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Post by Crow on Mar 10, 2009 19:40:56 GMT -5
"Oh, yes yes yes! Teh lone man is tryin' to flank you!" He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He used his black crystal staff to help himself to his feet and began walking over, doing his absolute best to dim his apparent abilities. Probobly too late anyway, but whatever. It was worth a try. "I be called Vex."
After saying his name, he simply stayed silent as they waited for him to elaborate. Apparently having other ideas, he detached the pipe like device from his staff and started smoking from it. He exhaled and remarked. "That's a scary lookin' castle. "
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 11, 2009 5:19:04 GMT -5
Mammoth nodded as Wolfe spoke, responding when he was finished,
"Thanks for the crash course, but I planned on practicin' before usin' it fully. I ain't as dumb as a I look. Magic might not be my thing, but I know enough about it to not wield it foolishly." He said, addressing Wolfe's concerns. He was eased knowing that Jodice had not died, and was just missing at he current time, he was not interested in losing another ally to this war...
Mammoth turned to the two newcomers, shaking his head as he realized the group that they had formed.
"So we have a loud-mouthed barbarian, a womanizin' druid, a broodin' crybaby wolf, a meowin' kitty, a dysfunctional whatever-the-hell-Jodice-is, and a man who belongs in a loony bin... Some group..." Mammoth joked.
His comical demeanour soon ended as he turned back toward the castle. He took on step forward and looked down upon the castle.
"No question we got our target... We need a plan, and we need one fast. We don't got the benefits of an army, and the longer we wait the stronger Ralf'url gets... So," Mammoth said, turning toward them, "We got two options... We try 'n' hold off the comin' storm, or we take the war to him..."
Mammoth looked to his friends and the newcomers, the look on his face displaying a glow of ferocity. He carried himself as if he had no doubt they would be victorious...
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Post by piñata on Mar 11, 2009 8:52:34 GMT -5
"Sorry," Pinata said as Caelen accepted the offer of a handshake. "My name's Pinata." He paused for a moment as the weretiger went through a list of his apparently considerable talents, then asked, "You said you can perform enchantment and illusion magic. Can you counter such magic as well?" What Wolfe had said about things not being what they seem inside the castle seemed a bit more important now that there might be a way around it. Of the gloves he said nothing... they were an impressive piece of equipment, but they reminded him uncomfortably of Arthos' weaponry. He likewise didn't comment on Mammoth's statement that they didn't have the benefit of an army... a few dozen Dryads was more an extra-large commando team than an actual army, so the statement was technically correct.
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Post by Caelen on Mar 11, 2009 9:18:21 GMT -5
Caelen paused for a moment. "Counter-magic? I suppose so... once I knew what effect was there. It's not something I get a chance to practice much though." He glanced around at the other members of this rather odd group. "Actually... a physical disturbance might reveal an illusion enough for me to do something" he said with a grin, staring at Mammoth. He sighed as he continued. "Enchantments are an entirely different monster though. You either see it or don't, and if you don't there isn't much that will reveal it." He shrugged. "Well, at least I found something I can help with that doesn't involve hunters coming after me."
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 11, 2009 10:28:19 GMT -5
It was education time again, this time for the bigger group. He didn't have time to see if he could trust these two new characters. He guessed he would find out soon enough how good they really were. He expected the waves to start pouring out soon enough to look for and kill the last of the resistance, them. He looked around at the group and drew their attention before he repeated his warning about the illusions for the rest who hadn't heard it when he was talking to Pinata. He focused on Caelen once he was done. "These would be very strong and believable illusions. Once you are in there, you would be fighting demons in their own element, where they are the strongest.... and they are worse than hunters in case you are curious."
It was time to deal with the strategy next. Mammoth had taken charge as usual and Wolfe really didn't mind. But a loud mouthed barbarian would appreciate the simple plan he was going to present. "The one fact you have to remember and understand is that we cannot hold off the coming storm... if it is what I think it would be. I have come to understand that there is something that's called the Devil's touch. Its supposed to be the moment in time when he sets foot on a plane, literally. But this is hearsay and scrolls and fables so who knows what happens. Anyway, I had only heard of fortresses like these before I actually saw one so I am pretty sure things would only get worse from this point on."
