Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Dmaster]

Camille sucked in air once the skeleton's blade cut through her arm, gritting her teeth as she cut it a furious look. As they advanced on her she slowly stepped backwards, her fencing skills coming into play as she made sure to weave in and out of the horde's attacks as best she could. Looking to Tarja and Tristyn, she would much prefer to be dispatching either one of them than these lackeys. Who is to say that the witch wouldn't summon more if they were all reduced to piles of bone? It frustrated her to no end, realizing that she was wasting time in this way. Yet she was left with little choice, as the horde of undead was directly in the way of her targets.

The best the huntress could do is divide her attacks, aiming with the rapier to kill one skeleton and her hatchet to take down another with it at the same time. It was going to be a grueling process no matter what.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

As their guns blaze through the dark alleys of the city, the constables lead the fight on the streats with the support of Theodore and Aleister, later joined by Galina. Eventually, they reached the market plaza where the necromancer and dullahan were fighting Rosanna, Mariette, Camille, and the Lich. Jakob looked to the constables and shouted. "Ignore the dullahan! If he approaches you, run away from it and take cover! For now..." He then pointed to Tarja. "Shoot that witch!" The group of constables took a firing squad position, and fired upon the witch as she continued her ritual.

 

[Infab]

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 2
Aleister = 8. Does 5 + 1 (Holy Miracles, The Dark Arts) (6) damage to Tarja. Tarja HP = 43.
Theodore = 1. Does 1 + 1 (Man of Science) (2) DMG to Tarja. Tarja is now on fire, +1 DMG. Tarja HP = 40.
Mariette = 5. Does 1 DMG to Group of Skeletal Soldiers. Skeletal Soldiers HP = 8.
Galina = 7. Does 1 DMG to Tarja. Tarja HP = 39.
Camille = 7 + 1 (8) (Infallible Focus). Does 1 DMG to Group of Skeletal Soldiers. Skeletal Soldiers HP = 7.
Rosanna = 10 - 1 (9). Locked onto Sir Tristyn. Does 5 DMG to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 91
Jakob = 4. Misses Tarja.
Group of Constables = 5. Does 4 DMG to Tarja. Tarja HP = 36.
Ethraeil = Moment of Glory. Does 10 DMG to Tarja. Tarja HP = 26.

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 2 (ENEMY)
Tarja = 10. CH Roll = 8. Does 4 + 2 (The Dark Arts) (6) DMG to Jakob. Jakob HP = 12.
Sir Tristyn = 6. Does 3 + 3 (And Hell Followed With Him) (6) DMG to Rosanna. Rosanna HP = 9.
Group of Skeletal Soldiers = 10. CH Roll = 6. Does 3 DMG to Mariette. Mariette HP = 12

Four Turns till Tarja ascends to Lichdom.

​

Tarja's aura continued to increase at a steady rate, as elsewhere in the city her minions would continue to slaughter the innocent. If she wasn't stopped or at least slowed down, she would likely either kill herself with the sheer volume of souls she was consuming inside her soul well, or she would proceed to turn into a lich in the most dangerous form imaginable. Ethraeil finally decided that it was time to step up. He had mainly focused on his ice powers during the inquiry, save for the incident in the forest near the mansion in Tresomin. It was time to utilize the full extent of his necromancer powers...and create a soul well of his own. It was the only way to slow her progress, and maybe he could get a few shots in while he was draining her of her needed souls.

Ethraeil slowly lifted off the ground, the blue flames that normally covered his head and seeped from the holes in his armor began to shift to a greenish color as two green orbs appeared in his eye sockets. Tarja's head snapped around to face him. "What are you doing?!" she shouted, before a mass of blue collided with her face. It stunned her for a moment, forcing her to drift backwards before she could straighten up. Ethraeil didn't speak a word. He was far too focused on the tasks at hand. Tarja went to counter attack, but was interrupted by a bolt of lightning from out of nowhere. It struck her in the chest, electrocuting her for a moment but she somehow remained afloat and cognitive. She looked for the source of the lightning strike, and found Aleister pointing at her. "You WORM." she shouted, pointing her hand towards him and firing off a ball of green like she had done previously to Mariette.

