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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 1, 2008 1:56:49 GMT -5
She tore limbs out of their sockets, heads from necks, hearts from their cavities right beside the lungs. And still more came. Carella couldn't believe these occultists could summon this many freaks so quickly, and still replace them with more; for every one that was slain, it seemed two replaced them. On top of them moving so fast, they struck just as hard as before, impossible for a creature of their size. Perhaps...
Karsten!! she screamed out telepathically, aiming to get his attention quickly, search the buildings for a dark orb nearby. Its the only way there could possibly be so many around here. Find it, and bring it out in the open, if you can. Thinking privately for a moment, she added Don't touch it. Either of you.
In order to end this, Carella figured, she'd needed to free the demons from their prison by destroying the orb with pure demonic energy. With the wind gone from their sails, these abominable things would lose energy, and eventually dissipate... hopefully. Either that, or she'd be doing battle with at least fifty demons internally, if not more. That would be disastrous, in the least. Still, fighting an unending stream of these freaks without a meal would end just as badly. Someone had to take a gamble, and she wanted it to be her; at the moment, only her or Karsten could even touch the orb without massive repercussions, and Carella was probably the strongest member- both mentally and physically- of the team, since her transformation was complete by now. All she had to do was prevent Karsten from being stupid and absorbing the energy from that accursed relic, then things would most likely go off without a hitch...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 6, 2008 6:37:15 GMT -5
Karsten heard Carella ask him to look in the buildings as he crushed one of the creature's head under his boots. He let out a nasty snarl and replied back the same way, My pleasure. He ran forward in a group of creatures forming a flank to attack Galius together, most probably to get slaughtered seeing how Galius had been dealing with them so far. He could see that he was getting tired. For him it was the opposite, his power would grow the longer he fought because he would leech more and more energy out of his enemies.
This particular group of creature would serve a different purpose. He didn't kill them like he had been, or rather leeching their life force after killing them. He started tossing them like rocks at the buildings around them. He was looking for the one that would stand despite the force which knocked down the wall he threw them at. One of the last ones struck a ordinary looking building and bounced off leaving only crack in the wall that healed itself. He smiled and ran towards the building bursting through the door like it was a sheet of paper. There was a familiar scream that had been ringing out in the area when he leeched out a creature. It sounded like wind was howling through a hollow body escaping from the mouths of these creatures.
His eyes caught the dark orbs that floated over a wooden table. He reminded the demon not to absorb this power. He trusted Carella about the warning. He smiled as he put his hands on it. Karsten had to fight the demon for a moment knowing how tempting it was for him not to suck this immense source of energy right now. The demon realized after a while that it was best he didn't do it to and yielded mainly because he saw and told Karsten what the orb contained.
He walked out and saw the creatures turn towards him, seeing him holding what was their source of creation. There was confusion or hesitation, something that made them stop attacking, or for any new creatures to be created. He really hoped Carella, the elf woman and Galius would go through them and then deal with the orb itself.
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Post by The Mammoth on Sept 7, 2008 2:12:18 GMT -5
Galius didn't waste any time as the creatures hesitated at the production of the orb that was so inadequately hidden. He struck down four of the towering monsters in a a swift leap from one to another before landing atop the building that Maukri had been using as a sniper point. Before she was overrun, he slid underneath another that had finally turned its attention to him and stabbed its ankle, using his momentum to spin himself to his feet. He got a running start and ran up the creature's back, stabbing down across its neck and dragging his blade as he came to the ground across the front of the beast, splitting it in two.
He looked around, seeing how many of these things there were and just spat on the ground. He was exhausted and there was hardly a dent in their numbers. Whatever the two demons were planning, they better hurry with it....
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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 7, 2008 6:41:37 GMT -5
Galius was weakening; that wasn't a good sign for any of them. Even if the two demons were able to hold their own superbly, him and Maukri were still vulnerable. Ever since she'd changed sniping positions, the elf had been cranking out arrows left and right, taking no less than thirteen down, and still more were coming. She caught Karsten rushing a building out of the corner of her eye, knowing that he and her 'daughter' most likely had something worked out. Distracted, she hadn't seen the one land behind her until Galius had put it down. Grudgingly giving him acknowledgment for saving her ass, she turned back, continuing to fire as her arms grew weary. Maukri just hoped that those two thumbsuckers got something workable together, or they would all be a lot smaller before this was said and done...