He paused then continued, "The plan... should be that I... we get to Ralf'url and stop him from doing whatever he has to do to invoke this power. If anything I know is accurate, it is only after a certain stage of the spread of the corruption that he can summon the power. I have never seen it happen of course because well.. the world turns into hell in that single moment. Then its over. So, we barge in there. There are at least three commanders we know who would be protecting Ralf'url. They would be tricky." The plan as it actually stood was that he would go ahead to face off against Ralf'url while the others kept the army of hell and the three commanders busy.
He smiled as he remembered Mammoth mentioning an army. This was a rather menacing smile, "I actually have something better than an army." He turned to Pinata, who was probably the only one who knew what he was talking about. "You will see it soon enough. I can break through the initial defenses and get you inside the building itself but after that, you would each have hell to face." He turned to the two newcomers and asked, "So, you still interested?"
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 14, 2009 8:40:49 GMT -5
*<.< >.>*
From the opposite side of the valley, the smoking remains of two possessed guards fell, crumbled to dust in their armor as the slim figure of a black-and-gold cloaked woman stalked forward, a black dirk in one hand and a gleaming sword in the other. Several more heard the disturbance, but before they could react each was stabbed, sealed, and dropped in quick succession. The towering castle stood before her in awe, but the figure didn’t so much as flinch as she glanced up, one eye red as blood, the other blue as the sky, a face like that of an angel but with the intensity of an expert hunter. Pulling the cloak closer, the feminine figure continued forward, dropping the sword from existence for now; there was still a ways to go before she would be there. Was it just the imagination, or did the ghostly image of steel-colored wings follow behind her?
~Two days prior~
No more than two steps forward, the world collapsed in around her, darkness overwhelming Jodice. And then, light. Not so bright as to blind her, but simply white all over, making it impossible to tell ground from ceiling except for where she walked. In what must have been the center of the room sat a figure, red cloaks of silk wrapped around a thin frame, black leather standing out starkly against the crimson background to show boots, a hip pack, and a knife belt. The figure sat, huddled actually, head down to legs, arms wrapped around the backside of hardened calves, raven hair covering parts of the outfit before Jodice.
Looking at herself momentarily, she saw her old outfit in place of what she wore on the Outside, the trailing train wrapped around her body like crisscrossing robes of scarlet. But she'd gotten rid of those a long time ago... or, had she? Physically, yes, but she was still that thief, that robber that stole. Maybe she'd never be anything different, but that didn't matter as a voice stopped her, the edges of its feminine tone so rough that she swore the lady had gravel in her mouth "What're you doing here?"
For that, Jodice didn't have an answer. "Just... go away," it told her, "There's nothing left to take... besides, weren't you the one I poisoned? Are you here to mock me as I pay a demon's dues?"
"I said, no closer!" the woman's voice came as Jodice started forward, but that didn't stop her. In fact, it made her look around; bloody marks were seeping into the walls, like vermilion snakes slithering toward their prey. She had to move fast. The woman practically screamed at her as she advanced, but she had no wish, no want to fight back. Her eyes were to be pitied as she looked up finally, onyx strands parting of their own will to reveal crimson eyes, pure fear on her face as she desperately tried to look away even though her gaze was locked. They glowed slightly; Must be her magic color Jodice thought to herself, slowly realizing that they were two souls meeting face-to-face. It must’ve been as shocking to the girl as it was to Jodice.
She knelt, and the woman kept the gaze, crying as she knew there was nothing she could do. Did Jodice really have pity on this wretch, this very soul that had tried to kill her – or, rather, make her compatriots slay her for what she’d done? There wasn’t much else it could be. She grasped one of the woman’s hands, and the façade began to deteriorate, even as the darkness closed in on both of them. Jodice felt her mother’s ‘mental’ tugging; she must be pushing this whole ordeal really close. “I’m not here to hurt you,” she said with as much command as she could muster, the woman’s face going slack.
