Fantasy Kast: The last Quest Guild

[InactiveCoffee]

Arianna thought for a moment, her mind racing over her body. She rolled her shoulders, and paled slightly. "Different." She started hesitantly, turning her head to look over her shoulder. She frowned, "Physically, I'm fine. But..." She trailed, and looked back at Elijah. "Mentally, I guess I'm fine also." She added, and looked at the table top. She pressed her eyes closed for a moment, "I don't like it. My wings have always been a source of comfort. A way to escape if I felt trapped. The skies and winds a kind of freedom that I would miss dearly if I couldn't fly anymore." She said truthfully.

 

[The Master]

Elijah nodded, "Well I can understand that rather well. In a way." He tapped his fingers on the table. "You will get them back probably any second now. So you don't have to worry." Elijah smiled. "I just want you to get a feel for what it is like to be human." He finished speaking. Elijah went back to reading his book quietly.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas watched the masked being, trying to guess it's race despite the mask and enveloping clothing, not human, he deduced, from the way the hood draped. But he kept being distracted by the bit's and pieces of the conversation between the mage and the angel. He resisted an urge, as novel as it was strong, to respond protectively to the fear in the angels voice as they discussed, what was it? Some spell or other to temporarily give her the body and emotions of a human. It wouldn't be too rough of a trip so long as she didn't experience any strong emotions as a human. And Elijah had said something about it lasting only a few moments, so Arianna would be fine, he concluded, and there was absolutely no reason for him to feel protective. Was that another of those human things? Someone should have warned him, he thought resentfully.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Tavern wenches circulate the dimly lit taproom, cleaning for the most part, and taking orders of food and drink from late comers. The ground trembles once more, dust particles leap and jolt in a frenzied dance joined by clattering dishes, beings all around the room are tossed like so many rag-dolls, bouncing here and there, (@Angelfoodcake) Kisi finds his balance first, with the agility of a lizard he is on his feet again (@The Master) Elijah finds his feet second, though somewhat unsteady. (@Dethbycoffee) Arianna struggles to balance, thrown off by the curious lightness of her back. Syndra, Elvish as can be, manages to keep her footing. (@DemonicAngel) Kean is thrown to all fours, but manages to retain a modicum of balance in that position.

 

[The Master]

Elijah got his footing within seconds, having plenty of experience with sudden situations like this. He stood up straight and looked around. "That's odd..." He said to himself. Elijah had only lost his balance because he lost grip of his book and was trying to make sure it didn't fall or get damaged. Once he had the book though he was able to remain steady. This was one of those moments he was thankful his parents were elves who were obsessed with Elijah being the best. "Rogue, what was that about?" He asked from afar.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Arianna fell just as her form shifted and her wings reappeared behind her. She hit the floor, and grunted, having landed on her back. She winced, and rolled quickly to stand back up. She rolled her shoulders, and flexed her wings, testing if any damage had been done. "Peculiar indeed." she said, sitting back down.


Syndra looked around as people regained balance, or kept their balance how ever was easiest for them. It was certainly odd for the room to shake as it did. She looked to the rouge when Elijah asked what was going on. She was curious as well, and peered at the man as she waited for his answer.

 

[Guardian Angel]

"If I knew that," Kas answered the mage, dusting off his sleeve, where it had brushed the wall when he had leaned against it to steady himself in the chaos. "I would certainly be more than I appear to be. You're the mage, perhaps you can tell us what caused the quake." The trembling settles again as suddenly as it began, throwing most of those who had managed to regain their balance off of it again. Kas looked pointedly at (@DemonicAngel) Kean. "Then again, the teleporter may be more suited to the task." Without warning, a man bursts into the guild hall, arms flailing, eyes starting from their sockets, and screaming unintelligibly, as he runs in circles. Kas makes a swift movement, almost too swift to be observed, and the man crumples to the floor out cold. "Or perhaps our hysterical friend might enlighten us, when he is more himself." He looked around the room. Someone was still missing, perhaps two someones, although he was fairly certain the masked being was one of the individuals that he had hired, he could not be sure, and he was loath to start without his team together. Of course when circumstances demanded it . . . The wards on the building were strong, not even an earthquake should have been able to shake it, which meant something big, something ancient, and something very very powerful. Or a fluke in the wards. He would have to talk to someone about that. Well, no better time than the present, and he had what he estimated to be a rather powerful mage, and a fairly competent (if slightly absentminded) magician right at hand. "Mage, check the wards, if you will," he said absently.

