|
Post by tsukikoko on Nov 21, 2019 5:37:45 GMT -6
[OOC: Sara continues trying to fight sword man. Roll: 15]
With Kira and the young dragon clear from immediate danger, Sara felt a strange sense of calm settle over her. Not that she was any less terrified, ducking and weaving past the giant trying to cleave her in half, but at least the other two were safe from it. She was exhausted, quivering with the effort of trying to wield a sword when she wasn't used to such a task, but that was okay. She would fight for them to her last, make up for where she had failed. While there were others in the group likely more proficient with a blade, she was practically uninjured and her own death, should it occur, might at least pave the way for another to finish the job.
The creature's reach was long, but slow. If the blade hit her, or should the large body send her flying, she was dead. She knew this, and the knowledge sent a shockwave of terrified adrenaline through her, narrowing her vision, focusing her mind and body to the singular threat in front of her. Even as she moved for it a fearful cry rose in her throat. She tried to keep close, slip past the behemoth's guard where it couldn't swing a proper strike at her. She aimed to strike at, or close to, the first hit she had landed, trying to crack open the chestplate further.
But she knew she couldn't stay still. She struck out quickly, trusting the blade's balance and seeming guidance from before, then darted around it again, trying to keep a step ahead of any retaliation strikes.
|
|
|
Post by Pearl Dragon on Nov 21, 2019 19:26:53 GMT -6
[Kira is carried by Cassius. If he continues to hold her, she will go where he goes. If he sets her down, she will go to the wall and then eventually to the door to at least get out of the way.}
Kira grasped at the woman, pulling weakly from behind when suddenly she felt hands come down on her in a grab, scooping her up and away. There was a barking cry of surprise from her, and a momentary struggle fueled by pure panic as images of the many-armed beast suddenly flashed before her eyes, so real that she could almost swear it was already covering her body in its ruthless grip to pry once more at her fur and jaw. She twisted in Cassius' grip and then met his eyes with her own terrified gaze. It wasn't the monster, but she was still dismayed to be where she was. Her struggles lessened, relenting to his superior hold and she resorted instead to whimpering pleas of mercy and balling herself into a curled posture within his hold.
As the man hurried her away, she glanced back and saw the armored creature swing the massive sword at the lady. She wasn't surprised to see that the armored figure was now attacking them, but a cry of hopelessness escaped her nonetheless. It was then that she relented completely and threw her arms around the man holding her in a desperate embrace.
"Please is no more! No more! Please!" She rambled senselessly over Cassius' shoulder. Her injured wing stung madly at her side, and she winced between sobs at the painful commotion of her senses. If she was set down, Kira would hold stubbornly for a moment longer before letting go in favor of pressing herself to the wall before stumbling towards the door. Once outside, she wouldn't be clear on what to do or where to go, but she needed to get out. If Cassius chose to hold onto her, she would resume clinging to him, rambling her panicked thoughts as quickly as they came to her.
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Nov 21, 2019 21:57:39 GMT -6
[Cassius carries Kira to relative safety, briefly reassures her, and then runs back to the fray to help support Sara if she needs it.]
Cassius did not let go of the wriggling bat-creature, moving quickly towards the relative safety of the strange sun-doorway as he shifted her weight to his shoulder. The bat creature was small but strong and quite hysterical at the moment. He supposed he could not blame it. This was a traumatic event, and he imagined, it would become even worse by the end. Perhaps, they would all die. He didn't like dwelling on the thought.
He ran to the sun door, carrying the small creature with him, before depositing her where he assumed it was relatively safe. They did not have much time. He looked down at her somberly. She was a sad sight, wailing, asking him to stop, telling him no. It was not the first time, and it would not be the last time.
Cassius paused for only a moment, as if contemplating staying with her and reassuring her, before moving back towards Sara and the knight. He had no weapon, but he could at least provide back-up if she needed it, and perhaps, attack the creature if it was needed. He had no skills or powers in his repertoire, only his luck and good reflexes, and he intended to make use of them if he could.
Sara was doing a good job so far, perhaps she had a fighting chance.
|
|
|
Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 21, 2019 22:29:33 GMT -6
[OOC: Edge tries to stay close to the walls and look for any possible high ground. He will move towards the other ungooped door, the one in the middle of the room, check what lies behind it. If there is no immediate signs of danger, he will move through.]