“I’m… I’ve come here to give you a choice. I could care less what happens to your body, because that is not my problem. I know you have made a contract, but you are still alive, for now. When you die, though, your soul will experience a Hell unlike anything a living human could endure. One of my closest friends was lost to that; I could care less about you, but I can’t let my enemies have another advantage. But it isn’t my choice to make; you can ignore all that is going on, allow yourself to be swallowed by the darkness, or…”
She swallowed the frog in her throat, took a deep breath, and then let it hang. Every instinct from her human side said to let her die, let this wench become a part of the nexus of horror. But she knew the truth, and continued after a moment’s pause “Or, you can redeem yourself, and follow my hand away from here.” Ye gods, why not ask her to marry you! her mind told her, but her heart spoke other words. The girl looked up, darkness just yards from both of them, eyes filled with tears, and Jodice quietly cursing herself for what she was doing… and she gripped the goddess-in-training’s hand, emotion pouring out of her like sand from a broken hourglass. Her choice was life.
Darkness closed in, but it found nothing. With a scream that could only come from the underworld, it searched desperately, but found no one within the shell. Jodice, back in her own body, finished the last part of the seal, and then stepped back, the woman’s body crumbling to dust. Her name had been Kyla Uruvo, a forest ranger for a time, a poisoner since early in life, and an excellent combatant. And now, she was dead… sort.
A red visage appeared next to Jodice, sadness filling her voice as Kyla questioned quietly “So, that’s it, mistress?” “Yes,” was her reply, picking up the black cloak to examine it. Traces of gold ran along, thin as threads, and she couldn’t help but stare in awe at the intricacies of it all. “I’d made it myself, or at least part of it,” Kyla stated, her voice almost innocent in tone, “It took all the money I had, but it was beautiful. Now, it’s just cloth...”
’Put it on.’ It was the unmistakable voice of Enia, and Jodice hesitated. Still, she obeyed, at least with what parts fit. Kyla had been smaller than Jodice, but the outer cloak still fit her well, though a bit tight for an assassin. The hooded glaze of its former owner glanced over to Jodice, then smiled, something she hadn’t done in a long, long time. “You look good in it,” she complemented, and Jodice giggled. Over the armor, it was a near-perfect fit, although it necessitated dropping the leather skirt and exposing her underwear to a partial view. “I think it does too. Thanks.”
Grabbing what equipment that was left, she dropped her worn combat grieves for the lighter and swifter – not to mention better-made – hunter's boots. Stabbing three daggers into the tree above where Kyla’s body had been sealed, Jodice formed a sort of skeletal pyramid with them in remembrance, then was on her way. So much to do, so little time, as her mother had so bluntly put it.
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Post by Crow on Mar 14, 2009 19:23:00 GMT -5
Vex simply stared at the guy. "Demons? Me thought those were myths once. Ah well. Me be ready." He took another drag from his pipe before sighing and replacing it on the top of his staff. "Found out they was real about a month ago....So I blew it up." Then, whistling a cheery tune, he took the pipe off and lit it again.
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Post by Caelen on Mar 14, 2009 21:11:52 GMT -5
Caelen grinned, looking at Wolfe. "Worse than hunters you say? I don't care how strong they are...they can't possibly be as annoying as hunters." He shrugged. "But, as I said, a large enough physical disturbance should disrupt any illusions enough for me to find them. I may not be able to remove them all, but I should be able to remove some of them." He paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking about something, then shook his head. "And yes, I'm still interested."
