Fantasy Aetherspark IC

[MageMantis]

“Elegant words for a feral creature.” The Exontian Woman swung at Kanon as if she were cutting an ‘x’ into the air, anticipating Kanon to block these swings as sparks would fly if she did. She fought with a strange finesse, implying possibly guard history or present guard duty, a lot of signs pointing to some of these Exontians being corrupt Aduros village guards.

The woman then abruptly seized this distraction onslaught on Kanon’s guard to kick her in the shin, where she would afterwards attempt to forcefully disarm the Red Panda with her steel. If this was successful, the woman would poke Kanon in the eyes before attempting a follow-up attack.

Fangs9090

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

PARIS ALISTAIR FONTENETTE

Paris was partially glad to hear someone giving him a sense of directions, but he wasn't able to leave. Not so easily, of course, because some human with a spiky weapon was turning over to him in a raging fit. "Thanks for the advice, however I couldn't have gotten gutted by these...whatever they are. I came willingly, whether it be you consider me a psycho or something else." His taunt reached the Exontian's ears quite quickly, and they had started charging towards him with haste. He raised a hand, a few blue flames sent to lick the edges of the flail in order to soften and melt them, as well as make it smooth-surfaced. When he had been pushed to the ground by his 'opponent', the round-ended ball part had hit his shoulder without a single ounce of remorse. Have I not been attacked enough already? He gripped the other man's shoulder from where he lay, as if about to console them, but all he did was whisper. "I think it's time for someone to sleep."

A small sparkling powder had fluttered over the Exontian's gaze, and for a moment Paris was sure he was going to be swung at again, but his sleeping magic had landed perfectly. Just ahead, another person was starting after him, after seeing how their companion was practically dreaming already. He simply lifted his legs to kick them backwards, a hand set to the dozed off human's chest so that he could burn them while they napped. It was like cleaning up lost litter. The being that had been trampled over by Paris' feet looked hesitant now, unsure whether or not it was safe going near a conjurer of fire.

Interactions: MageMantis & SilverFlight

 

[Fangs9090]

This certainly had training, and Kanon wasn't expecting them to fight cleanly. She held her guard against the first strikes. The shin kick landed, but that was one of few places where Kanon did have armor. She stepped back from the follow up before taking the offense. She had a longer blade, so she didn't need to close the gap before swinging with a wide horizontal slash.

 

[MageMantis]

The Exontian Woman barely blocked the swing with her sword, staggering as sparks flew. She sloppily attempted to thrust her sword into the part of Kanon’s torso that was exposed. If this succeeded, she would pull the blade out and attempt slash at her throat. If this failed, she would make a desperate move to try and punch Kanon in the face with her open hand.

Fangs9090

 

[Gummy Worm]

Shinobi jumped just in time and drew his dagger with his tail before slashing his throat and kicking him backwards before landing next to the fallen sword, it was made of crummy metal and clearly made as a brutality weapon but it had a certian charm about it. he decided to slide it into Denvers bag as the goat looked up at Korro. "Im ok, really...this is all just...so weird"

MageMantis SilverFlight

 

[Fangs9090]

Kanon sidestepped the thrust, seeing that her opponent was getting desperate. She'd found that a lot of sword fighters would go for a punch when getting desperate, trying to catch their enemy off guard. Expecting this, Kanon was able to grab the woman by the wrist, pulling her off balance while moving around behind her. From there, with both hands on her weapon again, Kanon jumped and brought her blade down at her opponent's shoulder.

 

[MageMantis]

The Exontian woman fell to her knees as blood gushed from her shoulder, the lady seething in pain as tears escaped her eyes. “P-please, I do not want to die!” Begged she, contradicting her claim of not caring for her life earlier.

Fangs9090

 

[Noble Scion]

Aaliyah Sh'ahn

Following the group as their party would meet their next encounter, Aaliyah would lay her eyes upon Paris, and she would smile. Warren was an elf, and Warren was her closest friend in their adventuring squad, so seeing him, she couldn't help be reminded of him, hoping that he would be just as nice to her as she'd eagerly hope to greet him.

Though given his predicament, whether she'd actually get the chance to meet him was rather slim. It seemed the others also had the same thought as Korro would charge out into battle to save him, startling her with the lack of subtlety.

