Fantasy Dragoon (OPEN)

[xrakkax]

Enkerzed

No time to chat in mid-air, Reiyu gave Kherek a nod of acknowledgment and mutual sentiment. Then it was down to business.

Shimming up the chain like a monkey on a vine, Reiyu used the sudden jerks of the dragons head to her advantage. The dragon pulled left, then right— up the length of the chain Reiyu went, with each powerful swing of the scaly beast, getting that much closer to the head; that much closer to roping the chain around its noggin’ like a horses harness. Reiyu’s hand clasped the chains wound tight around it and pulled herself onto the dragons snout. Without hesitation, she pulled a javelin from those strapped to her back and thrust it at the dragons eye.

Reiyu [Abilities: None ; Stamina: 10/10]

 

[Azallea]

TheSortingHat Enkerzed

Cassandra Fariá

"Yeah, but I don't think we'll be able to move all of it", Cassandra commented while getting down to business and starting to remove the chunks she was able to lift. "Some look quite heavy, and I haven't learned how to enhance my strength yet", she sighed, but just as she said that, Wit arrived. "Speak of the devil.. Wit, don't you know Enhanced Strength?"

She continued clearing the path to the doors, determined not to leave a boy motherless. Not if she could help it. Sorta help, anyway.
Focused on hearing at least some noise from inside the room to confirm the wellbeing of the woman stuck inside, she instead picked up a sound from outside the house. "Chiara?", she questioned out loud. "Did you hear her too?", she asked Wit and Ravyn, looking at the enterence and trying to see something, but ultimately seeing only darkness thanks to the smoke obscuring her vision.

-------------------------------

Cassandra used Enhanced Hearing. Her stamina is now 9/10.

 

[TheSortingHat]

Wit Alethkar

"Yeah, I do. I will get these larger pieces out of the way." Wit replied and began lifting a large piece, but at the mention of Chiara's name, he became heavily distracted and dropped the section of ceiling onto the floor with a crash. It shook the surrounding area and more of the roof caved in right next to Ravyn who stepped to the side swiftly.

"Hey, watch it! You almost got me crushed!" Ravyn yelled at his younger brother as he brushed off some of the small pieces that had hit his shoulder.

"Sorry, didn't mean for that to happen." Wit said apologetically.

Wit looks up and follows Cass's gaze only to realize the smoke was too thick to see anything.
"I didn't hear anything." Wit answered.

"Ravyn, can you go see if there is a girl outside? I have to clear this door." Wit asked his brother.
"Gaia, I hope she's alright." He thought to himself. He sighed and turned back toward the piece of rubble that he had dropped.

"You said her name is Chiara? I'll try to find her." Ravyn said to the both of them and turned to leave.

"Yes, her name is Chiara. Be careful." Wit replied. "And, tell her me and Cass are in here." He continued as he lifted the piece out of the way.
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Wit used Enhanced Strength twice in this post. His stamina is now 6/10.

 

[Enkerzed]

xrakkax

The dragon flinched and tried to scream as it felt an explosion of pain in its eye, but its jaws were still fastened shut and the orc responsible for it was now standing upon its snout, riding it like some kind of steed. If the beast was angry before, it was now on the verge of going absolutely mad with rage. Flinging its head more violently than before, it dipped one wing and raised the other as it banked steeply to the left, tilting more and more until its wingspan was almost perpendicular to the ground. Then in another feat of acrobatic skill that no creature its size should have been capable of, the dragon suddenly tucked in its wings and spun into a barrel roll.

At the very apex of his Leap, Kherek had just managed to catch onto the end of the dragon's swinging tail before it began to tumble across the sky like a flying drill. With his arms wrapped around the tail and his feet dangling in the air behind him, it was all the dwarf could do to simply hang on. He could only imagine what it was like for Reiyu, that was if she was still even there at the dragon's head.

Come on you bastard, Kherek thought, gritting his teeth with grim determination as he fought against the forces pulling at his body. Is that all you got?