 

[The Master]

Elijah mumbled some ancient words and pure arcane energy flowed around him, his eyes becoming dark purple. "The wards are cracking. They were hit, hard." He had his book float beside him. Elijah walked over to the rogue, "I've only seen a kind of attack like this once... Mother had gotten into an argument with father." He shivered a little. "A pissed off High Elf is dangerous by him or herself, now give that High Elf the knowledge of the ancients and you have something not even Titans would want to upset. So whatever hit your hall knows more than your average sorcerer." He spoke, knowing it was an understatement.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas grinned. "I was afraid of that." His wards were fairly stable in general, so the possibility of them failing had been a remote one. He looks around the room, still grinning, and asks. "Care to find out what it was?"

 

[The Master]

Elijah's book opened up, still floating in front of him. His eyes became purple again and his features oddly dark but not exactly evil. The pages flipped and symbols of unknown meaning rose from the pages and floated there as the pages kept turning and the symbols kept changing. "A leviathan of some sort. That is the only thing that would hold enough power to hit the guild like that without revealing itself openly to us. Mother was one for theories and she was rarely wrong. So there is most likely a creature of leviathan class out there that knows of us." He finished. Elijah kept reading even though he was finished speaking.

 

[Guardian Angel]

"Who's ever heard," spat an half-orc from his seat at the bar, "of a leviathan so far inland. They're water creatures." Kas gives the half-orc an odd smile. "I don't believe anyone was talking to you, my friend." Kas looks at the half-orc as though contemplating giving his comment more of a response, then dismisses him with no more than a shift in his attention. He pays no attention to anyone at the bar or on the ground. He casts a cursory glance over the room, pointedly meeting eyes with Arianna, Syndra, Elijah, Kean, and Kisi in turn, he searched for a moment for the sixth member of his party, but stopped himself, remembering, with some irritation, that his Munitions Expert (@Hunnyhelp) had yet to arrive. "I'll be goin' out there to clap eyes on the beast wot can crack my wards, and see if I can't bring it's tongue back as a trophy. Any o' you as wants to join me, come and welcome."

 

[The Master]

"If you try to take it on alone you will only die. I gave your wards another scan and anything strong enough to do this much damage would turn you into a chew toy. I suggest you turn your request into a demand, as not even I stand a chance alone against something with such power. As far as I can tell, the creature did this all with extreme ease." Elijah walked over and stood beside the guild master. His book kept floating around him with open pages, symbols doing the same thing. Elijah had learned to read and advance himself while also doing other things at the same time. He figured it would prove useful on their adventure.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((Been busy... I will get out a reply soon as I get home from class today))

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas gave Elijah a nod of acknowledgement. "Ay, I know that. But if I demanded it, you think a group of hardened, independent, adventurers such as ye'rselves would pay me any more attention than they would to the request such as I've put it? 'Tis no something I'd bet on. I'll not have an unwilling team though, and let me make this very clear, if you don't come with me now, my invitation is closed to you." again his eyes swept the room, meeting theirs with a fierce intensity that belied the casualness of his tone. "Understand?" He nodded to Kean (@DemonicAngel) said in a quiet but authoritative voice. "I want to know what that thing is, and how to defeat it. You seem like the sort wot knows a thing or two about analyzing magical creatures. You'll come with me to scout it out.

 

[The Master]

"You are the leader of the group. We all understand that, so grow a spine and give orders to your followers." Elijah walked passed Kas, shoving him aside. "Or let someone else take charge and YOU follow the leader." He spoke harshly. Elijah didn't want to be leader, he was referring to someone else in the group. He just didn't want to deal with a pushover as the leader of such a dangerous quest. Elijah waited outside, keeping an eye out for anything. He had charged up wards around himself just in case he had to take a hit or two to stop the hall from being completely destroyed from another onslaught.

 

[Guardian Angel]

"No one here has agreed to anything," Kas replied, grabbing the arm of the Kani as he went to the door. "I'm the leader of the group, that much is true, but so far as I can see, there's no group to be leader of just yet, so unless you want to take over, and I don't think you do, I suggest you leave me to band this sorry lot into a team in what manner I see fit. And if they won't listen to my orders when phrased as requests, then they aren't going to listen to my orders when phrased as demands, and I don't want them here, and that includes you," he said as he crossed over the threshold, leading the Kean along behind him and leaving the others to follow if they chose. "If you can't respect the way I choose to assume leadership, you can go. Mind that first leviathan on your way out;" He added, taking in the damage outside the guild." It's a doozy."