Aaliyah just about had the time to stand up before she'd be faced with her opponent, a stocky, bearded child with a foul tongue that seemed older than her, despite his size.

"Garuda isn't a- GH-!" Aaliyah would retort before the chain would wrap around her neck, cutting her off before woefully unprepared sahagin would tumble forward, Garuda falling to the ground as he'd slip from her arms, more prepared that she was as its instincts would flare into action. With his mother grimly serving as a distraction, the young stormcleaver would waste no time in leaping at her attacker, spinning horizontally to whip the blade of its tail at the man's neck with a genetically honed precision.

Aaliyah on the other hand, would tug at the chain on her neck gasping for air, her hands holding her lightly strangled neck as she'd try to wrestle for some air, thankfully muscled from living life under the ocean and fighting the torrents day-in and day-out to 'play' as the dwarf would find it much harder to kill her than one would have expected of someone so pretty.

MageMantis SilverFlight THEKAZUHA_ANEMO

 

[MageMantis]

The dwarvern man gripped the chain as he wrestled with the surprisingly resistant fish lady. “Tryin’ to be a hero, eh?” Spoke he as he struggled with the chain, pulling Aayliah closer using the chain as he removed his other hand from it to whip out a sharp dagger as dwarvern might continued to clash with sahagin strength. “There are no heroes in this world, lass. Only survivors.”

The dwarf’s hubris would prove to be his doom, as the last thing he would see would be Garuda’s bladed-tail swinging towards him as it chopped his head clean off of his bulky shoulders in a gloriously gory display. Red dwarvern blood sprawled down his now stump of a neck as his body toppled over. The Exontian Dwarf’s severed head rolled next to Aayliah, the eyes blinking and looking around still almost as if he had a delayed reaction to his demise.

Noble Scion

 

[Fangs9090]

"Neither did whoever may have perished at your hand." Kanon pulled her blade from the woman's shoulder. "Go now to your afterlife. May it not disappoint you." With one swift swing, she cleaved the woman's head off.

 

[SilverFlight]

"Perhaps we should get you to a healer in the next town. Maybe they can help." He spoke softly to Denver, clearly still worried.
Korro racked his brain, then he thought of one possible thing he could try...but if he did that he would have to speak to....him.
The wolf unconsciously made a face, but, if it would help Denver, we was willing to try.

"Are we finished here?" Korro shouted to the others. He knew they could handle themselves, after the acid-riddled horror that had bought them together, a few cultists was light work. "We should get to our next stop, I want to find out what is happening to Denver. I need to know more about the porcelain markings, not to mention he's just been bloody possessed."

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Korro picked up the pack he had dropped to fight.

Gummy Worm MageMantis Noble Scion Fangs9090

 

[MageMantis]

The Exontian Woman’s head rolled across the grass like an apple fallen from a tree. Her bloodshot eyes looked to the sky, as she joined her husband amongst the dead. With the Exontians dead or having retreated, silence returned to the forest.

Barracuda wiped down his boomerangs with his Sponge Otter Handkerchief as he stormed to Shinobi. He glared down at the Possumfolk, his voice rife with rage, “Shinobi, your impulsiveness with the Irklings could have costed us a member. If you are going to accompany us, you must think before you take initiative, lest you be a liability.” Scolded he.

Blestare and Steel-Mage recovered, standing as they looked around. Blestare noticed Paris and lit up, bounding over to the Elf. “Hi! I’m Blestare! We’re looking for the Aetherspark, wanna join us?” Invitingly greeted he, his hands clutched in excitement while his tail wagged behind him, his ears and bone-wings pointing to the heavens.

Fangs9090 Gummy Worm THEKAZUHA_ANEMO SilverFlight Noble Scion Stern LuLuLu

 

[Fangs9090]

Kanon swiped her blade clean before returning it to its sheath. She glanced around for Adelynn, first and foremost. Seeing her walking towards them, she turned her attention to other matters. Nodding in agreement with Barracuda, she looked to Korro. “You were likewise more impulsive than you should have been. It’s unlikely that could have been resolved peacefully, but the attempt should have been made regardless.”

Adelynn walked up to the others once it was clear the battle was done, hoping to help with healing, if she could. She came to Aaliyah first, helping her be rid of the chain and getting her to her feet.

