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Though his smile had already disappeared by the beginning of the fight, the next he took had Aprife actively grimacing. This pack of lusus was no joke, honestly. Anyone who thought he couldn't take a thing seriously because of his casual demeanor was, fortunately, very wrong.

Ripping his arm out of one of the creature's jaws, he returned the favor with a hard hit to its mouth with the butt of his scourge. Old bones and skin creaked and shattered beneath the force.

--

Bombee Nifera (Aprife Invasi)
HP: 25/40
Adult + Military Grade Weapon: +2 dmg
Training in Tactics

Nictor Sabbat
HP: 18-5=13/20
Damage: 5+1=6
In Training: Endurance 1/1
Trinkets/Artifacts/Items: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 3/4
Novice Support Trinket, Style A (Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle) 1/1

Advancements: 1
Minibosses Defeated: 1



Well Nictor was in motion now, jolting violently from the near miss, saved only by Bombee’s interference as Nictor made an aborted motion that may have been a strike or a flail. Bombee said something and the words were a bit muddled in Nictor’s brain, but he didn’t freeze again so there was that. Freezing meant dying, don’t let them too close.

Nictor stumbled, pulling away from any of the lusii that passed too close, hand gripped to his staff because his life depended on it and eyes darting wildly from one burning body to the next which might have contributed to how badly he was stumbling. The others were combatting the swarm, Bombee and Hifumi taking lead and managed to beat the things into submission. A couple of the bodies were laid out on the floor bleeding and fire burning out. There were spots in Nictor’s vision from staring at the bright fire, but at least the things couldn’t sneak up on them being so visible.

He nearly jinxed himself with that. The thing about trying to watch multiple opponents is you often ran the risk of losing sight of one of them.

Nictor winced at the vicious blows Bombee and Hifumi delivered, the beasts seemingly quelled but something was niggling in the back of his head, something was wrong, his spine tingled and his breath was short something was wrong.

His conscious brain might not have been putting the pieces together, but there was an approaching light from behind him, a noise, a feeling-

Nictor about faced just as the fiery serpentine monster rammed him to the ground, head bouncing off the floor with a painful think and his vision dissolved into an indecipherable mess.

They’d missed one.

It was a dim, if succinct, assessment that was clear for a second amongst the scramble the blow to the head caused as he pushed feebly up, bo staff caught between him and his aggressor. Dazed and trying to blink his head back into working order, Nictor winced as the lusii screeched with its multiple stretching leech mouths and started wrapping around Nictor and pulling and constricting and the panic was quick to set back in at the pressure. Pain could be an amazing motivator. Weak attempts to get his arms free grew more frantic as the thick heavy tail tightened and tightened, pressure building and a sharp sting grew but adrenaline drowned the weight of it out. Fire and pain and he couldn’t breath-

Finally Nictor pried one hand off the trapped bo staff and managed to finagle his limbs loose. Without a second more of hesitation, his free hand reattached and he drove the staff upwards, unseeingly, as hard as he could. It drove right into one of the open maws and through and through until it hit the back wall of flesh and distended it. The noise the lusus made was awful, wailing and pitchy, it released its prey in favor of writhing and trying to whip its head away, which ended in it tearing its flesh up more and more. Blood that burned like acise was dripping down the handle and down to Nictor’s gloved hands, but just like the doorway trap, it started burning anywhere it soaked through. Free of the pressure, nictor managed to get enough bresh to try to toss the monster off. When he did, the staff came loose, tearing through more flesh and the lusus rolled and writhed away, two gross mouths now one gaping wound.

The lusii that had been beaten back were pulling the bodies of fallen comrade with thema s they retreated into the ventilations, the one that beset Nictor the last to flee, leaving a resounding eerie silence in the wake of the disappearing light and shrill hisses.

Daywalkers killed
Daywalkers left
Miniboss HP left

Zeylla scoffed at Nictor as the boy had to collect himself- he was no strong adult, still a soft wiggler in her mind. She brushed past him with another withering look. "You need to learn to handle yourself better, this is a life or death situation after all, and not just for you, you wimwitted halfwit, now follow me," she said the last part as a semi-command towards all the trolls, though she did give Bellen a look that showed her pride in the other troll's strength during the last struggles of that fight, and the smallest of nodded to Bombee, her mental score once again notched in the green for the other adult.

A hall, a long dark hall was what she guided them into. How...wonderful.