Caelen reached under his cloak to get to his backpack. He produced a few waterskins, each marked with a different number, and handed one to each person in the group. "If you need cover quickly, dump that on the ground and yell the number. I'll make it into a cloud of mist. Just make sure you take advantage of the cover...it disperses in seconds." He grabbed a few more skins, these with no marks, and strapped them to his armor. He unfastened his bag and stuffed his cloak into it. He touched the top of the bag and spoke. "Kabanwatezema." The bag began to glow, turning completely white, and shrunk down as it seemed to flow up his arm and meld with his armor. As the glow faded, a pair of brown spirals with a circle on his elbow was revealed along his arm. "When do we start?"
((When using the skins, Caelen will react immediately, so you don't have to wait for me to post that the mist cloud appears.))
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Post by piñata on Mar 16, 2009 12:45:22 GMT -5
Pinata took one of the skins, scanning it with a practiced eye. It gave off a strong essence of blue magic, and he realized that if Caelen had performed the spell on this skin himself then the weretiger was either quite powerful already or was going to become so in the future. Either way, he was glad Caelen wasn't fighting for the enemy.
"Thank you," he said. "This will come in handy." It had been a long time since Pinata had employed subtlety, but he had been good enough at it once. It would come back to him. Remembering Wolfe's warning, he figured that once inside the castle a lot of things would come back to him.
(OOC: I'll let someone else give the order to begin. Feel free to control those dryads if you can think of something useful for them to do... they're independent creatures, not under Pinata's control, so it won't be godmodding if you post their actions.)
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 16, 2009 18:26:51 GMT -5
Mammoth responded to Wolfe, "did ya think I had any intention a' lettin' him off that easy?"
Mammoth stepped forward as Caelan offered up the skins for cover. He took one in hand and shoved it into his survival pack. He nodded in thanks, and then turned to the castle, where numerous squads of demonic soldiers had begun exiting the gates. Mammoth pulled his blade and placed him helm on his head, preparing himself.
"Stick together, watch ya backs, don't let ya guard down."
Mammoth looked to each of his allies and he spoke with a tone that he rarely spoke with. His voice was so serious, it left no chance for misinterpretation.
"Make peace with ya God..."
Mammoth started walking toward the marching demons, prepared to make demons learn the meaning of hell...
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 16, 2009 21:48:17 GMT -5
*if any of this doesn't work, just tell me. no yelling please ^-^" I did try hard on this one...*
Ground crumbled and splintered where she had been, the result of a large mace that’d been smashed there by a rather disgruntled possessed foreman. She righted herself, but the cloak’s hood fell back, revealing snow-white hair cutting down her back in a single braid. The monster turned to strike again, but she was swifter; in a single blurred streak, both of the freak’s Achilles’ were sliced in half, and the monster fell, howling in pain as Jodice came to a stop, her left eye turning from crimson to an almost blinding white, the red aura turning pure white as she held the sword behind her back, the blade changing shape from a double-edged straight sword to an Eastern design, Narhowen’s claw forming itself on her fighting hand. A wicked smile spread across her face; this wasn’t going to end well for someone.
Instead of darting forward like she had before, Jodice kept her pace, not wanting to wear out all of her energy before the real fighting begun, but just as she registered the movement from the possessed before her, that mace hit home, flinging the fledgling goddess far, her ride ending as she smacked with a high-pitched grunt against a tree. That had hurt, and now she was pissed; even as her affected bones began knitting themselves back together, she was back on her feet. Maybe this beast wasn’t going to go down as easily as Jodice had hoped…
~two days prior~ The walk had been long afterwards, but now that she had company besides her domineering mother, it wasn’t as bad as it had been before. “That sounds like it sucked,” she commented, “I mean, getting forced into this whole thing, holding your mother and sister hostage, and then killing them off before you’d even finished the job. What an a**hole.” “Yeah… it sucked.” Kyla looked down. “I really don’t wanna think about it right now… but it did. So, what’s it like being such a big bad half-goddess?”
