Fantasy The Aspect Saga

[Flutterby]

She listened to Kadri speak to the two others, Bronwyn and then Gray. She was purposely ignoring the two more extravagant men, who already made her wish for earmuffs. But when Kadri turned to her again, a shadow flickered over Seren's face.
"Many on the outside fancy the Fenn an interesting place. The Commonwealth included." Her tone held an edge. "I would not advise you to visit without good reason, or a good guide."
The idea seemed to trouble her, maybe more deeply than she wanted to admit, but she tried to move past it. She also chose to ignore the name that Kadri dropped- it was clear that she didn't wish to speak about this 'Sigrid,' and Seren wasn't one to pry. The tension that had appeared just at the corners of her mouth faded a little.
"The tradition has softened, in recent generations. It used to be a young person must go into the forest and not come back without an animal. But now some families allow their children to come home at night, to work for longer but slower. Not my family, but some." Seren chose to leave out the part that the change was only happening because of the Commonwealth's ever-increasing influence.
She gave a glance in Arwen's general direction, and then gave Kadri a reassuring look.
"Arwen is smart and self-serving enough to keep herself safe. You need not worry about the marten." But as she turned to Rollo, also enraptured by Arwen, her eyes narrowed. The creature that was hunting them? Was Kadri referencing the dead-raising woman, or something somehow worse than someone who could bend the basic workings of the universe?
Focusing now on Rollo, Seren watched the grass spring up. She felt a pang of jealousy. He couldn't control his magic, but summoning her own was like.. well, it wasn't like anything- it was incomprehensibly difficult.
"She'll like you, with all that greenery." Her tone was a little gruffer than she meant it to be, but the other's free-flowing magic, the unanswered questions, and the sense of an approaching doom was putting her in a bad mood.
Baconhands SilverFlight Goonfire LazyDaze

 

[Baconhands]

"Free of charge this time?" the lineaged asked, her face speaking of bemusement. She stopped herself from asking any further; Kadri had the feeling that probing for more information would result in him requesting money for it. Something told her that Grim was maybe a con artist in more than one respect; she readjusted her clothes to make sure the amulet was hidden. Her shoulders relaxed somewhat after this was done. "Maybe we could arrange a deal? A story for a story?"
LazyDaze

Her attention was drawn to Seren, and her eyes seemed to widen as she described the Fenn. She leant forward slightly, intent on learning more of this place despite the warnings that danced across Seren's features, forgetting for a moment that she was on Aezi. The pegasus raised a wing to stop her from falling, and Kadri sat back, her balance regained, all the while her attention focused on Seren. She felt the corners of her lips rise into a small, albeit intrigued, smile that she offered Seren as a form of thanks for explaining the evolving nature of the tradition. "When all of this is over, perhaps you could be my guide?" She proposed, her voice betraying a half-hearted optimism. "Do you have any siblings going through this tradition? Or any that have? Did you look for a Marten specifically or-"
Flutterby

She was interrupted by the munching of Ivarr, and her gaze snapped to him, her expression darkening, her eyes becoming stormy black clouds that every so often sparked with lightning. "Don't mention her lightly. I know... I know she did not appear as much back there but... but..." Her voice faultered, as she debated revealing the nature of the woman in the tavern. "I've seen her wipe out whole villages, small towns - whole communities destroyed. It's a disturbing thought but she almost certainly let us get away: for what purpose I do not know. If there's something behind her then that terrifies me beyond all comprehension."
Goonfire

It was a sudden change, jolting even, as Aezi's movements turned toward the forests. The pegasus did not stop nor did he slow. His movements, steady and purposeful, led the party into the tight ranks of the wooded army that was arrayed before them. The ground offered little resistance, the roots of the trees almost avoiding the party as they walked deeper into the woodlands.
Dotted within, catching the last lights of the setting sun, were the eyes of predatory creatures that eyed the party with keen interest. As she glanced around, Kadri was almost certain she caught the glimpse of metallic furs and feather moving between the branches and the leaves that surrounded them. When Aezi finally came to a halt, she dismounted. "We're close now," Kadri stated her eyes scanning the trees. "Anything out of the ordinary at all."
SilverFlight Goonfire Flutterby LazyDaze

 

[Goonfire]

Ivarr nodded along with Kadri. "No, I understand," he corrected, opting to not give away further hints of his abilities as she was doing. "Those who thumb their nose at death are worth taking seriously. Consider this my attempt to... uhhh, calm myself? All humans do fear the unknown, regardless of what they might say." Secretly, he wondered if the others feared him; they didn't know anything about him aside from his profession. On the flipside, though, he didn't truly know any of these people, making them wildcards in their own right.