With its jaws bound, the dragon could no longer breathe fire and pose any threat to the town from above. However, if this kept on then the chain would slowly but surely become unraveled and after that, it would be back to square one. Kherek silently promised that as soon as the dragon stopped rolling, he was going to take one of its wings. As it was now though, he did not dare move a single finger lest he be flung off. Surely this had to end sometime.

~~~
​

TheSortingHat Azallea

Meanwhile, Chiara stood outside the burning house as she waited for a response to her calls. Nothing so far, but she definitely had the attention of the children in the wagon, who were watching the doorway before turning their attention towards her. She did not notice it before, but now that they were facing her, Chiara realized that the boy had Wit's scarf around his head and on a closer view, the horse clearly had a white patch on its forehead. It could only be Cassandra's, or 'Cake' as she had named it.

Of course the newcomer would leave her horse out here, Chiara mused as she shook her head, thinking of Cassandra and then of Wit. And of course you'd run into a burning building.

Eventually, someone did emerge from the smoking doorway, but it was neither Wit nor Cassandra. It was an elf with a green cloak and long dark brown hair, not like Wit who liked to keep his short.

"Who the hell are you?" Chiara said upon seeing the stranger.

Kherek used Enhanced Strength to hang onto the dragon's tail. His stamina is now 5/10.

Chiara has not used any abilities. Her stamina is now 8/10.​

 

[xrakkax]

Enkerzed

The chain still gripped by her hand, kept Reiyu steady while the dragon thrashed, though she did use prana for strength and to guide the chain. As the fire-breathing demon had been positioning itself to barrel-roll, Reiyu wasted no time to shift her own body to the underside of its throat. Fortunately the shape the dragon had to curl itself into for this sky-roll made for a perfect pocket of protection from impact with the body of the dragon as a kind of semi-cocoon around her. Additionally, by the laws of physics, the dragons momentum and spin pressed her into it rather than would fling her off.

Reiyu pulled the second javelin from her back. Again, she went to strike. This time her aim was to skewer it through the throat and up through the top of its skull. Unless the dragon righted itself, Reiyu was confident in her intentions.

Reiyu [Abilities: Strength, guide ; Stamina: 8/10]

 

[TheSortingHat]

Ravyn Alethkar Enkerzed

Ravyn ducked under the broken doorway and out into the street. He stopped briefly to make sure the kids were alright and continued on his way.
Squinting through the smoke, he could see the silhouette of a woman standing not too far from the wagon. As he got closer he could make out long brown hair on a slender figure and she was being oddly hostile for someone he had just met.

"Umm my name is Ravyn. I'm looking for someone named Chiara. Would that by any chance be you?" Ravyn asked the stranger.

Wit Alethkar Azallea

Back in the burning house, Wit was working away at the pile of ceiling fragments as quickly as he could, picking up large chunks and tossing them to the side, careful to leave a pathway out in case all things went south. He looked over at Cass, who was looking a bit lost.

"You doin' alright Cass?" Wit asked in a mildly concerned manner.
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Wit used 1 ability in this post his stamina is now 5/10.

 

[Azallea]

TheSortingHat

Cassandra Fariá

Wit's words snapped her back to reality. "Uh, yeah, sorry.. I just got lost in my thoughts..", Cassandra admitted and started piling the chunks away again.
She sensed Wit's gaze on her and felt obliged to continue. "I just.. don't feel like I'm doing anything useful here at all, you know?" She hesitated. "And I don't just mean right now", she vaguely gestured to the piles of rock and debris. "In general, too." She looked away, unsure how to explain the feeling or even if it's worth explaining.
"But it doesn't matter, we've got more important things to do now anyway", she said decisively and turned her focus to the door. The path to it was almost clear, only two or three bigger chunks were blocking it. Her hands on one side of the closest stone, she motioned to Wit to pick the other side up and to toss it away together.

-------------------------------

Cassandra has not used any abilities. Her stamina is now 10/10.

 

[Enkerzed]

xrakkax

Noticing that the chain around its jaws had not yet come loose, the dragon rumbled with frustration and opened its wings, halting itself in the sky so suddenly that its tail whipped forward and nearly flung Kherek off from where he clung like a tick. The very violence of the motion had stolen the breath from him and he took a moment to regain his bearings before appraising the situation. He was somewhat dizzy, a little bit shaken and his arms were starting to go numb, but he had managed to hang on and now the dragon was beating its wings, hovering in place as it continued trying to shake the chain off of its snout.

Looking below, Kherek could see that the edge of the town was only a few hundred metres away to the east. There were already wagons moving on the trail back to the monastery and the riders were looking up from below with anxious faces. Some were close enough for Kherek to recognize individually. He had hoped to use the element of surprise to climb up the dragon's back and strike at one of its wings, but it had not flown as far as he thought and the town was still much too close to fight without restraint. The only choice now, or so it seemed to the dwarf's cautious mind, was to keep it distracted long enough for a better opportunity to present itself.

Drawing an axe from his belt, Kherek anchored his weapon into the flesh of the tail above his head as he yelled, "Hey ugly! Don't forget about me!"

Then focusing as much prana as he could into his grip, Kherek braced himself and prayed for his weapon to hold while the dragon began to swing its tail. For the love of Gaia, you better pull something off, he silently urged as he thought of Reiyu. I'm at my limit here.