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Nov 21, 2019 22:37:23 GMT -6
[OOC: Draggo cowers just outside the threshold of where Sara is fighting the knight.]
|
|
|
Post by kilnarak on Nov 22, 2019 1:19:25 GMT -6
[ Ari takes a shard of broken armor for a weapon, then calls to the others to tell them his findings. He wonders if they fixed the broken one's heart, if it would fight for them. He's doubtful but... he's also doubtful that any of them will be able to take down the other golem. ]
Ari wasn't sure what to make of his search - the armor was thick and he couldn't break it by hand, but then he hadn't really expected to be able to. He picked up a sharp-looking piece that had broken off - it wasn't much of a weapon, would likely cut his hands before it cut anything else. Still, it was probably better than nothing - shifting would only bring the wrath of the gray-thing down on him faster.
Clutching his makeshift dagger, Ari turned his attention to the shattered interior of the golem, noting the runes though they were unlike anything he had seen before. Noting the shattered remains of the creature's heart. Sniffling a little, he poked at the heart with his armor-shard, turning it over, testing whether it would give under pressure. Then he reached down to pick it up, examining it more closely.
"It-It... There's a heart inside it, if-if you break it maybe it will stop? Or... m-maybe if you break the armor, you can just... just take it out?" The heart-chunk had come out pretty easily. He called back his findings to the others, but made no other move to join them out there. It was safer here, and... if his brief foray out before was anything to go off of, it might be more dangerous for them if he left. If they were invisible when he went out then... perhaps he was like Marche and Edge had been, that suffocating blackness.
Better not to test it. "D-Do you think, if we fixed this-this one, that it would fight for us?" He called again after a moment, doubtful.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Nov 22, 2019 3:06:30 GMT -6
Almost everyone: Sara's items: human effigy (2) Kira's items: carved fragment Draggo's items: broken flint necklace, sturdy rope, scholar's notes (1, 2), hideous cake (3), runed heart, simple knife, seeing stone
The notched sword carves another gash into the wall, a blackened warning. But Sara's agility gets her beneath its guard. The inlaid sword lends her arm an instinct all its own, and she scores another hit on the cracked section of plate. The point sticks no more than a few inches deep, but deep cracks spiderweb from the spot.
The knight responds with a heavy backhand - not with its sword arm, which is still recovering from the swing - but with its empty fist. The massive gauntlet strikes Sara's blade with a shivering clang, sending painful vibrations up her arm. She feels a line of pain across her cheek. Sees cold firelight glint off the sword as it spins out of her grip and off to one side of the hall. The knight is moving after her before it even hits the floor, shifting its weight in preparation for another swing. With so much force behind its blows, whether from sword or fist, the shifter can't endure a hit. Worse, the instinctive grace and fighting knowledge has drained from her muscles, leaving her with only her wits and the narrowing seconds before the blade comes down.
Meanwhile, in the gallery, Kira's movement along the wall brings her before the sun door and the boy's line of sight. Only for a moment. But in that brief period of interrupted vision, the looming entity gains ground. It crests the upper tier, engulfing entire feet at a time. The many mouths gape and reach, the sick hunger and malice but palpable. Then Kira's path takes her past him, and the spread halts.
A withered shape seems to move through the residue. Then a serpentine figure, headless but many-armed, can be seen through the mass of grey, cresting and submerging among other crusted shapes. Sometimes they seem to be separate figures. Sometimes one seething mass. It - they - open their pitted mouths, and a wail fills the gallery. To each listener, the voice sounds different.
Sara hears an almost animal scream, a gut-wrenching mix of pain and fear and defiance, near identical to her memory. It gutters and fades, as if the speaker lacks the strength for breath. To the dragon, however, it's a feeble, anguished moan. A watery sound - his father's final attempts to rise. Kira and Cassius hear the anguished voices of their own comrades and loved ones, desperate screams or sobs of the dying. Regardless of variation, each one seems to come from somewhere beyond the residue. Just within reach. Just out of sight.
Edge: Items: broken knife (2), silver chain, grey vial
Edge's search for high ground turns up little beside the broken table, the small cabinet, and the bookcase, which stands at about five feet, leaving a mere two feet of space from the ceiling. Every piece of furniture is dusted with residue, and the bookcase is closest to the hound room and the pursuing entities. In the current room, however, it's the only shelter he can see - tall, but with no visible escape from there.