Nearing the darkened path, the assassin drew his flamberge. His eyes picked up the metallic glints; standard weapons might not cut it here, but for now, he would give the illusion of simplicity.
Baconhands

Rollo bit his lip, noting the gruffness. "Just wish I could control it better," he sighed, hoping Seren wasn't jealous. "It gets exhausting after a while, when it won't stop pouring out." He then plucked some of the greens and offered them to Arwen before continuing down the path.

Like most, the first thing that caught Rollo's eye was the metallic glints in the brush. In fact, everything seemed metallic. Foregoing caution momentarily, he decided to crouch and grow some flowers to test a theory. They, too, had a metal coating. This gave him plenty of ideas, given his powers were augmented here. "So this would be an artifact from... Nixhem?" he asked no one in particular.
Flutterby SilverFlight SilverNova LazyDaze Baconhands

 

[Flutterby]

Seren glanced at Kadri again, her eyes narrowing for just a heartbeat.
"My siblings will go through it when is their time. They will chose whatever animal they want- whatever they can catch without losing a limb."
She specifically chose not to answer the first question. To be a guide in the Fenn, one must go to the Fenn, and she didn't have any plans to make that journey any time soon.
Baconhands

She felt a pang of guilt with Rollo response. She knew how draining magic was- of course it would be tiring to have it falling out all day.
Arwen stretched her neck out and snatched the greens from Rollo's hand. A less clever, less nimble animal would've nipped his hand with such a swift grab, but not Arwen. She happily held the greens in her mouth, staring at him, before chomping unceremoniously. Most of the greens fell from her mouth and back to the ground- martens didn't eat much foliage, and Arwen seemed to be teasing the man.
Goonfire

The sudden change of directions bothered Seren, and that deepened when they entered the forest and it became.. not what a forest should be. In a few moments, she had armed herself and Arwen was tucked into the recesses of her pack, now fastened tightly.
It didn't smell right in these trees. She brushed her fingertips along the trunk of one, and found it too cold and smooth to be a normal tree. When Rollo spoke, the sound of his voice wasn't dampened by leaves and brush and bark like it should have been. It stretched through the forest, ping-ponging around between the strange plants. There wasn't a true echo, but there was a ring.
"Could it possibly be anything else.." She muttered softly, started to question her decision to join this merry little band.

SilverFlight SilverNova LazyDaze

 

[SilverFlight]

Graham listened to Kadri as she answered the knight.
"Oh aye, but how many times can we jump before you drop dead?"
Graham did not seem ready to drop his curt, grumpy demeanor, but he followed close by Aezi's side, always keeping a hand close to the hilt of a blade.
Baconhands

Bronwyn grinned as Bluebell found her new best friend. Blue was absolutely ecstatic to find a human willing to give her so much attention.
"Oh, you've made an ally for life." The knight chuckled as she watched them play. Blue took an opportunity to jump up and try and lick as much of Grim's face as her large tongue would cover. She was large enough to put her paws on his shoulders and her weight might nearly have been enough to topple him.
"Bluebell! Manners." The dog came down with a disappointed snort, but continued to smile her jowly smile up at Grim, and walked so close she stepped on the toes of his boots.
LazyDaze

The forest grew thicker around them and Graham watched with mounting unease as everything seemed to turn to glinting metal. He kept catching edges of the beasts as they watched the small party and Graham wondered how useless his steel blades might be against a creature with metal fur.
"This is all ou' of the ordinary." Graham grumbled, staring down a pair of eyes that he had caught watching.
"How long until we ge' ou' of here?"
It was easy to tell he was itching for something to happen. The anticipation did nothing for his hair-trigger nerves and he would much rather be going after something and stabbing it rather than waiting for it to come looking for trouble. Nevertheless, he stayed by the horse's side. Disciplined, to say nothing of his foul temper.
LazyDaze Baconhands Flutterby Goonfire

 

[Baconhands]

