take advantage of it to clean the giogimar.
He set the bulky carcasses outside on the dirty porch and went inside to look over the tools...
(177/500)
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:22 pm
They edged down the hill like shadows beneath the pale Soldul sun, one green and one brown, natural colors in the landscape, unnoticed by any who bothered to look.
Soon, they reached the buildings and Reegel led her into the shadows of the stone and wood structures. Like water, they sifted through the cracks until, finally, Malta smelled it. She nudged Reegel at right about the moment that she saw it: two Giogimar, very much dead, laid outside one of the dirty houses.
It was a strange house, she thought, long, and full of racks and pools and such. “Come on!” she said, excitedly.
“No.” said Reegel, “This is your idea, and your hunt. You are doing this alone.” he sat down. “That is my requirement for this side trip: your idea, you do it. I'll back you up, but it's yours.”
Malta stared at him, but he wasn't going to give this time. A trill of fear ran through her – she had been confident while her bodyguard was at her back, but now... But now... She couldn't let the giogimar down. “A-all right...” she stammered, slinking towards the building, her belly low to the ground.
She could hear movement inside, but maybe she could just sneak up, grab the corpses, and run for it...? That was her plan, anyway.
(416/500)
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:29 pm
Raemos went over the tools carefully – these had been someone's livelihood, and he hoped to show them proper respect. They were sharpened and well cared for, and, after some more admiration and searching, he picked out what blades and accompaniments he would need he would need and went outside to his giogimar carcasses...
To find a large, green, strange, feral khehora slinking towards them.
What in Seren's name?! he wondered, putting his hand on his wand puzzledly. “Shoo!” he said, remembering – very well – that Khehora had very large teeth and claws, “Get out of here!” he summoned his magic to him, darkening his aura, “Go on, get!”
He hoped it would respond to that and leave without a fight. His old wounds from fighting Suluksati still hurt him at night, sometimes.
(311/500)
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:06 am
She'd nearly reached them – just a bit more, and she would be able to try to grab the dead creatures in her mouth and run. She stretched out her neck... Only to jerk it back again as the Oblivionite emerged. She stared up at him, uncertain, her heart racing faster than a scared bouken's.
Shoo? Go away? Sure! She wanted no trouble with big strong Magescians bearing swords and magic! Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she still believed that they were mystical creatures of some sort, and would be able to, somehow, bend and break her will, even though no Oblivionite had attempted to do so in the city.
But... she had promised the giogimar that she would bring back it's brother's bodies, and they were right there... if she ran, she would break her promise and the idea didn't sit well with her.
“Sorry!” she squeaked, scrambling for the carcasses as fast as she could, her mouth open wide to accept them...
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:42 am
Raemos reacted instinctively to the khehora's charge, casting a bolt of shadowy magic at the oncoming khehora. He drew his sword as he did so, not wanting to fight without both of his weapons at his side. While 'Sorry' was an odd thing for an attacking khehora to say, it was not beyond what he would expect and he knew that if he dared to wait he could well end up dead on the ground, his throat clawed out. He nearly had once before, after all.
His shining blade struck true enough, passing through the thick flesh of Malta's side, hitting only skin and her thick, insulating fat as she skittered to the giogimar carcasses. His magic stung and glommed to her, the shadowy magic becoming a smothering solid around her.
She could that magic seeking her life, it's slimy sensation both hungry and evil and poking into her new injury, hoping to find a way to her heart. With a cry, she kicked at it with her claws, hoping to shove it away. And indeed, she pushed back some of the solid magical mass, her claws striking vaguely at it's wielder as it fought to hold her amidst her struggles.
Raemos parried her blow, her hindclaws clanging on his sword's enchanted metal as he charged in for another strike. With a gesture of his hand, his magic came up from her shadow on the other side, flanking her and, the cruel primal energy's strange intelligence hoped, to claim her as it's prey.
With a squeal of terror, Malta ducked beneath the sword's blow, bringing her wing up to shield her as she tried to grab the giogimar. It was then that she ran into a hurdle: It was so hard to try to fit two of the beast's into her mouth effectively... but she had to take both. She had promised the giogimar that she would save his brothers, plural, not brother, singular. So she had no choice but to take both. She struggled to grab them both, shoving them at her moth, but to no avail... she took too much time.
Time Raemos used to his advantage.
Raemos could see she wasn't attacking: one of the many things that were incongruous between this fight and the fight with Suluksati, and any other fight he had been in thus far. Raemos noted these oddities, but he knew, too, that incongruities meant nothing. A bizzare fight could still be deadly, deadlier even, than a normal fight. But he would not be caught unaware: His nerves at high alert, his every muscle screaming with the will to fight. At the apex of his sword strike, as he brought it back for another swipe, he kicked out with his foot, slamming into Malta as he maneuvered under the arcing protection of her wing.
Malta yipped in pain as she was kicked in the face. She recoiling, shaking her head, the giogimar tumbling from her mouth as she coughed up fur that she had accidentally swallowed in the strike. She flapped her wings awkwardly to regain her balance and then looked up.
Above her, the Oblivionite's sword was raised, with it's terrible, cruel magical shine. With a terrible start, she realized it was readied to be brought down upon her. With a little whimper she charged, ramming him with her head and thick horns as fast as her heavy body and thick legs could go.
His strike was fouled as her impact bashed his stomach, and he was pushed back. Air rushed from his lungs and he gasped, doubling over and staggering to keep from falling.
Malta turned away from him quickly, inadvertently lashing at him with her tail stinger in her haste. and quickly scooped the giogimar into her mouth.
It was only a shallow wound, a glancing blow, but her tail shimmered greasily with venom and what had been a mere scratch became something more, something that screeched across the nerves of his face like the lightning of a kiandri dragon. He cried out in pain, holding the wound as it began to swell.
Malta did not stick around: she ran. She ran as fast as she could, the carcasses stuffed in her mouth. She only looked back once, as Reegel joined her, to see the Oblivionite holding his face in pain, a swelling wound rising and consuming his cheek where her tail had nicked him. It was a gruesome sight and gave her pause for a moment.
Only a moment, though, and then she was off, racing back to the forest and the waiting creature with her burden.
Raemos gasped in pain as he watched them go, holding his face as his cheek began to bulge impossibly and his face throbbed.
He knew he could easily follow and apprehend the khehora, if he dared, but he was reluctant to incite any further painful injuries, and, in the end, all they had taken was the giogimar. Those carcasses, despite their lovely fur and the potential trophies, were not worth the effort.
He groaned in pain as his cheek continued to swell, taking the time to put the tanner's tools away before he went to the infirmary to have his wound dealt with.
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