The center door opens with difficulty, residue crunching and compressing around it. In the end, Edge is only able to open it halfway. The next door he attempts to open will likely be his last.
Edge is looking in on a familiar four-way intersection, now buried to hip height in residue. Edge can see the same empty alcoves in the left and right branches - can see the opposite door leading to the room where Marchelute was fatally burned. The alcoves, perhaps a foot above the residue, provide the only shelter. But at the rate the residue is falling, these may not be clear for long.
He must make his choice between the three remaining hallway doors, and soon. Alternatively, the lefthand door in the room behind him is still unexplored. If he's lucky, he may find better shelter there.
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Nov 22, 2019 16:07:26 GMT -6
[OOC: Sara launches the floor upwards beneath the giant's foot, in an attempt to throw it off balance, as she tries to duck out of the way of it's sword and scramble for her own one. Roll: 20]
Pain ricocheted down Sara's arm, fear lanced straight up her spine as she watched the sword, and her only means of defeating the giant, spiral out of her grip and across the hallway. A howling cry filled her world, a sound familiar but not her own. One that haunted her worst nightmares, fueled her greatest anger and most distressed panic. She saw a pair of emerald eyes, smelled burnt flesh and fresh blood, recalled the horrific, animal fear in her agent's eyes when he'd looked through her.
Sara screamed in response; a sound of effort and terror and sheer, unfiltered rage, as she threw her arm out towards the knight.
The floor responded in an instinctive instant, lurching up beneath the giant's foot in an effort to knock it off balance. Really, the shifter wanted to hurt it, destroy this whole damn place for daring to use her worst memories. But she was too mentally exhausted for anything aside from that brief explosion. Instead, Sara lurched away from the creature, dove for the sword she'd come to trust.
She aimed to grab it and then keep moving a few more paces before trying to turn around. She hadn't the energy, time or skill to attack the giant and she knew it, even with anger still pulsing a red haze behind her eyes. She needed to get clear, in case it swung for her again. But with her nostrils flaring and body quivering with a maelstrom of emotion, the shifter was more ready to fight than moments prior.
|
|
|
Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 22, 2019 16:59:45 GMT -6
[OOC: Edge will go into the four way intersection turn right (towards the chariot room) crawls into the alcove to avoid the residue and opens the door to the chariot room.]
Time was running out, there was no doubt in Edge’s mind about that. If he stayed here, this residue would kill him. He needed to find somewhere that was clear of this, free from it. And he didn’t even have a weapon on him with which to clear a path. But would that even work at this point? Still he didn’t have time to consider all the things he might have been able to do, if he had what he needed. He had to move, had to get out of here, sooner rather than later, because he feared that soon all options would be taken from him. If he went to the intersection, he could perhaps use the alcoves to move along, out of reach of the residue and find a way out then? It seemed like the best bet at the moment. He didn’t trust the door covered in residue, worried that the damage he’d do to his hands trying to get it open might screw him over more than he already was.
So did he really have a choice? On one side yes, and on the other no, there was a choice, but he had no indication of what either option entailed. It was like shooting in the dark, and he risked dying if he made the wrong choice. But then again, everything could be the wrong choice and perhaps the only real choice he had was between how quickly he wanted to die. With nothing to go on, he had to hope that what Ari had said earlier was true and not just some metaphor, that this was an actual nightmare, despite how real it felt. The pain, the fear, the exhaustion. Much too real for his liking.
But he made his decision, entering the hallway through the center door and moving quickly through the residue, towards the four way intersection. He moved as quickly as he could through the mass, gritting his teeth and glenching his hands as he moved. Fuck, this hurt.
As soon as he made it to the intersection, he turned right and climbed into the alcove, barely able to notice the lack of residue around him. And once again, he moved quickly towards the door he could see at the end of the hallway, body aching and tired. Once he made it to the door, his hands were shaking again, from pain, exhaustion and every other emotion he felt in this place, which, at this point had become an almost indistinguishable mass of negative space in his mind and body.
Hoping that he had made the right choice, he pushed open the door. He didn’t know what to do with himself if he hadn’t.
“Eda, please...”
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Nov 22, 2019 17:22:02 GMT -6
(Cassius asks Draggo for his knife to use against the knight. He prepared to intervene if Sara fails.)
Cassius saw Sara lose the sword, then scramble after it madly.