~~~
​

TheSortingHat Azallea

"Aye, that it is," Chiara replied as she gently tugged the reins of Reiyu's horse while approaching. "How'd you know? Wait, let me guess. Wit and Cassandra, right? Are they in there?"

When she was close enough, Chiara brusquely handed the reins to Ravyn as she continued, "Never mind, I'll find out myself. Watch the horses, will ya? I'm going in. Oh and don't mind sleeping beauty over here." She jerked a thumb at the still unconscious Dragoon slumped over the horse's back like a sack of potatoes. "Got his arse kicked by the dragon. Try not to wake him up, yeah? He's probably got a concussion."

Then turning towards the burning house, Chiara covered her mouth with the edge of her cloak and plunged herself through the doorway. Like most other apprentices, much of her training involved becoming accustomed to flames and so she was unfazed by the all encompassing heat around her. It was the smoke that irritated her more than anything else and a spray of embers showering down from above forced her to duck her head underneath a raised hand.

Grumbling a curse beneath her breath, Chiara slowed down as the cascade of embers subsided and she moved further until she could make out two figures through the smoke. Wit and Cassandra, just as expected.

"Here, I got it," Chiara said as she moved to position herself between them, crouching down to pick up the rock Cassandra was about to and hauling it away with a boost of prana. "Thought you two would be on the way back already. What's the hold up?"

Kherek used Enhanced Strength twice. His stamina is now 3/10.

Chiara used Enhanced Strength. Her stamina is now 7/10.​

 

[xrakkax]

Enkerzed

Jolting from side to side, Reiyu was unable to skewer as she hoped once the dragon halted into a glide. Thinking quickly, she waited for the next jerk to use the momentum to aim at the beasts wing-joint. The javelin whistled with the force of her strength and the swing of the dragons head. Reiyu kept her focus on the slender weapon. The tip bent slightly, righting itself as if seeking its target like a hound after a fox.

Reiyu [Abilities: Strength, Guide ; Stamina: 6/10]

 

[TheSortingHat]

Ravyn Alethkar

Ravyn luckily didn't have to look far to find his brother's friend, but the interaction was brief and he barely had the time to respond as Chiara placed the reins in his hands.
"What?! What do you want me to do with this?!" He yelled after her, but she just ducked inside without responding. He stood there looking back at the building wanting to help.
Finally, he decided to tie the horse up near the wagon and follow her inside. As he ducked in the doorway, he saw Chiara and Cass throw one of the last pieces out of the way.
"I hope who ever is in there is still doing okay." Ravyn said grimly.


Wit Alethkar Azallea Enkerzed

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Don't worry though. You'll feel a sense of belonging soon enough." Wit replied in attempt to comfort Cass and started to move to help her, but Chiara beat him to it. She seemed to come out of no where.