MoonShadow was already searching the bodies for food. Sure, she could eat the bodies, but she’d learned by now that people usually carried food that was better than they were. And she wasn’t exactly short on food at the moment, which was new for her. “This lot is a better food source than I expected.” They seemed to attract trouble, and that trouble left quite a bit of food behind.

 

[Stern LuLuLu]

Lena hovered just above the chaos, her heart racing as she surveyed the tumultuous battlefield where her friends clashed fiercely with the Exontiane. She kept her presence hidden, waiting until most of her group was gathered before making her move.

Finally, she spotted Lauren, who had just landed gracefully amid the aftermath of their fierce struggle. "Hello, everyone! It's great to see you're all still breathing!" Lena called out, her voice cutting through at the end of the battle. She quickly took in the wreckage around them, then turned her gaze to Paris. “Looks like not much has changed in our approach to things. Are we adding a new member to our crew? If so, it's a pleasure to meet you!" With a mischievous grin.“ Would anyone like a hand with something?”

MageMantis SilverFlight Noble Scion Gummy Worm Fangs9090 THEKAZUHA_ANEMO

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

PARIS ALISTAIR FONTENETTE

Unlike how Denver, the goat, had spoken, the battle continued on until every single Exontian that stayed seemed to have a bloody scar over their body. Paris silently listened to the conversation going around by the group, only to find some sort of beast approaching. If he had been counting right, most of the people here were more animal-like than anything else. "What an utter blasphemy," He pointed a look to the withered-winged creature, as if very hesitant to even respond to them. Yet, his interest was peaked when Aetherspark had been mentioned. Surely he had heard about it, though he never dwelled with the problem too much. To some, it may seem intriguing to find such a special gift, but to him it sounded like a toy.

"Searching for the Aetherspark with this lot? Are you sure there isn't some sort of leader you go by?" Paris could tell half the travelers were either really sparky, or more bark than bite, and still he couldn't pin point the one who was spewing out orders; if there was one in the first place.

Interactions: MageMantis

 

[MageMantis]

Not knowing what the word blasphemy meant, Blestare shrugged off the comment as his eyes continued to be filled with joy and his tail swung left-and-right. He then turned to Kanon, pointing at her with a claw as he then faced Paris with a resolute smile, “Kanon is our leader. We follow her.” Explained he.

Meanwhile, Elixen walked back to the others, yawning to reveal a mouth stained with fresh blood as she then spotted Helena. She strolled over, entering earshot after the Fae had finished speaking. The quadrupedal Cheetah’s eyes locked on the Fae, “How did the experimenting go?” Asked she, curious to see whether or not Helena almost caused a disaster.

Stern LuLuLu Fangs9090 THEKAZUHA_ANEMO

 

[Fangs9090]

Kanon looked over as she was pointed out to be the leader. “When we all met not long ago, it was decided I would be best suited to the role, so I accepted it. What you saw just now was not our best moment, in regards to organization.”

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

PARIS ALISTAIR FONTENETTE

Paris simply nodded slowly when the 'deformed one' before him pointed to a female panda. In his opinion, there probably was a better choice waiting out there, but who was he to be speaking? He barely knew anyone around here, much less the qualities the so-called leader had. It wasn't long before the lady in question had started to speak for herself, whilst cleaning the edge of a sharp blade and letting it skew back inside the scabbard where it could be sheathed.

"Do any of you have a plan then? A lead of some sort, or are you walking into such a trap blindly? Because I'm sure the Aetherspark could be anywhere but beneath your gazes." Paris daintily rose a hand to smear off any blood on him meanwhile, no longer seeing a satisfaction in the color as he did before.

Interactions/Mentions: Fangs9090 & MageMantis

 

[Noble Scion]

Aaliyah Sh'ahn

As shocked as she was thankful, Aaliyah would cough and hack as air would fill her lungs once more, her recovery aided by Adelynn and a cheerful Garuda skipping its way back to her now that the one attacking his mother had been dealt with, along with the freshly decapitated head.

"Thank you- Eek!" The sahagin princess would let out a squeal mid-thanks to the red-panda woman before kicking the head away, scrambling to pick up her pet as she'd take a few steps back as she'd try to get the image of this new trauma out of her mind.