Aleister moved quickly out of the way, the mass of dark energy sailing by. Straight towards the constables that Jakob had brought with the group. Jakob, after firing a few shots at Tarja which missed, dove in front of them in an attempt to save them from certain death. The mass of dark energy collided with Jakob, stunning him and making him side across the cobblestone ground as he flopped on it. The following gunshots from the ever-so-thankful constables peppered Tarja, as did Galina's shots. Theodore flung an incendiary explosive, which detonated and caught Tarja's robes on fire. She attempted to pat the fire out, reaching down with one hand and slapping at the flames.

Mariette and Camille continued to fight the skeletal soldiers, attempting to carve a path through the bone men to Tarja. As Mariette pushed her way through, knocking apart a few skeletons but also receiving various cuts and stab wounds from the skeletons. Meanwhile, Rosanna continued her battle against Sir Tristyn, though now in melee combat. They traded blows for a few moments, before Tristyn's gauntlets seemed to glow. He began to gain the upper hand, delivering blows to Rosanna's body that would kill a normal man. She wouldn't last very long if he kept up these attacks.

 

[joshuadim]

"In the end, you are but a fool. Blind, grasping at any scraps you can take." Ethraeil spoke to Tarja, his voice having been amplified with the sheer power flowing through him. He felt somewhat ashamed to have needed to open a soulwell of his own, but it was necessary for the greater good. He would deal with the consequences of his actions later.

"You seek only power. A selfish, short-sighted goal that hurts those that dare stand in your way." Ethraeil continued to speak, his voice growing ever more powerful alongside the sheer power flowing within him by this point. "And yet, you remain only a pawn in someone else's game."

"Allow me to demonstrate to you what a thousand years has given me.
Then you have my permission to die."

 

[K0mori]

It was almost surreal how Mariette was fighting alongside the same woman she had wished death upon not long ago, but here she was with Camille, mowing down the undead enemy without mercy. Despite her extreme strength and agility, the skeletons landed more attacks on Mariette than they did on the evasive Marquess, which was annoying and yet vaguely validating for the Countess. She had acted as a sort of battering ram and shield for the fragile huntress. She grinned defiantly despite the growing pain throughout her body, until she noticed Sir Tristyn beginning to batter Rosanna down. "Watch yourself, Giguere," Mariette warned, "Rose needs my help." All at once, she changed targets, as there was no way she would continue to "defend" a false friend while someone she actually cared about was in danger.

Sir Tristyn wasn't a foe Mariette was particularly suited to fight. Her dark magic wouldn't go far against such a corrupted soul, and her lack of prowess with a sword ruled out any head-on attack with a blade. The key, she reasoned, would be to grapple him using all of her might to restrain him long enough for Rose to turn the tables. Shoving Cassandra's saber through a loop in her overcoat, Mariette sprinted around her foes until she could pounce on Tristyn from behind. Regardless of whether it would work or not, Mariette braced herself for terrible pain. It was necessary- without Rose, getting the Sword of Velin back and killing Ashwood would be that much closer to impossible.

 

[Viper Actual]

The enemy necromancer looked like she wouldn't be able to take much more. As she started to pat herself down Galina took aim at Tarja's hand and fired a single shot followed by a burst intended to cripple her arm.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille couldn't give too much attention to Mariette, considering she was intent on weaving around the many blades lazily swung at her by the skeletal soldiers. It was not like she particularly wanted to, given the relationship she had with the vampiric noble. Idle glances were shot at her now and then when they were in the thick of it, and she had seized up how the countess was conducting herself and fighting the horde. Rather, barreling through the horde without too much of a care for the damage she might sustain. Perhaps it was a luxury lost on the huntress, given how fragile and mortal her body was she usually tried to fight with a bit more strategy and self-preservation. "As if I look after anyone else." she replies mid-stab, darting back out from the skeletal horde as Mariette dashes off to assist Rosanna.

It seemed like she was the only one focused to keeping the skeletons at bay at this point, so she continued to remain dedicated to her mission. If they fell and created an opening to attack their key targets, Camille would join the true battle soon enough.