It began with a rustling in the leaves, distant and far, something that was, at least at first, only a footnote to Kadri's senses. Her focus was instead on their surroundings; Graham was right, everything here was out of the ordinary - none of the foliage or the animals bore much that screamed natural. She watched Rollo grow some flowers with a keen curiosity and they grew with a metallic sheen, noticed Seren reacting to the sounds of the forest and the to the feeling of the bark of the trees, and took note of Gray's unease.
"As soon as we have the artefact." She answered with some confidence that soon ebbed as she turned to face him. "There's... supposed to be a creature guarding it, wherever it may be. What exactly that could be is... anything."
The rustling grew, and the distinct sound of metal tearing through metal came to prominence in the trees and leaves around them. Heavy footfalls punctuated the air, and as they became louder the ground began to shake and tremble with them. At one point, they stopped, the ground still, the air around the party silent. A roar, punctuated every few seconds by the screech of metal scratching against metal, rang through the forest, originating from the west.
Kadri stood, shocked into silence for a few moments. Her eyes glanced to every member of the party - nobody, including her, had seen this creature yet. They would be looking to her for leadership no doubt. What would the heroes in the stories do?
Without a word, the lineaged started, at some pace, in the direction of the roar. She did not have to run long. Coming to the edge of a circular clearing in the forest, her eyes were drawn to dozens of sets of armour of all different colours and heraldry, some of it ancient, possibly even pre-Dragon War, that lay strewn haphazardly in the metallic grass. And then her eyes spotted it. Pacing, circling, it's fur, if it could be called that, sliding and locking like armoured plates as it patrolled. It took the form of a monstrously large bear with bronze fur; it stood on its hind legs once as Kadri observed it, by her estimates reaching a height of six metres. On its chest, shining with some prominence, were circles of gold, intricate in design, linked together by silver. It fell once again to all fours, the thud sending shock waves through the earth.
It looked in her direction, in the direction of the party, its eyes seeming to burn with the brightness of a forge. There seemed some sort of malevolent intelligence behind them, as if daring the party to come forward; it knew they were there.
LazyDaze SilverFlight Flutterby Goonfire

 

[Goonfire]

Ivarr’s eyes narrowed as soon as the discordant noises rang through this metal-plated forest. He did the unthinkable, sheathing his blade and trudging forth at a slightly faster pace. He savored this opportunity, awaited his chance to destroy a true monster. Not only that, but he figured it would be easier to weight the options if he had an artifact in his hands.

“Ooo, a bear creature,” he cooed in-between slightly unbalanced sways resulting from the shaking ground. The assassin gave the guardian a wide berth, circling it with a rather casual stride. What the hell was he doing. “Fan out, ladies! The beast hunt begins!”

Rollo gasped quietly in response to this sudden turn of events. “So soon?” he breathed before clearing his throat. Now was the time for a bit of motivational speaking, he thought. “Say it with me now. I will win. Why? Because I have faith, courage, and enthusiasm!” He wasn’t even sure if that mantra applied outside a work environment, but he said it anyway; it got him pumped.

Oh gods, Rollo was joking that time he said he wanted to wrestle a bear. Worse yet, it was an angry—and possibly evil—metal bear. Regardless, he put on a brave face, pulled out an acorn, and rapidly grew it into a hefty wooden bludgeon. To his surprise, said club also gained a metallic coating, which also added weight. With a roar, he charged into the fray.

Baconhands SilverFlight LazyDaze Flutterby SilverNova

 

[LazyDaze]

Grim had his hands full with Blue who seemed more than eager to show his appreciation. "Down boy, down!," he laughed as he did his best to stay upright in what had now turned into a clumsy dance. He gave a helpless shrug to Bronwyn once he realized there was no getting out of his "contract", not that he minded. Animals were sincere weather they liked you or not. Humans, himself included, were exhausting. They all had plans, aspirations, and tried to be as unpredictable as possible. Speaking of unpredictable, the plantlife around them had a peculiar air about it, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He tried to think as the rest conversed about important matters.

"METAL, that's why this place looks weird," he said as the entire group came face to face with the bear. "Why'd we stop, restroom bre-" Suddenly he saw the monstrous creature lock eyes with the group. "...That looks rather unpleasant. Perhaps you all should devise a plan-," but it was too late. Ivaar had already gone towards the damn thing and Rollo was pumping himself up with some weird chant. Grim slowly slid behind a tree, getting as skinny as possible as he would occasionally peak at the monstrosity. "...Um what exactly is that thing."