He saw no use in trying to wedge himself between her and the blade. If nothing else, he should find a weapon to use in case she could not. The only thing that was left that appeared to be weapon-like was the knife that the dragon-child was holding. The rest of the figures in this area were unarmed besides the monsters, and of course, the door, where he should never have left the notched sword. There were no others in the nearby space.
He closed the space between them as fast as he could, doing his best not to move too quickly. It might be frightening, considering the circumstances, especially those he left in. He took a moment to focus, and as gently as he could, he asked;
"Young man, can I make use of your knife?"
|
|
|
Post by okami1reeka333 on Nov 22, 2019 19:53:35 GMT -6
[OOC: hurting again but not as much as he could be, he chooses to possess one of the mummies to stagger it towards the sounds of fighting *towards Sara and the knight*. Can't see but gonna try to help! ; rolled a 19 to maintain control flipped a coin, Heads was knight, tails was Sara; grabbing for Sara; rolled a 20 for defense]
In the many attempts to regather himself, he grew to regret his action. hearing the commotions of the fight and the young man he pushed going into an absolute panic, his flame flickered in pain as he continued to try and reconstitute his own free will. However hearing the guttural sounds of another; unknown to him what it was, gave him an idea.
Perhaps he could borrow it? Help the group out.
he moved to possess it, the rotten whithered form near him. His fire manifested from the eye sockets of the life depraved form. "gruuuuuuh" was an attempt to talk, before he moved to try and head for a Knight? and Dr. Summers. He could hear them still and had a bit of a better sense of where things were.
But he still could not see anything.
He wants to help whoever was left, apart of him- a foreign unfamiliar part, wanted to stop them, if not simply watch. Perhaps throw the young man back at the knight, but can he really forsake a patient like that? as slow as he felt, he could tell this body had good hand strength . . . .perhaps he would grab one of them? He wants to grab the knight, but the other part wanted to grab the woman.
It felt like a 50/50 toss-up as to who he grabbed. But they were running out of time, they were injured with only God knows how much blood left in their system assuming they were only dealing with blood loss. He felt like he needed to do something.
When he is close enough, he will attempt to grab at the wrist/arm of one of the two.
He then felt something trying to force him out? he was not sure who or what- he couldn't tell, but he stubbornly clung onto the vessel like molasses in a porous vase. Although he was able to keep the vessel for now, as strong of a push as it was, he was not confident that he was going to be able to keep that up for long. . .
He did not know who he grabbed, but when he was close enough he grabbed for who he hopped was the knight, all the while the other part seemed to hope it was Dr. Summers he grabbed. If only he could see what was going on.
|
|
|
Post by Vaitris on Nov 22, 2019 20:50:39 GMT -6
[OOC: Trying to help, Hau tries to take control of the mummy as well but fails to possess it. (17)]
He remembered falling, of choking on blood, and a black, all-consuming pain. Sara's voice saying his name, coaxing him to stay awake. A sensation of movement that was drown out by a tidal wave of agony. The shattering crack of his head.
Then nothing.
It was dark but there were voices, familiar ones. For a moment he was unsure, was he really dead? But the confusion was fleeting. Hau felt weightless, detached, drifting along in a starless night. His head still hurt. Except, he didn't have a head anymore. But that realization didn't erase the impression of pain, of a foul sort of weight pressing on him. It made it hard to think, to reason. Despite that, though, he could tell he was still in the tomb. Nothing could make him mistake that fact. This place was clinging to him like a snare. Anchoring, trapping.
He focused on the sounds around him, heard the turmoil. He wanted to help, to spite this damned place. But he had no advice, no aid to give, he barely had any idea what was going on except that the other survivors were still under assault. In the midst of it all he could just detect the deep moan of the undead. One of the charioteers, likely. Maybe he could prevent more chaos at least. Hau followed the sound of the thing’s shambling footsteps, tried to push his way inside, but found another presence had already taken over. He tried to wrest control, the fire in its eyes perhaps briefly flashing to blue as he struggled, but in the end his efforts failed and he was evicted from the form and left to find some other avenue to help.
|
|
|
Post by Pearl Dragon on Nov 22, 2019 21:04:43 GMT -6
[Kira is put by the sun door. She gets freaked out momentarily by the shadows and then notices the boy. She moves closer to him, trying to reassure him but ultimately at a loss of what else she can do. So she waits and watches the shadows with the boy.]