 

[Breadman]

The necromancer sustained enough damage to be weakened so the others could finish her off. The skeletal soldiers were also beginning to falter to Mariette and Camille. The biggest concern on the battlefield was now the enemy dullahan. Ever since the creature had chased them in the forest, Theodore was thinking of possible ways to combat the terrifying goliath. The creature was prone to slowly march and deliver devastating blows. So maybe the weakness was there.

He picket a bomb designed to shatter on impact and release it's content. Designed to reduce the risk of splashing on an unfortunate ally, said content was a jelly like mixture of several toxic extracts and agents. Terrible if it were to come into contact with flesh as it would start eating away at it. Living or dead, Tristyn was still held together with muscle and sinew. Taking those away would slow him down if not grind him to a halt.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"SHIIIIIT!" screamed Jakob, as the ball of dark energy sent him rolling in the air like a ragdoll and landing atop a market stall. He laid on the ground, and almost looked dead. The female constable approached and poked him with her shotgun. "A-Are you alright?!" she asked shyly, as the other constables took cover behind other market stalls. The lack of an answer almost confirmed it, but he eventually raised his voice. "...o-ouch." he said, between pained grunts.

"T-That's it, that bitch has made me angry." He raised his head, revealing his now yellow eyes, and caused the lady constable to fall backwards aiming her shotgun at him. Jakob gave her a look, before simply saying "Don't try that. I'm fine." He then handed his guns to her, and placed his hat on her head. "Hold these for me." he said, as he stood and walked towards Tarja. He then noticed that Tristyn was thrashing Rose about. He wouldn't allow that. "Hey, big guy." he said, grabbing a cabbage that had been laying on the stall he had fallen on before throwing it at the knight. "Why don't you...m-mess with someone Y-YOUR SI...Size...G-rg..."

Jakob finally began to transform, struggling to hold his composure as his body twisted and morphed while he shifted into his beast form. Once he had fully shifted, he quickly moved for the knight as the constables looked at one another baffled. They were fighting alongside vampires, a werewolf, and a lich. They decided to stay behind cover, providing some covering fire for Camille as she dealt with the skeletons.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister smirked when his holy lance found purchase, but the look quickly changed to one of alarm as he saw the orb of green flame coming right for him. He leaped out of the way and skidded on the slate tiles of the roof, his fingers digging in to keep himself from sliding off the building. The flames continued past in an ugly orb, and he felt some panic when it was headed for the constables. Aleister nearly leaped off the roof to try and do something about it, even as it was too late, when he saw Jakob intercept the ball. That damned heroic fool, he frowned, eying the man from the roof as he was struck with the magic sphere. Unlike Mariette, there was more danger of lasting damage to the constable, but he saw the man begin to move. Aleister glanced back at the necromancer battle occurring, and then back down at Jakob. It was difficult to choose the best option.

His intense eyes swept back over the field. He could throw in his lot with nearly anyone to assist. Try to take down Tarja before she could ascend? Go after the dullahan knight to slow him down? Try to bestow healing upon the wounded? He could hear Jakob shouting, and he noticed the man transforming. He should be fine for the moment... but Camille. The woman was fighting the skeletons, which was a waste for an experienced blade. They needed her in the fight with the necromancer or dullahan. Time was critical here, and the longer they wasted, the higher the chance the necromancer would become a lich. That needed to be handled first and foremost.

There was a rather archaic, somewhat peculiar spell that he knew of. It wasn't clear where or who it came from, or if it was simply the creation of some sorcerer based on myth, but it concerned an astrological legend of the sun and moon. Divine serpents would emerge from the shadows cast by these celestial objects, and they would punish the sinful and the guilty. He knew not why it was snakes, but the spell would call upon several familiar like serpents that were spears of holy light. Useful for attacking a group of targets, but they were incredibly short lived.

Dark sun, dark moon, lend me your servants....

He spoke the spell and made the gestures, his fingers splayed out wide and trembling as if he were pulling on the strings of a puppet, when he was instead attempting to draw out the fickle solar snakes from their slumber to kill the skeletons to free up Camille.