He noticed the tear marks on her soot covered face.
"Damn Chiara, you look like shit. What happened?" Wit said, taking a step back to get out of the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wit did not use any abilities in this post. His stamina is now 6/10.

 

[Azallea]

Enkerzed TheSortingHat

Cassandra Fariá

Cassandra smiled at Wit's comforting words. "Thank you, I hope you're right."
She was just about to start lifting when they were interrupted. Chiara appeared out of the smoke and picked the rock up with ease.
"I thought I heard you!", Cass exclaimed, but only then noticed the apparent tiredness on the girl's face and refrained herself from immediately asking any questions, instead choosing to answer Chiara's.
"Pulling people out of burning and half-collapsed houses is a bit harder than I thought", she stated with a hint of irony in her voice, but then immediately felt guilt-ridden after being reminded by Ravyn's comment that they haven't finished their job yet.
Eyeing the last chunk blocking the door, she brought Chiara up to date: "There's someone inside, maybe the mother of the kid you saw outside." She tried to lift it, but it barely budged. "A little help, guys? We can talk outside", she suggested, although inside dying to hear what was happening above them.

 

[Enkerzed]

TheSortingHat Azallea

Chiara was confused at first by Wit's question, but then she remembered she had been crying and the reason why.

"None of your business," she replied while angrily rubbing the tear streaks off her face. "And I asked first."

When Cassandra spoke, Ravyn appeared behind them and Chiara waited for Cassandra to finish before addressing the elf, "I thought I told you to watch the horses, the hell did you follow me for? Who is this guy?"

"A little help, guys? We can talk outside," Cassandra said after trying to lift the last chunk of ceiling on the floor.

"A screw it, she's right."

With a dismissive wave of her hands, Chiara turned her back on Ravyn while crouching down next to Cassandra and tucking her fingers underneath the piece of rubble.

"Alright" she said as she prepared to lift. "We'll go on the count of three and then Wit can get whoever's inside. Ready? One... two... three!"

With another burst of prana, Chiara straightened her knees and hauled the obstacle out of the way.

Chiara used Enhanced Strength. Her stamina is now 6/10.​

 

[TheSortingHat]

Wit Alethkar

Wit decided to drop the subject when he realized Chiara was embarrassed.
He moved out of their way and allowed them to move the last piece of rubble out of the way of the door while he waited to get inside. As they flung it to the side, Wit started to pushed against the door. It gave easily and after opening it, he saw a woman lying face down on the ground. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

"Alright everyone get out of the way. I have to get her outside!" Wit said, nearly yelling. Then, he carefully hoisted her up onto his shoulder and carried her through the house. As he reached the door, he noticed that both of the kids were awake now.


Ravyn was taken back by Chiara's rudeness but agreed that right now was not the time.
As Wit was about to step under the broken front door, Ravyn realized that kids seeing their mother in this state, dead or alive, would not be a good idea.

"Wit wait! What if she is their mother and she didn't make it. You should check her inside." Ravyn called to him, a bit panicked.

"She needs clean air. It's too smokey in here. Even I am having a hard time breathing." Wit argued.

"Alright, well the kids will have questions. Don't you want to be able to give them answers?" Ravyn pressed harder.

"Ugh fine. There's no point in wasting time arguing." Wit said and knelt to check her pulse. He put her fingers on her neck and could faintly feel a very small, quick, uneven beat. "She's alive but we need to take her outside now or she might not stay that way." Wit said and lifted her again, this time actually making it out the door. As they did so, the kids attentions we drawn to them and the woman.

"Mommy?" Said the little boy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wit did not use any abilities in this post. His stamina is now 7/10.

 

[Enkerzed]

TheSortingHat Azallea

Stepping aside as Wit commanded, Chiara briefly wondered how the battle with the dragon was going until Wit made his way out of the room again. Passed out from the smoke, Chiara guessed when she saw the unconscious woman slumped over his shoulder. Better make sure the same thing doesn't happen to us.