Cassius moved to place her down again, her grip tightened around his neck and shoulders, reluctant to let go, until she was finally on the ground. The moment Kira's feet touched cold stone, she crumpled against the sun door in a trembling ball. All around her, the shadows seemed to pulse inward as if to advance, and she threw her wings over her head, a feeble attempt to protect herself. In her panic, she didn't even notice the boy until she uncovered her eyes to see if she'd been eaten yet. The shadows, it seemed, had halted their advance.
When Kira finally looked over and spotted the boy, she felt a lump in her throat suddenly rise.
She gasped in joy, seeing him safe from the old man who'd attacked him earlier, and huddled quickly next to him. She looked him over, breathing in fearful gasps as she struggled to keep herself under control. Thankfully, her worry for the boy had temporarily distracted her from her growing madness.
"Is get out! We need to is get out!" She whispered harshly, her voice barely a squeak in the echoing darkness. Her eyes were drawn momentarily up at the door, and then to the one sword protruding from one of the slots. It was just like the one the armored being had...was that their way out? Kira shivered against the door, keeping close beside the boy and gazing back towards the doorway. They needed to get that sword, and she guessed that was what the green-tailed lady Sara was doing. The boy, meanwhile, stared expressionless at the surrounding shadows. Kira leaned closer to him and took a deep rattling breath. "Is be ok, we be is get out together." She said in a low voice, trying to sound hopeful and reassuring but unable to hide her own fear of the entire situation. She opened her mouth to say something else, but no words came. She could only wait and swallow back her wordless terror while the darkness loomed all around them.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Nov 22, 2019 22:26:11 GMT -6
[OOC: Draggo cowers on the floor wishing for Azho to come save him, and then gets startled by the mummy Jed is possessing. He gets (possibly) tangled up in it when the mummy tries to get past him.]
He was the frightened hatchling again, wordless save for the calling of a child for a parent. His human vocal cords couldn't quite make the sound and it came out as more of a pained wail than a mother call, but the sentiment was the same. The juvenile curled tighter in on himself, arms around his knees, and sobbed. He wanted Kanagi to come save him as he had done when the dragon had been small, but there would be no rescue. Kanagi was dead, and the dragon had left him alone in his final moments. He wanted Marchelute, but his baba had disappeared into the darkness and had not resurfaced again but for the familiar sound of his growl. He wanted Azho, but she was gone too - and oh how he wanted Azho. He wanted her comforting presence to soothe his fears and quiet the trembling as she always had. He wanted her to take away the nightmares, to protect him, to be a comfort when he was most scared.
And he was quite terrified now. The sight of the armored figure Sara was facing off with sent him into unchecked hysterics. The juvenile had all but shut down, lost somewhere between the past and the present, and did not even hear Cassius' request. The giant figure was an amalgamation of itself and the faces of the men who had attacked his aerie, and the scent of blood was thick in the air. Kanagi's death moan only enhanced whatever hallucinations he was having, rather than draw him away.
It was only the movement of something passing close by that dragged him out of his panic. A mummy was shambling toward Sara, but to get to her it had to practically step over his huddled form since he was sprawled in the middle of the threshold. The juvenile recoiled from it, and the sudden movement caused him to get tangled in its limbs. This only alarmed him further and the resulting panic and flailing would quite possibly take them both to the ground.
|
|
|
Post by kilnarak on Nov 22, 2019 22:36:08 GMT -6
[ Ari looks for the scarred man, then retreats to cower in the corner. If he sees the grey thing moving into his room, he's going to use the armor-piece as a knife. ]
No one seemed to hear him - or if they did, they didn't respond to him. Perhaps his findings weren't important in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps they weren't helpful in any way at all, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. At least he had that jagged shard of armor to use as a knife. When the gray mass finally broke through... he could perhaps end things before it got to him.
Ari looked out, watching the others. There was the bat thing, cowering by the child-thing. And Marchelute's dragon-son, tangled with a mummy. They were outside of his room, there was nothing he could do. If he stepped into the hall he was sure things would become worse. There was Sara, still fighting - or perhaps fleeing? - the giant. And the man with the glasgow-smile, ready to fight it as well. Where had the other scarred man gone?
He barely had time to register the thought when the screaming began. His own voice echoed back at him, sounds he had made earlier in his life, in the time he had thought himself distanced from. Ari flinched down at the noise, clutching tight enough that the shard of armor bit into his fingers. He wedged himself into the corner again, whimpering and waiting for the end.
|
|