(@The Master) Outside the guildhall seems quiet enough, but hundreds upon thousands of cracks run in depths varying from what could rightly be called an abysmal, to mere inches, rubble and debris from buildings destroyed in the tremors litter the ground It is easy to tell that the guild hall, if not for the wards, would be ground zero at that point, as it was it was one of the few buildings still more or less upright to be seen for a several mile radius. A tentacle covered in suckers, the smallest of which were the size of Elijahs head, lies utterly still, protruding from one of the deeper chasms. The sky is black as midnight, (likely because it is midnight), but for the wispy clouds reflecting the ruddy glow from fires caused by the tremor.

 

[The Master]

Elijah, tired of the rogue, had an arcane blast stun him. The blast would simply daze and blind the rogue for a good moment or two. "Shut. up." He spoke coldly, the dark elf in him coming out. "If you get in the way I will kill you. Now grow a spine and stop 'requesting'." He finished speaking as he scanned the damage. Elijah finally understood that the rogue knew close to nothing about leadership. He would stick around but only because an entire TEAM was needed.


Elijah walked over to the tentacle, looking at it. "How odd..." He observed it closely, but kept his distance. Elijah had numerous wards set up, and arcane orbs floating around him continuously. He had charged them in case he needed to use them, which he did at the moment. One of the arms turned into a saw and quickly sliced a small bit of the tentacle off before carrying it up in front of Elijah for him to look at.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((My bad I hate life sometimes... xD It gets crazy))


Arianna stood from her seat, flexing her wings as they were still sore from falling, and followed after the rogue and mage. She drew her bow, and knocked an arrow but kept it pointed at the ground and lax. She watched the interaction between the two men, snickering softly at their small bit of bickering. Or at least that's what it looked like to her. She studied the tentacle from the doorway, and took a tentative step outside. Silently, she extended her wings, and launched into the air to survey the extent of the area around the hall. Her arrow quivered with a rush of power, glowing a soft, dim white.


Syndra stood from her seat as well, seeing as it would seem the so called team finally had something to do and she could see who she would be tending to. She knew she was more or less the healer for this rag tag bunch of misfits, and needed to know who would end up being the one she could count on to be injured and who she wouldn't have to worry so much about. She kept her weapons readily available, but for the time being, her hands were free. She slid outside and even with the rogue, arms crossed over her chest. "Leviathan. Never seen one this far inland." She mused absently, looking at the tentacle from where she stood.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas blinked as the mages stun spell rebounded off of his dragon-cloth cloak. Somebody wasn't going to be a team player. That should be interesting. He could see that the mage didn't like him. He obviously didn't respect him, or his abilities. But he wasn't going to leave, there was something in that, Kas supposed, but he would almost have liked Elijah better if the mage had chosen to leave. Staying in a team under a leader he could not respect and would therefore not follow, wasn't Kas's idea of a smart move. Or considerate, though he might have purely considerate motives, his attitude toward Kas was sure to breed dissent among the others. Maybe this adventure would be more fun than he had hoped. Kas smirked, putting his fingers to his lips he gave a shrill whistle. Seven girls, recognizable as the tavern-wenches, exited the guildhall wearing identical grim expressions. They took formation around the guild, standing in battle-ready positions.


Before Elijahs orb is within two feet of the tentacle, it moves, bobbing up and down the energy orb no longer obeys its creator, it goes into a crazy, bobbing dance, before finally dissipating without having reached close enough to touch it. The tentacle twitches and lies still again, but suddenly ground is trembling once again, and more tentacles are sprouting from various crevices, sparks fly as the wards around the guild stop a flailing tentacles from reaching it. A tavern-wench leaps onto the tentacle that sparked off the wards, hooking deadly claws into the rubbery flesh she laughs maniacally, tearing great gashes in the tentacle, which then withdraws into it's crevice, and the tavern-wench is thrown back as if by some invisible barrier, she shakes it off with an angry, feral, snarl, and returns to her position guarding the guild.

 

[The Master]

Elijah jumped away from the tentacle to get some distance. He grabbed a symbol that was floating around him and crushed it. Dark energy engulfed him, covering him completely. Once the energy went away, revealing him, Elijah looked completely different. He had taken on the form of a very powerful dark elf. Elijah's book seemed to have vanished, as it was no longer floating around him.