"Come on," Chiara said to Cassandra as she turned to follow the elf. "Let's get out of here."

They were nearly out the front door before the other elf called for Wit to wait and, to Chiara's amazement, he did! Wait? Wait for what? Had they forgotten that the house was literally burning down around them? Luckily, Wit was quick to resolve the situation and by the time he was out the front door, Chiara was more interested in breathing fresh air again rather than giving both elves a piece of her mind. Now that could wait.

Running outside to where the horses were, Chiara took the time to cough the smoke out of her lungs before turning to Ravyn and saying, "I swear to Gaia, you ever pull something like that again and I'll... hold on."

She turned to look at the horses and noticed that the Dragoon who had been knocked unconscious was gone, as was his weapon.

"Where... where'd he go?"

~~~
​

xrakkax

​

As the dragon flailed in agony, Kherek's axe came flying loose and he with it while the beast plummeted from the sky, one of its wings disabled by an adamantine javelin in its joint.

"SHIT!" the dwarf shouted as he fell away from the dragon, cursing not only for himself but for the wagon riders as well who were almost directly below.

For one of the dragon's wings to be crippled now, it was too soon! Far too soon. Fortunately, Kherek could see that it was still trying to use its other wing to remain airborne, slowing its rate of descent. He would reach the ground before the dragon did, but that also meant that it would likely survive its fall and continue to pose a threat afterwards. The only option now was to kill it as fast as possible and if Reiyu knew what she was doing, she would have come to the same conclusion.

Tucking his axe into his belt, Kherek turned towards the ground and placed his hands flat against his sides to quicken his descent. As soon as he landed, he drew both his axes and turned to face the dragon while its shadow grew around him. Feeling the soreness in his arms and the heavy labor of each breath, Kherek realized that he was nearly at the end of his reserves and that if he was going to attack the dragon again, he had to make it count. A final killing strike.

Locking eyes on the dragon's back as it continued to fall, Kherek Leaped once more and aimed directly for the neck, intent on cutting through the brain stem. At the same time however, he noticed someone else arcing through the sky in his peripheral vision and turned to look just in time to recognize Galzis before he disappeared over the dragon's wing, his sword raised above his head with its tip pointing downwards, poised to impale the very heart of the beast.

With some amusement, Kherek realized that claiming credit for the kill was going to be hard to decide as he readied to strike... but then the dragon rolled over on its side as it neared the ground and ruined the plans of both Dragoons, each of their targets now out of reach. Of course it wasn't going to be easy.

Chiara has not used any abilities. Her stamina is now 7/10.

Kherek used Leap twice. His stamina is now 1/10.

Galzis used Leap. His stamina is now 9/10.​

 

[xrakkax]

Enkerzed

Reiyu held on tight with her legs and arm as the dragon rolled. Her free hand reached out and pulled the javelin from its eye and aimed to skewer its other. A blind, crippled, muzzled scaly beast was better than nothing, though a dead one was best.

Reiyu [Abilities: 0 ; Stamina: 7/10]

 

[TheSortingHat]

Wit Alethkar
Enkerzed Azallea

As the group piled out of the house, Wit laid the unconscious woman down in the wagon. The little boy crouched beside her silently and watched her stomach raise and fall steadily.

"Where'd who go?" Wit replied to Chiara and looked around in a confused manner. As far as he knew, everyone was accounted for. He glanced at Ravyn, who looked oddly frightened.

Ravyn Alethkar

"Oh shit." Ravyn cursed under his breath as he realized the Dragoon had taken off, the Dragoon that Chiara had specifically asked him to watch. He looked up at Chiara sheepishly.

"Sorry." He said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry? For what? What did you do Ravyn?" Wit asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I mean, I kind of... lost a Dragoon with a concussion." He replied and looked at his feet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wit did not use any abilities in this post. His stamina is now 8/10.​

 

[Azallea]

Cassandra Fariá


After getting out of the house and feeling the wind changing direction, spreading the smoke and the fire to the west, Cassandra took a few seconds to