Baconhands Flutterby SilverFlight Goonfire

 

[Flutterby]

Seren tried to keep her face under control as they drew to a stop and the 'bear' stood in front of them. It was monstrously large, horrifically metallic, and terrifyingly aware. She knew, looking at it's eyes, that it wasn't a dumb brute. It had the same twinkle to it's eyes that Arwen did, but made worse by.. well, by how massive and angry it looked.
She watched with a grim face as others challenged it without thinking, hanging back by Grim.
"Metal bear guardian." She stated flatly, as if there could not be a more obvious answer. Seren fingered the tip of her arrow. It wouldn't pierce the metal fur of the beast, that much she was sure of. If she was to be useful, she needed a clear shot of it's eye.
Seren glanced around her quickly, and then strode a few meters away before picking a tree right at the edge of the clearing. Her bow went over her shoulder.
"Better have the sharpest blade if you think to get close." Seren wasn't sure who she was talking to- those already charging wouldn't hear her, and it wasn't exactly a helpful statement. She was already reaching up, wrapping her hand around a low-hanging limb. With a few movements, much more graceful than those she made on the ground, Seren was 10 feet in the air, and looking toward a higher branch on the other side of the tree, nearer the bear. Once there, she edged out, and then knocked her arrow again.
Baconhands LazyDaze SilverFlight Goonfire

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri was on the verge of telling them all to wait; to assess the creature. And then Ivarr strode forward, circling the creature and apparently challenging it as if it were an equal. The lineaged roled her eyes. In a flash her expression sank from one of annoyance to one of despair as Rollo charged forward. It was then that Kadri realised she had absolutely no control over this situation whatsoever.
Grim's question barely registered with her. It took her a moment to respond as she processed his simple question. She did not have a chance to answer - Seren had done that for her. It was a bear, its hide was armoured, and it was clearly enraged. Kadri couldn't provide much more information then that, and she didn't want to. Every moment asking questions was a moment spent not subduing the bear.

The creature had its eyes set on Ivarr - two golden orbs that pierced the assassin with a watchful gaze. It cocked its head to the side, observing every movement the assassin made, assessing each singular motion until Rollo roared. Its head snapped to face the challenger and the roar was amplified and echoed back, bending back the branches of some of the nearby trees. The creature stamped its front two feet before it began a bounding charge towards Rollo, intent on making contact and knocking the wrestler from his feet.
LazyDaze Flutterby SilverFlight Goonfire

 

[Goonfire]

The roar stopped Rollo dead in his tracks, making him drop the club and clutch his ears. As it rushed him, he raised an arm, summoning a plethora of thorny vines to trip and entangle the bear. Of course, it had ungodly strength, so the vines would only provide a minor delay. Naturally, he used this to his advantage, hopping back to produce more dense patches of thorns in his tracks.

Rollo’s efforts only went so far. That was why Ivarr sprang into action next. Dashing into harm’s way, he slid into a gap that wasn’t occupied by dense and dangerous metal-plated foliage, then swiftly drew a curved line of glowing purple energy on the ground with the heel of his boot. A transparent barrier faded into existence, though how well it could knock back this beast was beyond him. He seized this last split second to pull Rollo out of the way. “A tad headstrong, are we?” he chastised the cocky barbarian. “We need something to penetrate thick armor, not a club.”

Baconhands

 

[SilverFlight]

Graham gave Kadri a look of complete surprise. "Oh a creature! Is tha' all?" The roar startled him into an uncharacteristic silence, and when Kadri ran off in the direction of it Graham had to keep himself from yelling after her.
He shot an angry look at the rest of them and moved to follow.
When the clearing opened up to show them the object of their greatest worries Graham swore through clenched teeth:
"Oh Nixhem's shiny bollocks..."
Upon Rollo's attempted pep talk Graham shot him a venomous look. "You've got a thick skull is wha' you've go'."
"Better have the sharpest blade if you think to get close."
Seren's voice sounded behind him. Graham smiled and twirled a dagger. "Sharper than your arrows lass." He smiled.

Blue only paused in her joyful revelry when the creature bellowed. Her ears snapped up, her hackles rose and she began to growl, bounding after Graham and Kadri, until Bron called her back to her side.
"We need to flank it, make noise to confuse it, when you see an opening take it!" Bronwyn called the orders as she drew her sword and raised her shield. She intended to be the distraction along with Rollo, knowing her sword would be of little help against the metal plating on the creature's body.
Ivarr had saved the eager earth mage for now and Bronwyn was there in the next moment, shouting her best battlecry and trying to draw the creature's attention.
"Ge' the eyes!" Graham called out. "An' if you can ge' it on it's hind feet again maybe I can find a chink in tha' armour!"
Blue charged in as well, but kept her distance, running and barking and generally being as distracting as a dog could.