 

[Infab]

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 3
Mariette = 8. Chance Roll = Successful. Sir Tristyn restrained.
Galina = 6. Does 1 DMG to Tarja. Tarja HP = 25.
Camille = 9 + 1 (10. Infallible Focus). CH Roll = 5 + 1 (6. Grand Duelist.) Does 3 DMG to Group of Skeletal Soldiers. Skeletal Soldier HP = 4.
Theodore = 5. Does 5 + 1 DMG (Man of Science, Calculated Risk) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 85.
Jakob = 6 - 1 (5. Angel of Death). Does 2 DMG (With Badge & Gun) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 83.
Rosanna = 7 - 1 (6. Angel of Death). Does 5 DMG (A Certain Kind of Horsewoman, Death's Herald) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 78.
Group of Constables = 8. Does 4 DMG to Group of Skeletal Soldiers. Skeletal Soldiers dead.
Aleister = 9. Does 6 DMG (Holy Miracles, The Dark Arts) to Tarja. Tarja HP = 19
Ethraeil = Moment of Glory (Turn 2). Does 10 DMG to Tarja. Tarja HP = 9.

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 3 (ENEMY)
Tarja summons new group of Skeletal Soldiers.
Sir Tristyn = Currently Restrained. Cannot Attack.
Tarja = 10. CH Roll = 9 - 1 (8. Menacing Aura.) Does 7 DMG to Ethraeil. Ethraeil HP = 11
​

Camille's battle against the skeletal group eventually came to a close, as she skillfully destroyed a few skeletons just before the rest were shot to pieces by the group of constables that Jakob had brought with him. Meanwhile, Mariette attempted something rather risky. She departed from the battle against the skeletons, instead rushing over and grabbing onto Sir Tristyn. Her pureblood strength held the dullahan in place, barely, and she fought against his struggling as Jakob rushed in and pummeled the dullahan right alongside a winded Rosanna. Then, they stepped out of the way for a moment as Theodore smashed a special impact grenade full of gelatinous toxic agents against the dullahan's chest. The acidic agents began to eat away at his armor and the leather joints, exposing scared and rotten flesh beneath. Still, the dullahan struggled to escape. His sights set primarily on Rosanna.

"YOU ARE THE BIGGER FOOL." spat Tarja, hurling a mass of dark energy at Ethraeil. The green ball of dark magic collided with the lich, stunning him for a moment as he wobbled backwards through the air. The attack seemed to have damaged his phylactery, a crack forming on the gemstone hanging from his neck. "You're the wretch that's still under the Church's boot. You had everything, but instead you allowed yourself to be captured and serve them like a dog! You're a pawn for THEM! AND I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU OFF THE BOARD." A moment later, she raised her hand and a new batch of skeletons crawled from the depths beneath them. As she held her arm out, some of Galina's shots ripped through her arm and shoulder. She groaned in pain, before she was set upon by...snakes? Divine magic, obviously, as they seemed to be made of light. The snakes crawled quickly towards her and leapt onto her, biting her in several places before fading quickly.

The distraction worked perfectly in Ethraeil's favor, as he channeled a new spell to cast. A plethora of ice spikes errupted from the earth around Tarja, forming a pyramid around the woman. The spikes pierced into her torso, holding her in place as she let out a scream of pain and beat at the icy spears with her fists. The ice would hold her perfectly in place for what was to come next.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister was readying another spell shortly after his divine serpents answered his call. He'd have to offer a small prayer to Saint Gwyndolin for that. However, his mind was quickly focused on the now immobilized Tarja. The foul necromancer was trapped in ice thanks to the work of their own penitent necromancer, Ethraeil.

The priest couldn't help but grin, seeing that Tarja was open to be attacked again. He stretched out his left hand, palm forwards, and raised his right hand up in a modified stance similar to his summoning of lightning. Not having the time to prepare for that this time, he summoned up a small bolt of holy energy. Light sparked and cackled about his hand as a pinprick of light grew larger, slowly, until it was nearly the size of an orange.

Without hesitation, he fired it away at the necromancer's head.