Carella sensed the shift in energy, and smiled. Good her voice projected to Karsten's mind, now just stay put while I take care of a few of these rotten meatbags if you can. She'd decided that it was time to play hardball.
Jumping up between two buildings, she decided to play with her new form a bit, and constructed a web between them, which promptly captured one freak in it as the imbecile ran straight into the sticky structure. These beasts were strong, but against threads that had the strength of many steel cables, all efforts were useless. She stabbed that one straight through, killing it instantly; however, the second one pursuing her used its claws to tear a gap in her beautifully made web. This infuriated Carella, who quickly assaulted the monster from above, stabbing it in the sides before biting it, injecting venom which degraded its cellular structure, inevitably and eventually killing the abomination as parts of it melted into slop.
Abandoning the freak, she made her way to Karsten, content for now with merely killing everything in her path until she was close enough to make out his scent above the overpowering stench of these freaks, both the living and the vanquished ones. Over here she hissed to him as she fiercely fought off more of them in order to continue, I'll need protection to get rid of that thing... will need... concentration...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 7, 2008 15:18:12 GMT -5
He simply nodded and stared at the orb with fascination, still aware of the danger lurking around them. The demon was still tempted to absorb this energy but he didn't. He walked calmly towards the demon he knew in a different form. He still hadn't figured out what to think of this new form of Carella. He listened to her carefully and then around them at the creatures who seem to be circling them now. He smiled and replied, You just do what you have to do, nothing will get close to you.
He turned and realized quickly that he would need a little more damage inducing capability if he had to keep all of them away from Carella. She stood against a thick wall so he only had three sides to worry about for now. He looked up at Maukri and Galius before howling in pain or anger as his body transformed. His skeleton moved and muscles grew. His shoulders grew broader and his legs, arms and back muscles seem to harden and grow. His claws grew bigger and his canines grew large enough to be visible to the enemy.
He growled loudly again and dug his feet down in front of Carella. He wouldn't give an inch of ground, that was the aim. The creatures began their assault, not one at a time anymore but in waves of three or four. Karsten ripped through them like paper, meeting the giants that would knock off a man from his feet, shoulder to shoulder and not budging. He hoped Carella would hurry up, he was using a large amount of energy and he didn't have the time to absorb any with the beasts attacking from three different directions.
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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 8, 2008 3:53:21 GMT -5
If he hadn't listened, Carella would have shredded Karsten, her lover, where he stood, no matter how much she loved him. It would be a blessing, as the power he would gain would prove to be far too much for an immature, under-realized demon to handle, and the human part of him would pretty much be sucked into the tenth level of Hades. Instead, she simply took the orb and began quickly spinning a hardened sort of cocoon around herself. The process took several minutes but she worked swiftly; her work with the orb would take longer, and she knew her shield couldn't hold out for that length of time. It took longer than expected, as she was new at this, and fumbled several times under the pressure of the situation all around her.
Thank you, love she calmly stated once she'd finished the barrier, I can take it from here. Do as you wish while I rid our path of these... insects. Sitting down (on all six of her 'legs'), she began concentrating, lulling herself into a deep trance as the chaos deepened outside. The barrier was stronger than steel-reinforced concrete, but even it wouldn't last forever; she needed to quickly defuse the orb, sending the malevolent demons back to the netherworld where they all belonged. It would take a while, but if she could get rid of even half of them, the beacon would be snuffed out and these beasts would cease following its darkened beam...