Graham circled, trying to keep in the creature's blind spot, waiting for his opening.

LazyDaze Flutterby Baconhands Goonfire

 

[LazyDaze]

"Oh...I was afraid of that," Grim said with a nervous smile as one by one his...acquantices charged into battle. Seren was right, killing something like this would be difficult. Even if it was a normal beast it would probably take more than one strike from any weapon of your choosing; however, the metal coating made their tools almost obsolete. He studied the bear and the movements of the others as he tried to formulate a plan. Of course, he could probably restrain the beast long enough with Snugglesworth, but that wouldn't be any fun. The throwing knives in his bag would only serve to annoy the beast; in fact, it probably wouldn't even feel it. He wasn't entirely sure if he could aim for it's eyes without getting too close. Lucky for Grim, he wouldn't have to as he saw Seren move to an advantageous position to take on that burden. Others took on the role of distractions, so Grim decided there was only one role left to take...….

Ivaar Ivaar that's our man
if he can't do it no one can!
Rollo Rollo you're on a roll
He's got spirit, He's got soul
Bron and Blue we're cheering for you
we all know you're tried and true
Kadri Kadri go on and lead
She's got spunk but she's not mean
Seren Seren she's our ace
She's going to shoot him in the face
Graham, Graham oh hot damn
he goes KAZOWW then goes KABLAM!
GOOOOOOO RANDOMS!

Grim continued to cheer them on in their efforts while unknowingly...or maybe purposely...(who knows with that guy)? Drawing attention to himself.

Baconhands Goonfire SilverFlight Flutterby

 

[Baconhands]

The bear's charge was slowed down by the vines but only by a little. Its momentum carried it through the initial grasping roots and entangling thorns; each one broke with a satisfying snap. When they did finally gain a solid grip on one of its feet, it took but a moment for the creature to yank its leg free. But a moment was all Ivarr and Rollo needed to get out of its path and erect a barrier that it promptly collided with. Stumbling backwards, the bear snarled a raspy snarl of frustration and its eyes were drawn to Bron, who was the next to advance on it. Its eyes spoke of recognition - it knew what the armour meant, it knew what that shield meant. This was a figure of leadership. Deal with her and surely the interlopers would disperse.
In only a few seconds the bear had closed the distance between itself and the warrior, its paws swiping at Bronwyn's shield to try and knock it from her hands.
Goonfire SilverFlight

Kadri heard Bron's instructions. Flank it. That could be easily done. Getting it on its hind feet was perhaps beyond the lineaged. She stopped her thoughts; she had to do what she can. A brief utterance brought lightning down on her and in the blink of an eye she had moved to the other side of the clearing, facing the bear's side.
“Audros mestis,” she uttered. Lightning leaped from her forearm to her finger tips. She pulled her arm back and lashed it forward, a jagged line of energy and light that slammed into the bear's side. Once it made contact, the lightning seemed to stop, as if hesitant, before it began to branch out across the bear's armoured hide. To the lineaged's horror, most of these branches simply reflected off of the bear into the surrounding foliage, coming within a hair's breadth of Grim and Seren. Kadri channeled the spell for only a second before realizing how much of a danger it would be to her allies.
The creature let out a bellow of rage, however, as if it had been wounded, and doubled its efforts to take down Bronwyn.
SilverFlight Flutterby LazyDaze

 

[Flutterby]

The others seemed to finally come to a consensus on the ground, Bronwyn taking the lead with the exact orders she would have given. If she were into that sort of thing. Graham, or Gray, fell in to follow, shouting her exact thought about the eyes.
But Seren wasn't looking at the beast's eyes then. She was staring at Ivarr. The marvelous weapons man.. or whatever it was Grim had repeated so many times. He did magic, magic of purple light. Light, she thought, was the wrong word. But between he and Kadri, it was the closest she had been to magic that would help her in years. This was a good choice, if she lived for long enough to learn anything.

Seren managed to get herself to focus again, and aimed at the beast's eye as it began its attack on Bronwyn. She took a breath, and prepared to loosen her fingers. The bear's skin seemed to glow, behind where she was aiming. In her concentration, she had missed Kadri's spell- until it bounced and came straight for her head. Seren ducked, but the arrow flew anyway. It whizzed away from the tree, headed straight toward the gold circles on the bear's chest.
Seren swore. A wasted shot, if she had ever seen one.