 

[Viper Actual]

With her previous salvo showing good effect Galina gritted her teeth and simply fired another burst. Unlike the previous ones these shots were destined for Tarja's head.

Despite the chaos around Galina remained calm and took her time to zero in on the necromancer before firing.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille's thinning patience allowed her to summon just enough frustration to break apart the skeletons in a flurry of slashes and bashes from her weaponry. As she was recovering back to her neutral stance to ready another attack, the constables shot the remaining bone minions and cleared the path to the necromancer and dulluhan. She glanced back to the men and women that assisted her and offered them a nod, turning her head to focus her gaze on Tarja and Tristyn. Yet as she started to put her hatchet away to change them out for her quills she saw more skeletal hands rising from the ground beneath her, and she gave an exasperated sigh before sprinting past the monsters mid-summoning. Hopefully the constables will take care of this second wave on their own, and if they were lucky their magic would leave them once the necromancer was truly dead.

Judging from the amount of fire that she was taking, Tarja would be leaving them soon enough - which left only the demented knight to be slain. Twirling a singular dagger in her hand she twisted its point downward, striding confidently up to the skilled combatant with an intense look burning in her eyes. The time for running was over, his armor was weakened and she would ferry this once-noble warrior to a proper death. Both her piercing weapons and Theodore's acidic bomb meant that she should be able to break through his armor rather easily, and she would take every opportunity to stab at its head. The fact that Mariette was holding him down should make it even easier to get the maneuvers in, and Camille quickly threw herself into a ready stance to start chipping away at the knight.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette held on desperately as the Dullahan thrashed about, her allies pummeling him with all their strength. Somehow, she kept her grip even as the physical attacks gave way to the insidious chemical agent thrown by Theodore, which only intensified Sir Tristyn's efforts to break free. His power was incredible; the ancient warrior didn't seem to be tiring the way her allies were, and Mariette knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be thrown off of the juggernaut. She could barely keep her eyes open against the strain, but she did so and realized that Camille was stupidly closing in on the knight. Mariette could hardly believe it- the necromancer was on her last legs, and yet the nimble assassin would rather use her piercing stings to annoy the brute when he was obviously better left to the supernatural among them. As Camille squared up, Mariette decided not to allow herself to be the subject of Sir Tristyn's wrath once her grip failed, and allowed him to overcome her strength at the moment the Marquess was within his reach. S'il vous plaît... Leave her head a bloody pulp!

 

[joshuadim]

"I AM NO ONE'S PAWN ANY LONGER!!!" Ethraeil roared back as he prepared what he hoped would be a final, finishing blow against the entrapped witch.
"I CONDEMN THEE FOR ETERNITY FOR YOUR CRIMES."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob and Rosanna continued to fight against the hulking leviathan of a dullahan, as Theodore and Mariette attempted to slow the knight down. Jakob hoped that Ethraeil could destroy the witch before she achieved whatever she was trying to do, but right now he had the knight to deal with. The other constables took aim at Tarja and her skeletal minions, but decided to change targets to the dullahan after they took notice of Ethraeil's intentions.

 

[Infab]

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 4
Aleister = 10. CH Roll = 3. Does 7 DMG (Holy Miracles, The Dark Arts) to Tarja. Tarja HP = 2.
Galina = 1. Misfire.
Ethraeil = Moment of Glory (Final Turn). Does 10 DMG to Tarja. Tarja VERY dead. Group of Skeletons #2 dead.
Mariette = Roll Cancelled. Allows Sir Tristyn to free himself.
Camille = 4 + 1 - 1 (Infallible Focus, Angel of Death). Missed Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn Counter-Attack CH Roll = 7. Does 8 DMG (And Hell Followed With Him, Knightly) to Camille. Camille HP = 9.
Rosanna = 6 - 1 (Angel of Death). Does 5 DMG (A Certain Kind of Horsewoman, Death's Herald) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 73.
Jakob = 6 - 1 (Angel of Death). Does 2 DMG (With Badge & Gun) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 71.
Theodore = 7. Does 7 + 1 DMG (Man of Science, Calculated Risk) to Sir Tristyn. Sir Tristyn HP = 63.
Group of Constables = 4. Misses Sir Tristyn.