Spoiler

Elijah made dozens of shurikens appear beside him. He reached out and took them, throwing them at the tentacles with speed that only Kas could keep up with. Forty eight shurikens were evenly throw at all the tentacles in an attempt to keep them from attacking the hall. Elijah made even more shurikens appear, a crimson mist puffing from wherever the shurikens came from. The summoning of them was obviously magic, but the shurikens themselves were not.

 

[DemonicAngel]

((Sorry, that it took me. The person who usually reminds me to check rpn is away A.T.M.


Which reminds me @Angelfoodcake asked me to let you all know that they won't be back until the 18th.))


Kean caught off guard by the next tremor fell onto the ground, on all fours still staring intently at it. As the shaking tempers off. And furrowing his brows he places an ear to the ground listening intently. And if he heard Kas or the hysterical man for that matter he gave no sign that he had. Until he had lifted his head slightly mumbling to himself at an extremely fast pace, giving a small flick of the ear that he hadn't placed to the ground to convey that he had heard, Kas' request to come scout. He stood the rest of the way up, still seeming distracted even as Kas grabbed hold of his arm and hauled his tail outside.


"Not a leviathan." He muttered to himself eyes scanning over the creature's tentacle as he thought furiously. The answer was there, right there literally in front of him. But it didn't quite hit him until the creature was agitated and more tentacles appeared sprouting through the cracks in the pavement like so many grotesque daisies. "That's it!" He yelled snapping out of his thoughtful daze. "Leviathan grade monster, yes; leviathan, no." He pointed an accusatory claw at the nearest crevice as though he was staring down into it to look at the monster. "Your a kraken, aren't you. And a bloody lost one at that. Anyone have a gorgon head handy?" He chuckled a tad bit, and then cleared his throat turning his head toward Kas. "We won't do much to the beast from out here. If you cut off a man's fingers you only make him angry, albeit with out them he can do less. To kill it, we'll need the body." He waved at the crevice he'd been looking into before.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas grinned. He knew he liked the Kani. Glancing back into the guildhall, he calls out, even as he dodged one of the shurikens that whizzed passed his ear, loud enough for them everyone to hear above the noise, "Looks like we'll be going deep then." To the Kani, he said in a lower voice, "How sure are you it's a Kraken, magician? Could it be something else?" He ducks to avoid a flailing tentacle pulling the distracted magician down with him. The mages shurikens seem to do little more than infuriate the monster, although between himself and the demonic barmaids, they seem to be keeping the guildhalls wards from further damage.


Inside the guildhall, a table flies across the room by the force of the latest tremor, and slams into (@Angelfoodcake) Kisi's head, knocking him unconscious.

 

[The Master]

Elijah turned into crimson mist before appearing beside Kas. He panted softly, "Kani is right about getting to the body. You should take the others down there, I'll stay up here and keep it from destroying the hall." He made Dark Elf blades appear in his hands. Elijah continued to attack the tentacles with the barmaids, taking hits here and there.

 

[Hunnyhelp]

One large explosion was hard as rocks and pebbles flew from the underground. "Phew, this monster sure is making it hard to get a stable tunnel here," he yelled before the ground shook again. "I heard your 'Loser Boomer' was unfortunately killed by a terrible death of consumption," he said while smiling a giant smile and swinging his giant hammer on to his back."I'm here to fill in as the 'Super Boomer.'" He then decided that this was the convenient time to spit at the feat of the healer, just for old times sake.

 

[Guardian Angel]

Kas looked at Elijah, and blinked. "Just what I was thinking." It wasn't often that people surprised him, but the mage had succeeded. He wasn't sure (also a rare occurrence) if the mage was deferring to his judgement, or just trying to force him to make a decision. The decision had already been made, but either way the mage was volunteering to remain behind and fight to defend the guildhall. "If you're needed down below, I'll give you a signal." He grinned upon hearing the loud booming voice from underground. "That'll be the blaster, and the teams all together now. Master Dwarf, Arianna, We're going underground." He grasped the magician by the arm again, pushing him out of the way of another tentacle. "You're going to have to tell me you're name, master Kani. You're with me. Syndra! Take care of the wounded as best you can, and then join us. I've a feeling we'll be needing you soon." And with that, he leapt into the crevice with the most tentacles surging out of it, pulling the magician (@DemonicAngel) with him, and leaving the others (@Hunnyhelp) (@Dethbycoffee) to follow. Sliding down first one writhing tentacle and then another into the onrushing darkness.