VREMEA EVERAI (HIFUMI LIBOWY)
HP: 26/40
Attack: 1D6 +2(adult + military grade weapon)
Adept Healing Glow Support Style A: 2/2
Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle.
Novice Artifact Support Style A: 1/1
Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle.
YTMA Badges: Grandmaster Troll Relations, Training Academics
2/16 advances
1/3 minibosses defeated

"I-I see them--" Vremea added to Aprife's words, glancing in the only direction the daywalkers could come in-- And there were, wait a second... Vremea squinted, adjusting her glasses. "W-we've got 8 of t-them...! Everyone, l-look alive!" Because they were dead! She didn't know how funny that was, but she managed a half smile before remembering the punchline was that they were dead.

Oh.

Daywalkers killed 0
Daywalkers left 7
Miniboss HP left

Before the shuffling, shambling remains of once healthy, strong trolls came towards them and Nictor once again shrunk into himself, Zeylla couldn't help but call out to Bellen, in a quippy tone, "Don't coddle him, lest he follow you home like a lost puppy. I'm not fond of pets," she gave a sneaky wink at the end of her comment, to...ease the bossiness in her tone.

Of course, once again her distraction Bellen was her downfall, as she felt the grabbing, clawing grip of the undead on her arm. She jerked away, but not before the clenching digits bruised her arm. Perhaps they still had their strength after all.

She would store that little nugget of knowledge for later.

VREMEA EVERAI (HIFUMI LIBOWY)
HP: 25/40
Attack: 1D6 +2(adult + military grade weapon)
Adept Healing Glow Support Style A: 2/2
Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle.
Novice Artifact Support Style A: 1/1
Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle.
YTMA Badges: Grandmaster Troll Relations, Training Academics
3/16 advances
1/3 minibosses defeated

: Vremea was thankful Nictor had not run into her, but in their almost run-in, the yellowblood stumbled and didn't manage to land a hit on the zombies. She struggled some before gasping out a grunt, shoving a few off her-- She was on the defensive now, and the pressure was starting to get to her. She pursed her lips, eyes determined. They weren't going down, not yet.

Nictor Sabbat
HP: 13/20
Damage:
In Training: Endurance 0/1
Trinkets/Artifacts/Items: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 3/4
Novice Support Trinket, Style A (Heals another troll by half their maximum hp, 1x per battle) 1/1

Advancements: 3
Minibosses Defeated: 1



Nictor had gotten some semblance of working order set back in place after he’d downed the most immediate threats, and was beginning to back away, his guts twisting at what he'd already done and knowing what he'd keep doing if those zombies got too close. His head still throbbed horribly with fear and the need to survive pulled his limbs into motion, but finally he was giving some direction again. And that direction was back off a bit.

He was not expecting a cat o nine tails two arc over his head and shatter that skulls of the last two zombies, which made him startle horribly. He whipped his head around to see the source, except oh that was a horrible plan adn his head throbbed and a stab of pain through the thinkpan made him whine softly and press the back of his hand to his eye, waiting for that to subside. He’d at least seen Hifumi and Alibii still talking about something and neither were concerned and Bombee was back there too, it was probably Bombee.

Given a few more seconds, Nictor shakily righted himself. The pulsing in his head was awful and belatedly he wondered if that stinging warm meant he was bleeding where he’d cracked his head off the floor earlier.

He couldn’t seem to muster up the proper amount of concern about that.

He'd gotten enough injuries on the ships, what was one more. At least he could see well enough again. Well, the zombies were dead dead now, so those weren’t going to kill him. That meant move forward right?

And so he did, with maybe a little less coordination than usual. Until he found a door.

He was pretty sure he didn’t like doors.

Daywalkers killed
Daywalkers left
Miniboss HP left

When Bombee called out about the locked door, Zeylla quickly stepped in. Not because she felt ashamed of her inability to come to Bellen's defense(even though she had managed well enough in the end. She definitely did not want to prove her strength and capable nature to her squadmate. That would indicate a sort of...deeper fondness that she believed she was not capable of.

Or at least she thought she was thought she wasn't. It was all too new, yet it had been building inside her for a while now. It was just...stronger in this serious situation. Drawn out by impending danger around every corner.

Of course, that didn't mean she opened the door. She didn't manage to draw from that heart in her chest(and her stomach) as she tried to pry the door open. It was cracked just slightly, but it did not budge under the rough grip of her fingertips.

"Not enough...grip," she grumbled, letting Bellen step in to try the door out, eyes averted as she blushed ever so slightly.