Grimsby Streets (Marketplace) - TURN 4 (ENEMY)
Sir Tristyn = 10. CH Roll = 9. Does 9 DMG (Angel of Death, And Hell Followed With Him) to Rosanna. Rosanna HP = 0. Rosanna incap'd.
Sir Tristyn flees the battle.
​

Aleister's holy magic turned into a similar spell as the one he had used previously, eventually shooting a bolt of lighting towards Tarja as she struggled to free herself from the icy spears piercing through her torso and holding her in place. As the lighting bolt was cast, she lifted her arms in an attempt to block her face from being hit. The bolt struck her arms, burning them rather badly as she was electrocuted by the lightning. As ice was a poor conductor of electricity, nobody else around her was harmed by the lightning. Galina took aim at Tarja, as she continued to struggle after being shocked, but nothing happened when she pulled the trigger. A misfire. As she cleared it, Ethraeil moved in for the kill.

He floated up closely to her, grabbing her by the head and forcing her to look up at him. As she stared up into the green orbs in his eye sockets, his mouth opened and a bolt of energy surged forth and hit her in the face. Then another, and another. Several blasts of energy surged forth from Ethraeil, bearing down on Tarja. What was really occurring was Ethraeil was giving Tarja exactly what she wanted. Souls. He was overloading her soul well with the thousands of souls he had accumulated over the course of a thousand years. And her body couldn't take the influx of power. Tears in her flesh began to appear, green light pulsing out of them. After a few moments, her skin began to fade and wither away, turning a charcoal black. Finally, he released her head, and her body crumpled. It fell apart, limbs detaching and sliding down the ice as her head rolled off and onto the cobblestone street below. Ethraeil then raised his hands, and the souls he had cast out were sucked back into his body. As well as the new souls of Tarja, her sister (whom Tarja had absorbed before coming to Grimsby), and all the citizens that had been killed by Tarja and Tristyn's hand.

Meanwhile, Mariette's grip on Tristyn failed. The knight broke free from her grip, which was just the moment Camille had been waiting for. As Camille lunged forward to stab Tristyn in the head, he quickly parried her rapier with his sword, knocking it aside before carving a gash across Camille's torso. As she stumbled out of the way, Rosanna and Jakob attacked Tristyn once again, beating down on the knight before allowing Theodore to toss another toxin bomb on the knight. The constables also opened fire on him, but missed as Tristyn attempted to get the gooey gel off his armor. Eventually, he flipped his sword around, grabbing it by the blade, before hurling it at Rosanna.

She didn't have time to react. The sword impaled her, plunging deep into her chest. She gazed down at the blade poking out of her chest, before eventually falling over. Apparently dead. After shoving everyone away, Tristyn quickly rushed over and jerked his weapon out of Rosanna's chest before looking to where Tarja had been. He paused only for a moment, before quickly turning about and rushing off down an alleyway. Apparently the dullahan was now fleeing the battle.

 

[Dmaster]

The Marquess plunged her blade through the air, eyes transfixed on her target. Yet before she even had time to gasp in shock from his reactionary parry, his sword slashed diagonally across her midsection. It was a grievous blow but not enough to knock her out of the fight entirely. Falling to one knee for a few seconds she quickly stood up, the bleeding caused by the deep gash the least of her worries at this moment. If he could perform an attack like that so easily she could not afford to waste any precious seconds letting the pain of her new wound get the better of her.

Yet when she stood up she watched him throw his sword at Rosanna, a terrible tactical decision that she would make him suffer for. Camille made an attempt to get in range for another calculated stab, but gave a quiet yelp of pain before she stumbled forward. Moving so soon after that injury was difficult, but she still had to try and take Tristyn down. The dullahan quickly retrieved his weapon from Rosanna's corpse, and before the huntress knew it she was shoved away as the massive monster of a man started to make a hasty retreat.