take in the fresh air her lungs missed. Her eyes were still burning, but she tried to ignore the pain, shifting her focus to the woman Wit carried to the wagon. She approached her and the child, who was understandably worried for his mother's well-being. "Don't worry, your mum will be fine", she said, praying to be right. Cass put her hands on the poor woman's chest and gently pushed down, hoping that the pressure would accelerate the healing effect. Her hands started softly glowing, and moments after that, the woman bolted upright, her eyes showcasing the terror she felt the last time she was conscious. "Nico!", she screamed, attempting to look back at the burning house, but not being able to fully see it because of the lingering injuries Cassandra wasn't able to heal. "Shh, it's alright, it's alright!", her attempts to calm the woman and keep her still were ignored until a familiar voice yelled: "Mummy!" and rushed toward her side of the wagon and into a hug, not wasting another second. As soon as the woman saw the child, her face lightened up and she started tearing up. Cassandra smiled and decided to give them a moment alone and walked over to join the rest of the group, overhearing some bits and sentences about someone somehow losing a Dragoon with a concussion. "This day just keeps getting better", she remarked offhandedly.
"What now?"

-----------------------------------

Cassandra has used the Healing ability. Her stamina is now 9/10.

 

[Enkerzed]

xrakkax

With the dragon now turned upon its side in the air, Kherek was cut off by an outstretched wing while Galzis was hurtling towards its back. Frustrated, Kherek settled for holding off on his attack and squared his shoulder as he collided with the edge of the wing, rolling off to the other side and towards the dragon's head... right where Reiyu was. The situation was decidedly not ideal. As she clung on with one hand and readied to strike for the dragon's eye with the other, Kherek was frantically trying to twist his body around to avoid a collision as he shouted, "Watch out!"

Galzis on the other hand, dizzy and concussed, remained undeterred as he flew towards the dragon's spiny back and prepared to strike. Perhaps it was the concussion or the storm of anger swirling within him, but ever since waking up in the burning town on Reiyu's horse, he was possessed by a singular mindless rage to match the dragon's own when he had immediately set off to hunt it down. It was not difficult to find.

This is all my fault, he had thought as he flew over the streets with a Leap. All of this could have been avoided so many weeks ago when he had the chance, but once again he had failed to slay the beast. Once again, he had failed to protect anyone. Once again, he had failed as a Dragoon. At this point, he no longer cared what happened to himself so long as the dragon lay dead by his hands. No matter what, he had to be the one to deal the killing blow.

With this self-destructive thought in mind, he bore no mind to the pain as he landed feet first on the dragon's back, impaling his left foot on a jagged spine, and burying his adamantine sword all the way up to the hilt in its flesh. "DIIIIIIEEE!" he screamed as he bore his weight upon the hilt, even as the dragon continued to roll until it crashed into the earth on its side, its injured wing folding the wrong way with a sickening crunch.

Kherek has not used any abilities. His stamina is now 2/10.

Galzis used Feel No Pain and Enhanced Strength. His stamina is now 7/10.​

 

[xrakkax]

Enkerzed

A shout snapped Rieyu's attention to a dwarven body flinging right at her. Reflex took over again. Reiyu slammed the point of the javelin toward the eye, hoping it landed true, while her other hand shot up to grab Kherek. As his momentum pulled them both from the dragon, her feet clapped onto the loose chain like a monkey. Reiyu braced for the yank she was going to feel when the chain connected to the dragon would come suddenly taught. This would normally pop her knee out of her socket, but thanks to her elastic-technique, she felt a pain that brought out a cry from her, but her leg stretched like a rubber band and then snapped back into place shortly after Reiyu hit the ground with Kherek. While they may have spun out of control, the hold on the chain with her feet kept them safe from the tumble. Reiyu leaped from the ground, body trembling, hair wild in the wind around her shoulders, and grabbed the end of the chain. Her emerald gaze sought out the javelin she aimed to the one good eye left that the dragon had— did she get her target?

Reiyu [Abilities: Elastic ; Stamina: 8/10]