 

[Goonfire]

The bear’s assault on Bronwyn was rather... brazen, in every sense of the word. Ivarr took full advantage of the distraction, snaking his way over to the bear and using the cover of Bron’s shield. His right hand was drawn back, and he soon lunged forth as it began to faintly glow. His hand pierced clean through its solid hide, only to withdraw from it without leaving a single mark. However, there was a bit of a wispy, glowing substance in his hand, resembling a cotton ball that had been torn apart. It billowed ethereally before slowly absorbing into his arm. His condescending smirk told the story; whatever he just did, he was sure it hurt.

Rollo was mildly peeved that he had to be rescued. This would’ve been quite the story, for him to have wrestled a bear. Question is, would he have liked the outcome? Choosing not to dwell on it, he stepped around and rushed the bear again, giving it a one-two punch: one, a thick tangle of vines to muzzle it and bind its hind legs, and two, a mighty grab. The wrestler ducked low before ramming upwards with all his strength in an attempt to make it budge, his hands grasping at the bases of its front legs. Damn, was it heavy...

Baconhands SilverFlight LazyDaze Flutterby

 

[Baconhands]

The arrow found a home, burying itself a few inches into the golden circle on the bear's chest. It let out a pained roar, its concentration momentarily broken as its claws raked against Bron's shield one last time. The bear's head turned, trying to find the source of the arrow. Its eyes fell on a tree; its branches moved unnaturally, as if something was atop them. The bear growled, a roar building in its throat - it did not emerge. For a moment, its movements became sluggish and slow. The roar fell to a low rumble in its throat. The moment passed. It turned to snap its maw at whatever had attacked it. Its focus soon settled on Ivarr. This was its newest priority. Even as Rollo bound its muzzle closed and wrapped its back legs in metallic vines, its attention was still drawn to Ivarr. It was vaguely aware of Rollo pushing up on its chest but the bear paid him little heed, dragging the wrestler forward with each step.
Goonfire Flutterby SilverFlight

Kadri was suddenly uncertain of what to do; her spells were apparently ineffective or, if they were dealing damage to the bear, then they posed too much of a risk to the rest of the party. She silently cursed herself and quickly shouted an apology to Seren as she watched the archer duck out of the way of an arcing bolt of lightning. Her attention returned to the bear. As it snapped at Ivarr she sprinted forward and took him by the hand, briefly uttering an incantation. Thunder crackled and light consumed the pair as they were transported to the tree line, next to Grim.
"Don't think you wanted to be there," she explained quickly.
Goonfire LazyDaze

 

[Flutterby]

Seren watched the bear cry out in pain, feeling a pang at the center of her chest. Not a real bear, she tried to convince herself. And it hadn't been an entirely wasted shot. Either her shot, or whatever Ivarr had done in the moment when the bear had been looking for her, had slowed it down. That circle was likely the only place she could pierce, other than the eye. And it was a much larger target.

Seren secured her weapons and returned to the trunk of the tree. She picked a new limb, and started to run. The next moment, she was airborne, leaping from her tree to the next. While the bear was focused on Ivarr, she got one tree closer, then another. She glanced down. Grim was below her, making an unholy racket, and Kadri had just pulled Ivarr there by some magic. There was a good chance the bear would come here next.
She readied another arrow and waited for a chance to shoot again.

 

[Goonfire]

Ivarr grunted in confusion as he was pulled away from the front lines. “Well thank you, dearie,” he cooed, drawing the crossbow from beneath the billowing cape. “Let’s try a different approach; blasting it.” With his tone shifting from sweet to sadistic, a faint violet string became visible, followed by a glimmering bolt of the same color. In the blink of an eye, the magically-enhanced mechanism snapped forward, launching the sparkly projectile and impacting the guardian with a bursting flash and a sharp, audible ‘CLANG’.

Ivarr furrowed his brow, wondering how thick that foe’s armor was as he repeated the process. He pelted the bear repeatedly with these concussive bolts, each shot yielding consistent results. It occurred to him that it may be best to relocate and try hitting different parts to seek out more soft spots in the natural armor.
Baconhands

Rollo gave up trying to hold back the beast; it seemed brute strength and his vine spell was getting him nowhere. He dodged backward to avoid being trampled, then dug through his pouches to retrieve an acorn. With one in hand, he closed his fingers around it, until a thick, straight stalk sprang from it. He had formed what appeared to be a short spear, though he didn’t make the same brazen moves he did before.