Getting her footing, she glared angrily at the knight. Apparently whatever necrotic brainwashing he suffered killed any chivalry or honor the man once had, and she grit her teeth at the possibility of him getting away. "For as strong as you monsters like to think yourselves, you always seem to flee from us!" she cries out, her breathing heavy as she drops her quill and moves her hand to the bleeding gash on her stomach.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

There was little time to celebrate the demise of the dreaded necromancer. That could come later, but for now, there was still the dullahan to deal with. Aleister stood high on the rooftop he took refuge on, overlooking the fight as he considered a new spell to handle the knight. He could see Camille leap forwards to spear Tristyn... only to see her take a large horizontal slash to her midsection. Jakob and Mariette could take such strikes and keep moving... but not a mortal.

Aleister slid down the front of the roof and plummeted down towards the cobblestone, landing as gracefully as a cat. Rosanna had also just been struck terribly and his mouth was agape in surprise. The beast had thrown its massive sword and impaled her. Rose was immobile on the ground. He saw the beast rush towards her, and Aleister readied a quick fireball to protect the woman when the knight retrieved its sword and turned to flee. There was no time to pursue, at least not for him. He rushed over and looked between Rosanna and Camille, who was holding her side as blood streamed out over her arm and through her fingers.

The mortal first. Rose should be fine, her head looks intact.

"Marquess, please, hold steady for a moment," Aleister said, hurrying up close to her. There was little need to study the wound - big or small, his magic would heal it. He grasped her arm to help her keep still, and he held his other hand a few inches away from her torso as a bright light shone from his palm. This wound didn't seem as grievous as the last, but a slash to the gut was as good as a death sentence for most.

 

[joshuadim]

With Tarja dispatched and Tristyn fleeing the scene, the town, or what remained of it, was saved from further slaughter. Ethraeil descended back to the ground slowly as a new influx of souls surged into him. He took a moment to quickly start repairing his phylactery with a miniscule amount of magic before walking over to where Rosanna was downed at the moment. He looked her over before relaying the good news. "She's alive, but she'll probably be out for a while."

Ethraeil looked at his phylactery again and noted its minor cracks quickly repairing, soon to be returned to its normal state as it was earlier. "...now we need to find Valeria and Cassandra. Quickly."

 

[Dmaster]

Camille grit her teeth as Aleister approached and grabbed at her arm, part of her wanted to shove him off and allow the wound to heal with stitching or bandaging. The last time she suffered an injury she was at least unconscious, now with her wits about her she was hesitant to show such weakness yet again. Though ultimately her hands were tied as usual on this inquiry, and she eased up her tense position and allowed the priest to go about his work.

"If I could run I would be working my quills through that cowardly dullahan's eyes..." she spat, not even bothering to look at Aleister as her eyes still stared at the alleyway Tristyn retreated to. "Seems like the battle is over." the huntress muttered before turning her attention to Ethraeil. "Valeria is gone? Damn it..! I am so tired of that vampire moving freely!"

 

[joshuadim]

"I will go and search for them. Tend to the wounded in the meantime." Ethraeil stated as he ran off, using summoned ice to propel himself to the rooftops. As he ran across the skyline of the town, he darted his gaze around to see if he could sense Valeria or Cassandra in the vicinity. Time was running short, and he needed to be quick about it.

 

[K0mori]

Annoyed that the Dullahan hadn't finished off Camille, and brought to a rage at the sight of its impalement of Rosanna, Mariette silently drew her rapier and set her eyes on the fleeing Dullahan's aura. She set off in pursuit, determined to follow Sir Tristyn all the way to his destination.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

The healing magic was fast in its work, and it was but a moment before Aleister was finished. "There... you should be fine now," he said simply, glancing about the scene around him.

Rose was still down, but Ethraeil said she was fine. That damned dullahan was off to god knows where, and Aleister understood Camille's anger at the situation. "I wouldn't worry about it, madam, we will obliterate that beast soon enough. With its mistresses dead, I dare say its power must diminish."

He nodded to her and stepped away. "Who else is injured? Jakob? Mariette? Do either of you require assistance? You both took some hits from what I saw, but your performances were most admirable."

Aleister then noticed the pureblood was already off in pursuit of Tristyn, and he sighed slightly. "Well... anyone else? Monsieur Jakob?"