She was largely unharmed outside of some bruising, her cuddling of the stormcleaver pup serving to help soothe her like an emotional support dragon now that the immediate danger was dealt with, each of the exontians swiftly dealt with as usual.

Helena would get a small, cheery wave from Aaliyah at her return before she would get to work washing Garuda's tail of any remaining gore, her face a symbol of displeasure, but it was one of the necessities of adventuring, she supposed.

While performing the task, she'd keep timidly eyeing Paris as she'd listen, baffled by his lackluster response to being saved as he'd seem more bothered by their party than anything, and even less intimidated by the blood. They were clearly used to it unlike her, and that fact scared her, a little like how Akila or Kanon scared her with their competence, not that she'd tell anyone as much.

Korro seemed to share her thoughts at his lack of gratitude, and she couldn't help but let out a giggle at his response.

Fangs9090 MageMantis THEKAZUHA_ANEMO SilverFlight Stern LuLuLu

 

[Stern LuLuLu]

Lena hovered around Paris taking in his features for a fleeting moment before her gaze shifted to Elixen. "Another elf, or at least part elf—how thrilling! Our crew just keeps growing it really is nice." With a thoughtful pause, she turned to Elixe, her excitement still palpable. "Honestly, things went pretty well—aside from a few bystanders who really had no business being there. They ended up being put to sleep and... well, let's just say the variant of Larkothens I was testing had a rather unfortunate appetite. Now that I think about it, they were dressed suspiciously similar to these folks. But I digress; so I had to scrap that plan for now anyway."

She paused for a moment, a playful smile dancing on her lips, and with a flourish, she revealed her latest creation: a staff that shimmered with a hint of magic. "Behold this marvel of craftsmanship! It’s a treasure I made from the materials from the Entomancer’s throne room," she declared, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I’ve been messing with it since our last encounter with the Entomancer. This beauty can hold an immense amount of magic and unleash it in its purest form—or, even better, channel the user’s most attuned type of magic. It has other capabilities, some similar to what the Entomancer could do, but honestly, that’s not what interests me."There were some side effects to using it, but they would not matter if she was the only one using it.

Spoiler: Staff

She caught herself rambling and chuckled, "Apologies! I got a bit carried away there. Anyway, my assistant and I were planning some more tests, but then a rather peculiar messenger bird showed up for him with urgent news about his master. He didn’t give me the details before taking off, so here I am, left to my own devices." Lena would move over to Aaliyah. I was asked to do what I can for you until my my assistant comes back. So by all means please ask me if you need anything of me. Leaning casually on her new staff, she tilted her head and asked."So, what’s on the agenda now people?"

MageMantis SilverFlight Noble Scion Gummy Worm THEKAZUHA_ANEMO

 

[MageMantis]

"Most of us took a contract from Lyrenia to kill an Archmage Entomancer who had singlehandedly been tormenting their kingdom for centuries." Detailed Barracuda to Paris. It was likely common knowledge to most that the Kingdom of Lyrenia's intelligence had been the first ones ever to discover the first lead on the Aetherspark months ago, but also that they themselves had no interest in chasing after artifacts that attracted trouble. "Most of us present were the only survivors out of the 200 contractors. In exchange for our services, Lyrenia provided us with the lead to the Aetherspark." Clarified the Gunslinger, as he unrolled and displayed the map scroll the Lyrenians had given them, which marked a path towards the southwest shores of Lyrenia to a small island off the coast of Rekronia that was circled. "A temple that will aid us in our search."

Rustling could be heard from the trees above, before Quickclaw stylishly landed next to Paris on two feet and one hand. The Lizardfolk woman dressed in black light leather armor sprung to her feet. She seemed to be missing her tail entirely. “Lyrenia is also kind of gonna announce the lead to the whole world in two weeks, so we’re under a bit of pressure.” Added she as she stared at Paris.

Akila slithered to Aayliah, crimson blood dripping from her khopeshes as she cleaned them. The mummy snakefolk grimaced deviously at the sahagin, “HAH! Your little lizard contributed more to our efforts than the likesssssssss of you.” Taunted the undead snake as she lifted her bandaged snout into the air. “I suppose that is not surprising: The most you are good for is bait.” Mocked she.