Now it was her turn to look down. “Well, really, I kinda just started this whole thing. And it’s not that great either; my body’s doing freakier things than I ever had happen on my first monthly cycle, I’m seeing dead people, and best of all, now I have an angry, cranky psychob**** in my head who claims to be my real mother, except she’s been dead for like a hundred years – ’Two hundred. Don’t underexaggerate.’ –whatever. Anyways, she’s been a total crank the entire time – ’Hey!’ – bossing me around, calling me names, and whatnot – ’Silence, child!’. It’s really not as fun as I’d thought it’d be.” “Wow… that sucks.” “Yeah… sorta. Still, I get to help people I guess. That, and with everything changing, it’s like I’m seeing everything for the first time. It’s-“
Her speech was cut short when a ragged blade shot out just inches from her face. In an instant, Jodice went from right in front of it to no less than ten feet behind her. But there was no time to think on how she’d managed that; the red visage that was Kyla flared, and Jodice’s mana-vision turned itself on. With that, it didn’t take but two seconds to identify twelve separate threats within the forest ahead. ’Alright, time for your second lesson’ Enia commanded, confidence high within her voice despite what was ahead for the trio. ’Concentrate on Kyla’s spirit, and draw her into your own. With her abilities, this fight won’t take long.’
Jodice looked to Kyla, who nodded, understanding what need to happen. Within a few moments, the transition was complete, and just in time; one of the crude, black swords had been hurled right at her face. It was deflected quickly, and now that the fight was on, Jodice charged right into the lot of them, one of her eyes changing to a bloody red as Nartusela danced in time with the flurry of destruction happening around her…
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Post by piñata on Mar 17, 2009 11:47:56 GMT -5
(I don't see why anyone would have a problem with that post. *shrugs*)
Pinata didn't bother to point out that some people here didn't serve male deities -- or that making peace with a female deity would require a rather prolonged personal visit of the clothing-optional variety, and they really didn't have time for that sort of thing right now. The time for humor had passed, and the time for battle had finally come. "Wolfe, clear us a path," he said. He wondered how the others would react to the transformation Wolfe needed to undergo in order to get the rest of them into the castle.
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 18, 2009 18:20:11 GMT -5
Wolfe took the skin in his hand and examined it for a couple of seconds before commenting on it. "Impressive. But I can't carry this with me..." He handed the skin back to the cat. Due to the need of transformations, he couldn't keep anything on himself. The clothes he could reform, but a weapon or any other item would be lost almost immediately after a transformation. Besides, he didn't think he would get a chance to use it.
He sensed something at this point and looked ahead, directly at the castle. In fact it was Jodice behind the castle on the other side of the valley that had drawn his attention. Her energy was sticking out like a sore thumb in all this darkness. "Jodice has joined us...", he informed the rest so they wouldn't worry about where she was. She was definitely more powerful. But would she be able to handle what she would face in there remained to be seen.
Wolfe saw Mammoth take the lead and figured the man was eager to try out his new powers. Well, he would get the chance soon enough. He heard Pinata speak and replied in his usual calm tone, "Yes sir..." It carried a tone of sarcasm with it. "Right, follow close... not too close." The transformation began almost immediately and within a minute, there stood a 20 feet long wolf in place of the man. It was necessary to direct the wolf's attention to the dark energy ahead of them and away from his allies. Though it seemed the presence of so much energy was more than enough to make it forget about any other source of energy at the moment.
The wolf was noticeably different from what Pinata would have remembered. The edge of its fur almost seemed to merge with the air making it seem like it was a demonic or shadow form. Its movement would leave a slight dark shadowy trail as well reinforcing the same belief. The dug its claws in the ground and growled loudly, drawing the attention of the minions now regrouping out side the closed gates to form up for an attack. Even Jodice would have heard that call. It was a challenge though just to the demons inside.
The 'castle' responded. The gate began to change very slowly. Within the next minute or so, the gate had spikes sticking out of it, silver spikes. The wolf charged headlong into the group of armed minions. The blades and axes corrupted with the darkness didn't so much as penetrate the thick hide of the monster that was hacking and biting its way through them. It was fast enough to actually deal with most of the minions in the wave, shredding them with powerful claws and crushing the rest with its jaws.