This time, the brawler took his weapon in a reverse grip and reared back. He had no clue if this would work, but he followed Seren’s example; with one forceful motion of his meaty arm, he whipped this makeshift javelin at that odd, soft, golden circle. The arrow protruding from the spot served as his guide. After hurling the spear, he began retreating again, his vines serving as his only defense against the swifter, stronger beast.
Baconhands Flutterby

 

[Baconhands]

With the removal of most of its targets, the bear rounded on Grim. It bellowed once more; its deep guttural roar was accompanied by the high pitched screech of metal grinding against metal, a sound that made Kadri feel like her very bones were vibrating and about to shatter. As it produced this noise, it advanced towards the cheering entertainer, its muscles tensed and its chest seemingly heaving with some form of effort.
Flutterby LazyDaze

The first bolt landed, and the noise was suddenly silenced as the bear turned to face its new assailant. It was a new target, one doing magic, one that was therefore far more of a threat than a ranger in a tree or a singer on the ground. The creature made a quick advance towards the mage, rearing up on its hind legs when it got close. Before it could bring its claws to bare, however, the javelin landed and buried itself half a foot into the creature's chest.
Goonfire

Silence seemed to consume the entire forest for a brief moment that could have lasted a lifetime. As the next second ticked into the present, the bear reared back its head, unleashing one last deafening, metallic screech before it collapsed, falling still as it impacted the forest floor.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Kadri made her way towards it, her eyes attentive and alert for any form of movement. The lineaged's eyes flashed towards Rollo, and she offered him a congratulatory smile.
"Right... I think that was the Guardian. I think that was... it... I think." She said, the smile vanishing. "Can we... roll it over? I think that circle on its chest is going to help us."
SilverFlight Flutterby LazyDaze Goonfire

 

[Flutterby]

Seren lined up for a shot. Air rushed into her nose, and trickled out of her mouth. The bear turned toward Grim.
Seren waited.
Ivarr hit it, magic dancing off his bolt.
Seren waited.
The beast turned toward Ivarr, giving a clear shot of its eye.
Seren tensed, her fingers just barely hanging on.
The heartbeat of silence seemed to last forever, but Seren relaxed soon after it was over. She knew a death cry when she heard it.
The young woman neatly put her weapon away, and was back on the ground in a few quick motions, landing with only the smallest thud next to Grim.
"Marwolaeth duw.." She muttered softly, and Arwen chittered nervously from her backpack.

Seren approached the metal bear, cautiously but not slowly. When Kadri mentioned rolling it over to get the the circle, Seren nodded once and then looked at Rollo.
"Can you make the vines, to pull?" She motioned vaguely to its feet, and then half-mimed pulling the bear onto its back so that it's chest faced upward.
She gave Ivarr a quick glance, and quirked the corner of her mouth upward.
"Did not like your.." She hesitated, searching for the right word. Her mind came up with "glow sticks," but she knew that wasn't a real thing, so she settled on, "..sparkle bolts, did 'e?"
It was her best attempt at making friends, and she knew as she said it, that it was a sad attempt at best.

Baconhands SilverFlight LazyDaze Goonfire

 

[LazyDaze]

Grim screeched like a damsel as the bear suddenly decided to target him for whatever reason. He had thought he was actually blending in quite well. "HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP," Grim yelled as flamboyantly as he could. He did his best to play the part of the delicate flower; however, he looked like anything but. That was when Ivarr had landed a pretty good hit on the bear. Grim exhaled and watched the battle come to a close. After the little jump scare Grim tipped his hat to Seren, who landed beside him and followed as he approached it slowly. After studying its corpse for a few seconds he prodded it with his cane.

"Wow...we really did a number on it," Grim said straight faced as he completely ignored the fact that he was literally on the sidelines doing nothing but cheering. "Maybe there's hope after all...," he said a bit more seriously before returning to his usual demeanor. "Or just dumb luck," he muttered under his breath with a smile.

Staring at the bear he recalled the fight in his head. The tendencies and abilities of his teammates continue to play in his head like a record as he formulated potential strategies and counters to their styles. He was sure they hadn't revealed everything; however, one thing was for certain; Kadri knew how to pick em. This rag tag group of individuals was special even if Grim didn't want to admit it. Perhaps tagging along for awhile longer wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Considering that the opposition usually ups the ante, I'm sure this a good indicator of bad things to come," Grim said with a grin.