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Post by The Mammoth on Sept 13, 2008 5:55:56 GMT -5
Galius breathed heavily, looking around the rooftop he had landed on, there were still hundreds of these things, and no end in sight. He couldn't understand how they had got here so quickly. He looked around and pulled his bow, firing arrows with insane speed. The accuracy was off, but he couldn't waste time aiming. Each creature took a few shots, but they were falling as they tried to reach the rooftop. However, before long they had given up completely on trying to get to Galius and Maukri, and they had begun moving with frenzied speed toward the two demons. Now gave them the chance to pick as many off as they could. Galius felt his quiver, only about 15 arrows left...
He fired each of the 15 with pinpoint accuracy, only missing one of the creatures. Slinging his bow back over his shoulder, he lept from the rooftop and struck down two more on the fall. As he hit the ground he rolled. He couldn't get up as quickly as he had hoped. He was running out of energy. When he went to strike at one of the beasts, it struck him and sent him hurtling into a trash heap. He laid there for a moment as the beasts were not focused on him. He was slow, he was exhausted. He had killed more than fifty of these things, he was sure... He pulled himself from the trash and stood there looking at the abominations. He welled up with anger. He had never been defeated in battle, and the feeling of exhaustion, the feeling that he couldn't even kill one more, was one that he couldn't stand. As if to defy his own body, he rose to his feet and stepped forward from the rubble...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 15, 2008 9:29:21 GMT -5
As the barrier completed he jumped out of the way of the beasts who went straight for the barrier knowing what was happening inside. He jumped to the roof and landed a few feet away from Maukri. He looked towards her and saw a bit of surprise and fear on her face. He was breathing heavily and probably looked like he was out of control and would attack her.
He transformed back and looked around to find Galius gone. He looked down to see Galius fighting again, and slowing, visibly. His attention was then drawn to the cocoon Carella had made. It was already beginning to develop cracks! Carella, the shell is cracking. How much longer? He didn't mean to pressure her but just the numbers game was getting unbalanced now... against them.
He looked at Maukri and advised her, "Safe your arrows, only protect the cocoon, and don't hit me!" He didn't wait for a reply and transformed back. He needed energy and despite having so many potential preys he didn't have the time to get much. He jumped down right on top of the ones attacked the dome, crushing a neck under his feet. He absorbed a bit of that one before he was jolted back into the cocoon by another. He pushed himself away from the cocoon and drove the mass of beasts back pushing with all his strength.
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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 15, 2008 19:02:11 GMT -5
'This isn't as easy as you think!' Carella snapped back, watching helplessly as cracks formed right in front of her. Breaking her concentration momentarily, she spun temporary patches for those small cracks, filling them in as best she could before going back to what she was doing.
Maukri nodded, pulling something from her pack as she knelt. It was a last, desperate resort; a fire kit, of all things, consisting of a shaped piece of carbon steel and flint, with small pieces of a bird's nest and a layer of carbon cloth beneath. Setting a piece of the carbon cloth on the ground, she quickly worked, tearing up some of the dried but rotting rooftop around her to make a small fire a little aways from the edge once a spark caught. Grabbing some twine out of a pack at her side, she quickly fixed up a few arrows, wrapping and tying them with the thin rope. Once that was finished, she set the arrow near the flame, which quickly ignited; afterwards, Maukri put the kit away, saving it for another time. Standing, she took aim at the one nearest to Carella's cocoon, firing the arrow as hard as she could at the beast.
The effect was nothing short of spectacular; from where it struck, the abomination, made of nothing more than rotting flesh, burst into flames within several seconds as small pockets of methane and other degenerating substances caught fire. From the spot on its shoulder, its upper torso was engulfed in flames within a minute, the rank freak flailing as it realized that it was burning to death. Maukri smirked in satisfaction as she readied another arrow, aiming for yet another one as they began to turn their attention away from the real threat below, one by one... still too few to be of use, but it was a start. She only had about twenty arrows left, not nearly enough to take down every single freak, but enough to make bonfires out of a few of them...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 19, 2008 5:29:19 GMT -5
Karsten was getting swamped by now. They were way too many now and he was spending too much energy to go on like this for more than a few minutes. He didn't disturb Carella again. He had gained the ground between the cocoon and the waves of beasts again but now they were pushing him back towards it again. He didn't think he would be able to push them back again.