THEKAZUHA_ANEMO Noble Scion

 

[Gummy Worm]

Denver winced a bit, Korro was very clearly concerned about all this. He didn't know what to do, should he tell the wolf? Would that put his mind at ease? "Oh yes great idea Denver...just walk up to your closest friend and say 'oh by the way Korro Im being possessed by my dead mother, hope that's not a problem' because THAT will help..." he thought scornfully towards himself as he looked at his hands, he wondered how long it would take to spread and what would happen when it did.

Shinobi had fallen in beside the group. His clothes were still stained with both blue and red blood, he looked around at the rest. Most of their hands were still clean, why was he the one who had to draw the most blood? The possum looked off to the side and rolled his eyes "because your stronger. Your gonna have to do the dirty work that these "heroes" wont do...Your a pest Shinobi...The lowest of the low...its time you accepted that" he thought to himself as he looked at his clean sword.

SilverFlight

 

[MageMantis]

Quickclaw skipped over to the group’s supply backpack, rummaging inside before pulling out a book with a blank black cover and a bottle of ink before she held the book by pressing it against her neck with her chin. She then stealthily scuttled up a tree where she could be heard scribbling in the tree tops whilst occasionally glancing at Paris. She scribbled his likeness in the top left of the parchment near where Helena was sketched.

Without much warning aside from the scent of Lizardfolk and the sound of shifting leaves, Korro’s vision would be met with an upside-down Quickclaw who dangled from a sturdy branch by her legs. “Hey, so next time we’re at the enemy’s doorstep, can you wait before-“

From a branch above, a piece of parchment would drift down next to Korro and flipped over to reveal a pack of doodles. The poorly drawn images seemed to depict their party as the parchment sat where everybody could bear witness.

“Whoops.” Expressed she.

Spoiler:

Steel-Mage text bubble: “I hate people who walk slowly in front of me.”

Bottom right text: “Possum Strategy”

Barracuda looked to Paris. “If that will be all, then we should be on our way.” Spoke he as he reached for his compass. “Farewell and safe travels.” He then pointed to a point in the woods to a path in the distance that would bring them to their next destination. “This way.” Detailed he as he started walking, Elixen, Steel-Mage, and Tonnie starting to follow suite.

THEKAZUHA_ANEMO SilverFlight Gummy Worm Fangs9090 Noble Scion Stern LuLuLu

 

[SilverFlight]

Korro regarded Denver as they began to move. The goat looked like he wanted to say something and then didn't. Korro studied him carefully.
"You're beating yourself up again." He observed quietly. "You get that look on your face whenever you're thinking mean things about yourself. Whatever it's about, stop it."
He said it with half a smile. "We'll find someone who can help with this. I promise."

He noticed Shinobi had suddenly gone quiet nearby too. To the possum, he delivered a light cuff to the back of his head.
"No moping, sad sack. You fought well today, you should be proud." They were the first nice words Korro had had for the possum, but he believed in credit where it was due. Shinobi had been an asset, if a little impulsive, and Korro was happy to have the extra blade.

Korro nearly overbalanced just then, as the added weight of Quickclaw on his bag made him tip backwards. "Hey!" He barked as she fished out the paper and ink and darted up a tree like a scaly green squirrel.

When she dropped down in front of his face he stopped with a weary expression.
"Why am I getting a lecture? Or did you forget it was Adelyn that rushed into the ripper plant, or Shinobi that gutted the irkling?"
The paper floated down before him and he snatched it up.
"What is this?...wait, is that me?! Why do I look like a pig?...Did you draw me DYING?!"
Korro dropped the paper and made a lunge for Quickclaw. "You little--How about if I test to see if your tail grows back!"

((I love that drawing so much.))

Gummy Worm MageMantis

 

[MageMantis]

Quickclaw jumped back with a screech. “Wait, that was supposed to be Shinobi, not you! You’re the one with the big nose next to Denver!” Blurted she in a panic, her missing tail still not having grown back since it was burned off at the Entomancer's palace.

Blestare gawked before running behind Korro and grabbing him, straining his muscles as he pulled him back with immense strength. Given Korro's supernatural and barbaric brawn, Blestare seemed to struggle holding his fellow wolfman and seemed in need of help.

Elixen darted in-between Korro and Quickclaw and shot a stern look Korro’s way as she firmly planted her paws. Barracuda walked over, “Warwolf, we haven’t the time.” Shouted he.

SilverFlight