Flutterby Baconhands Goonfire SilverFlight

 

[Goonfire]

Rollo whisked away a bead of sweat from his brow. “Hahah...!” he cackled breathlessly, raising his hands boastfully. Upon Seren’s request, he gave a short, light sigh. “Yes, I can do that.” Vines crept out of the ground, more slowly than before. The brute looked a bit tired; all those vines, which were rapidly decaying, took their toll on his energy. Even the growth rate of the wildflowers and grass around him slowed.

With a few solid shoves and the spell pulling, the bear was sprawled out, with the disc more visible. Rollo dislodged the spear and Seren’s arrow from said disc. “Think we should... pry that out?” he questioned, stroking his chin.
Flutterby Baconhands

Ivarr rubbed his temples after easing down from the tree. “That roaring really gets to you, doesn’t it?” he complained to no one in particular. At the mention of his magic, he merely shrugged and feigned ignorance. “Sparkle bolts? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied in a fruity tone.

With the bear splayed in front of him, the diva drew his blade and approached. “How would this help us?” Ivarr wondered aloud. “Think we should touch it, or perhaps pull it out...? Hey Grim, quit being a drama queen and help me get this out.” He rested his hand on the circle, his eyes following the rim of it to see if it even could be removed.
Baconhands Flutterby LazyDaze

 

[Baconhands]

"Yes... prying it out. Well, removing it from the body. When dealing with these sorts of creatures you tend to find that something like that has something to do with the artefact." She said, looking to Rollo. "Maybe sit down for a bit. Get your strength back."
At Ivarr's comment, she turned to face him.
"I don't know how it will help us," Kadri admitted with an honest shrug. "I just think it will. Maybe we shouldn't touch it just for-" She cut herself short when Ivarr laid his hands on the disc. "-now." The lineaged finished with a resigned tone.
Goonfire

The disc, upon closer inspection, appeared to be fragmented among many, many lines. It was scoured and broken, and cracked, though the lines that broke up the disc into hundreds of tiny segments did not seem entirely random or unnatural. They were far too cleanly cut. As soon as Ivarr's hand fell upon it the disc seemed to thrum with energy. A purple glow took to the closest lines to the lineaged's fingers and spilled out into the rest from them, filling the various pathways in a manner akin to water.
As the final line filled, the disc broke apart along the faults, shattering into a thousand golden fragments that seemed to shift to darken to a brozen once broken apart. They swiftly swarmed Ivarr's arm like a horde of hungry insects, covering the palm of his hand and the underside of his forearm. They moved to envelope his entire arm, but once the shards reached the scales on his hand, they stopped. For a moment, it seemed as if they were analyzing him. After a second, the fragments tore themselves from Ivarr's arm and fell to the floor, coallescing back into the disc shape. There it sat, the purple glow dissipated, and its golden splendour replaced by a bronze hew.
"Are-are you okay Ivarr?" Kadri finally decided to ask, making her way to the Consul's side.
Goonfire Flutterby LazyDaze SilverFlight

 

[Goonfire]

As soon as the fabulous consul realized the pieces were running up his hand like furious ants, he displayed his wide vocal range in the form of a girly, ear-piercing scream. Given they stopped and converged back into their resting form, he stopped shrieking long enough to let these events sink in. "Well... I'm intact," he finally pointed out, lifting the edge of his glove to check out his skin. "Though I'll pass on picking up that bastard again..." He resigned to sit and watch this spectacle from afar...

Although Ivarr was fine, he was content to let someone else bother this artifact. In fact, he was still tracing the fragments' pattern up his arm to figure out what made them stop. That was when the realization struck him, and made it horribly obvious he couldn’t deny his lineage any more, despite it being painfully obvious before. “Well... I think this... thing... recognizes the lineaged. I wonder what would happen if someone normal touched it.” Naturally, his gaze shifted to Bronwyn, as he wasn’t sure if she possessed any sort of powers.
Baconhands SilverFlight

Rollo squealed with equal volume, though not as high-pitched. Once the ordeal was over, he moved closer to stare at the disc, but not touch it. “You, uh... think this is the artifact, Kadri?” he questioned. “It turned bronze, after all. Would the guardian have it embedded like that?”

Letting the others process this chain of events, the wrestler stepped aside and sat with his legs folded. He needed to take a breather still; his strength was waning in his current exhausted state, so any further trials would be perilous. He had no clue what he could do, so he though the smartest move was to wait for those who did know.
Baconhands