The wolf was better at channeling and handling the dark energy that seeped into him because of that. It came to a stop and gave another loud growl of frustration towards the massive gate. Wolfe's consciousness provided the answer that the Wolf couldn't figure out. The wolf dashed to the side and jumped over the wall rather easily. The force that had already accumulated on the other side was too massive to deal with. He needed to get the door open so the others could make it through. There would still be the task of then clearing a path through the ground full of demons and into the building itself.
Almost as soon as the wolf's paws touched the corrupted ground, silver bars started to erupt around it. It was going to form a silver cage for the beast. But the wolf knew enough to avoid letting that happen and jumped over it and headed back towards the gate. This time, it didn't stop to rip apart those in its way. It just ran through them! It wouldn't have seemed that even the wolf was enough to take down the door that was in the process of forming the same spikes on this side now.
Pretty soon though, the door almost exploded outwards and open, one of them coming off the wall altogether. The wolf emerged spewing out a few dozen minions that had been in the way. It recovered quick enough and turned around. Wolfe knew he would have to create a big enough path that it didn't close before the rest made it in. The wolf was too fast and would make it through to the building but the path of death he created for the others would close before they could follow it in.
((Right, so the next post should end with them inside. Keep your characters moving lol. The demons and minions outside are small fry so shouldn't keep your characters around long ^^ ))
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Post by piñata on Mar 19, 2009 12:11:36 GMT -5
Pinata nodded to the dryads once Wolfe was near the gate. "Archers, we need a distraction," he said. Arrows rained down on the minions, sending many of them scattering. Pinata and a small group of dryads holding melee weapons charged down the hill and toward the gate, not stopping for prolonged engagements but simply knocking enemies aside. The doors exploded outward, and the wolf came within a couple feet of colliding with the dryad running in front of Pinata. Then it wheeled around and went back inside the castle, smashing its way through the ranks of the enemy once more.
Pinata and the remaining dryad soldiers slipped inside the open gate before it could reform, and were immediately assailed by a horde of demons. The enemy's numbers were so great that Pinata couldn't even see whether Mammoth, Caelen and Vex had made it in.
(Which, of course, allows you to post the story of how you got in yourselves.)
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 19, 2009 13:57:54 GMT -5
*enough backstory… I think its time to get her moving forward again for now rather than jumping back and forth. this one’s gonna be a doozy x-x*
She could feel them now, the others that weren’t blackened by malice and greed, but they had only now ‘seen’ her. She still wanted to get closer until they were almost together, where she would be of the most use. Only then could she free herself of her self-made restrictions and let the fullness of her new-found power flow. Until then, she would have to make do with diminished proportions; even she was curious as to how far and how much she could unleash now, even though her body hadn’t finished changing yet.
Dodging another clumsy backwards swing, Jodice flipped the hood up over her face once more, tucking folds just right to keep it from falling off again. With that done, she leapt over yet another flailing strike, and upon landing, ran up the freak’s arm, Nartusela lashing out at the thing’s neck. Striking home, there was a blinding light, and then the creature was gone. Simply and plainly, gone, sealed into another pit mark scrawled on the flat of the holy sword’s blade. Later, she would be able to free the sword’s edge of those marks through some process she couldn’t quite understand, but for the time being Jodice was content to use the enemy’s power against them, to an extent. The greater demons would be more difficult to take down with just that feeding her.
That was one good thing about her human half, her mot- Enia had told Jodice; she could hold power filtered through Nartusela in her hands that would drive pure-blooded Valkyries insane, or simply kill them. It was also a curse, to an extent, as the more she used it the more enticing it became to simply use that, and it would eventually corrupt her, creating a hell-bent demigoddess of destruction that could possibly wipe out every living thing on this plane if she wished.