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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 19, 2008 7:34:30 GMT -5
She heard the cocoon's shell cracking again, and this time she didn't have the energy to repair it from her position. So, instead, she ignored, it, concentrating upon sending just a few more back to Hell. Another minute passed, and progress wasn't happening; finally, with every ounce in her being, she carved a massive influx of energy into the orb, making it highly unstable. Alright, I've done as much as I can' she said, carefully packing away what had essentially become a ticking time bomb, 'If you have anything left in you, get out of here. This should be enough to attract them away from the group... If I don't come back, forgive me... please... ... I love you...'
Not thinking about what she'd just said, not wanting to think on it, Carella sliced the cocoon open, cutting down one that had gotten too close. Without looking back, she busted her way out, climbing to the rooftops as she essentially became the beacon that caught the attention of all those freaks. She didn't want to see Karsten's face again, however much it pained her, for that would only make her decision ever harder to make...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 19, 2008 9:02:29 GMT -5
He looked back at the cocoon just before it burst open. He didn't have a chance to protest as he was knocked away into a building which crumbled on top of him just as he had to transform back because he had almost run out of energy to stay like that any longer. He still had enough strength to break out of the rubble on top of him only to see Carella already gone out of sight with most of the beasts following behind her.
He looked at the empty streets and shouted, "Galius, Maukri, we are going... NOW!" He looked back towards where he had seen her heading and tried to reach her, I love you too... Come back to me...
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Post by The Mammoth on Sept 19, 2008 17:51:58 GMT -5
Galius wasted no time with heartfelt goodbyes. He picked his blades out of the chest of one more creature and bailed in the direction of the keep. He ran through the alleys, weaving in and out of abominations for hundreds of yards until the coast was clear. Finally, when he had reached a clearing and had lost sight of the abominations, he stopped and fell into a lean against a nearby building. Clutching his side, be pulled a small claw nail from his flesh, tossing it on the ground and lifting up his jacket to look at the wound. It wasn't too deep, but it was across his whole side, and it was bleeding pretty badly. Galius had walked his way along the wall trying to keep moving, but eventually just slid to a seated position along the wall, blood in a path along the stone following him to where he sat.
He cursed his brother, he cursed his own weakness. He stewed there for a moment, his hand holding the wound so that it would slow the blood loss as much as possible. He had outrun the others, and he wondered if they would catch up. The thought that he could die right here was, oddly, not a troubling fate. He spat on the ground, knowing he was so close to reaching Warric. He could see the spire of the keep from where he was...
"Even if I fall here, your fate will be mine, like all of the pathetic human race..." Galius whispered under his breath, clinching his teeth in anger...
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Post by Da Pwny on Sept 19, 2008 23:15:33 GMT -5
Carella slowed visibly, a good distance from the abominations but not far enough. She wasn't sure if she could survive the blast, but she didn't want to find out. Turning a corner, she continued rushing, aiming to put as much distance between herself and the party, to at least give them a fighting chance at survival, even if it sacrificed her own life to do it... *yes, you'll get stuck with this one for a bit * Maukri heard the warning, and wasted no time. Leaping from the building she had been on, she dug the blade side of her bow into the stucco of one across from her, sliding partway down before freefalling the remaining distance. She had an idea of what was going on, and although she disapproved, she did not argue the point; instead, she fled, praying silently for her 'daughter's safety as she dashed into the alleyways, catching up last behind Karsten. Leaning against a wall, she gave herself a minute to catch her breath...
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Post by knightc3 on Sept 20, 2008 10:46:32 GMT -5
Karsten looked back and slowed down when he saw Maukri was far away. She had done well in the fight and in the process, gained Karsten's respect as an asset to the group rather than a liability. He walked towards Galius and and kneeled down and looked at him. He was in a bad state but then again a human body was not meant to be thrown around like a rag doll. He looked around and didn't see any energy emissions from the beasts. Karsten spoke to Galius, "I can help you heal everything if you let me, but you will have to trust me..."
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