’If you place a drop of acid in a full water-filled lead bottle,’ she had explained, ’it won’t have much of an effect beyond that at all. But if you keep adding more and more, and continue removing water, eventually it’ll eat the bottle, affecting whatever else is around. That’s what even filtered demonic energy does to your soul; it might hurt if a little is used at a time, but you’ll survive; keep using it and it’ll corrupt you, or possibly just take over your body. Or something to that effect… It’s only possible because you are human, as a full-blooded Valkyrie would be slain outright with such evil inside them. In fact, they wouldn’t even use it in the first place, but you need every advantage you can get right now.’
Others were gathering quickly, sent to ‘eliminate’ the threat. She did hear the roar from the front, but ignored it and, while the demons were distracted, cut them down quickly pressing closer to the final barrier between her and her target. In response to her advances, the ‘castle’ had already begun to create sinkholes in the ground around it which affected gravity itself, and would suck her down into Hell if she didn’t get over them somehow. One had formed itself directly in front of her, and with no way around it (as the forest had been sealed on both sides of her to prevent just that from happening), she walked over it, using some of the dark energy as stepping stones to defying its purpose as she skittered quickly to the other side. Wherever her feet left, the dark energy was returned to its masters, something she would have to keep in mind but was unavoidable.
Grass crunched underfoot, killed by the masses of demonic energy that had leeched into the ground. Death stank heavily here, as did Malice, Lust, and every other kind of Evil she could think of. The last hole stood in her way, threatening to suck her in even though she was several feet from it. With a huff of dissatisfaction, Jodice called upon Enia’s spirit, the white in her one eye set itself ablaze, and she bent over to summoned something that would raise an alarm almost as deafening as the one the others had started up front; the back of the wets she wore tore open, and in a rush of blood that crackled along her body, splitting her skin in some places, steel wings ripped forth - the wings of an avenging Valkyrie, something the demon lords could not afford to ignore. The scream she couldn’t hold back, but the pain they shared was bearable now that she’d learned to dam it back until she could be inside.
With the wings folded back like a hawk, Jodice took three running steps, and then lept, gaining air and then falling like a rock the instant her body was over the pit. It took every bit of effort to get close enough to the ‘castle’ to dig the wings in, tearing a path down the side until she reached what she believed to be the first floor. At that, one wing dug in further like a termite into soft wood, the other pulling itself out and, with three deft strokes, cutting a hole in the side. Now the gravity doubled, but before it could drag her down, she swung herself inside, tearing free – though not without excessive pain – from the steel wings and watched behind her as they were sucked down into the pit. Blood drained from her, but the wound healed within a minute, just as the door she’d created sealed itself and darkness loomed. Cut off from the outside, she was in fatal territory as her body rested momentarily, all the pain rushing her mind at once in an almost crushing ripple; dying here would surely mean having her soul assimilated as well, something she couldn’t afford to have happen. If it did, then these bullies would become nigh unstoppable.
Her current avatars, in fact the only two she had right now, appeared at either side of her, illuminating the darkness around them but at the same time not reaching beyond their ethereal forms; Jodice looked to each of them - one, her own mother, a Goddess (something she still couldn't believe), the other a former assassin, tainted red not only for her deeds but also from birth. Enia and Kyla, her only two chances at succeeding in what was surely suicidal. Activating her mana-sight, she saw dark veins pulsing through the walls, demons that were responding to her break-in as fast as they could. Jodice also felt something else, something... familiar... 'Are you sure you wish to save her?' the voice of Enia questioned rhetorically, knowing that her daughter was as thick-headed as she was, adding 'She's likely fallen already. Being in a shell for that long, there's no way she could return untainted. You'd be setting yourself up for a dramatic failure.
'I'm willing to risk that,' was her reply, and to that her mother said nothing. There was nothing further to add; Jodice would succeed or die trying, and hopefully self-eliminate her soul before ever giving it over to be broken or used against her friends. It was a long-shot, but for someone who had meant the world to her, Jodice would go to any length to save her from her own mistakes. Looking to Kyla, who only gave an approving nod - she wanted punishment as well on those whom betrayed her - the goddess-in-training stepped forward in the narrow hallway, a small army in and of itself surging towards her like a wave...
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