Fable - Ask Nightfall in The Vale

[Ánië Táralóm]

The last few weeks were hazy at best, but what was certain was that whatever that thing had done to them... it was over.
For now.
But after that, what came was not something they were all prepared for...
​

---

Ánië had been traveling for weeks now, and she had been given little choice but to undertake the journey on her own. She was not one terribly accustomed to adventuring like this, as those under the Sphere of Nykios were much more liable to be abroad, but it was something she was not explicitly opposed to. Her experiences during her case of amnesia had prepared her for a journey like this, and with her memory restored and her powers once again at her disposal she was far less vulnerable than she had been back then.

But even this had not totally prepared her for what she would encounter in The Vale.

Aeraesar was a land of magic and light in its golden age, and she was no stranger to the effects this had on plants and animals alike. She was even no stranger to how foul magics could corrupt such places, but where one thing behaved one way in one place, another thing behaved differently in another. What she found in these now troubled lands was more than enough to offer her challenge, and yea, give her pause.

There was a great light, and a crashing noise. And then, there rose up a terrible sound. The screeching howls of some great beast tore through the air and caused the very forest around it to become silent and still. And then again there was another crashing noise.

Deep in the wooded Vale Ánië found herself in the midst of a misty meadow, and therein she'd come face to face with a large and hostile creature. It stood many meters tall at its shoulder, walked on all fours, and was like unto a great lizard. However, the beast had a tail that resembled a scorpion, wings like an eagle, and a head that resembled a white tiger with great saber fangs. Its eyes burned with a magnificent green light, and the claws on each of its feet burned with green fire. With its mouth opened wide it spewed pink fire from within, and with another breath shot a great beam of light. Against such a beast, Ánië found herself able to do little more than evade and defend from its attacks, as traveling into the meadow seemed to have brought her encroaching on its territory, and it was angry.

With haste she darted one way and then the other, failing to find an opportunity to draw close...

---

Petra Darthinian​

 

[Arkobold]

Ever on the hunt for the tasty, Arkobold snooped around the forest floor, snout low to the ground, as his flared nostrils sucked in hungry, tracking breaths.

So focused was the young squire, with machine crossbow strapped to his back like a huge oversized hunk of metal, he had his eyes closed as he did so.

For the shrumps hid well. Sneaky, subtle shrumps. Those were often the tastiest!

The ones that stood proud and tall and colorful. Those were... well... often the cause of many a tummy ache. Those were not the ones he wanted. Those were the ones the Order wanted, and maybe he should focus on getting them, but he was hungry. His dried jerky and tac rations left him wanting. And they had been out on this ranging for days now.

Good practice. The big captain with proud golden horns told him. Even when he gave her the biggest eyes he could. He thought it would work too. Be enough to show her how scared he was. How unprepared he felt. HE WAS SMALL. After all. And fragile. Like one of the smallest and weakest in the order.

Save for Syr Ars. He was bigger than Syr Ars. And he could probably eat-

Something horrid sounded ahead. Broken tree and branch. It rumbled the earth beneath the little squire's feet. And he whimpered and went wide eyed as he hugged himself low to the ground. The big scary thing seemed to thump away. Like thunder in the distance, it roared.

Arkobold gulped. And for whatever reason, he scrambled toward the sound. He was good at hiding. Yes. He could hide. And... maybe he needed to see what made such a scary sound. Maybe he needed to report to the others what he found.

Arkobold went forward. Careful to hide as he approached what he was certain would be his doom.

Ánië Táralóm Petra Darthinian

 

[Osuin]

Osuin heard the disturbance in the distance too, rousing him from his brief nap against a tree. Sounds of screeching and crashing were carried through the air, though he couldn't see the source of it. The noise did not cease as he grabbed his sword and quickly packed up, hastily departing to track the source of whatever he had heard.

Moving at a brisk pace through the trees, the sounds steadily grew in volume as Osuin drew nearer and nearer. Not knowing what to expect, his first objective was simply to discover it. There was little use in planning before knowing the scenario to be dealt with, and all he could do on his approach was to steel his nerves to remain prepared for anything.

After a moment of pursuit, he finally caught sight of it. A towering winger monster that carried qualities of different beasts, all within one roaring terror. At a mere glance, it was severe physical threat – but the bright blasts it spewed forth as breath was far more menacing. Osuin readied his shield and drew his sword while he searched for the other party in the conflict, quickly spotting Ánië in her dire effort to get away from the beast.

And there was another as well; A small, armoured kobold that could only be Arkobold. Osuin moved forward quickly, concerned not just for the stranger but for the squire advancing alone. He couldn't call out without endangering him further by alerting the beast to their presence. So, Osuin simply continued to advance as quietly and as swiftly as he could, preparing magic that might gain the beast's attention. It was his hope that he could goad the monster into pursuing him, instead of the elven woman.

He knew not how he could get away from it beyond that, but she appeared to be in clear need of help. Seeing to her survival and evading the beast remained a priority. Questioning could come later.

Ánië Táralóm Arkobold Petra Darthinian

 

[Ánië Táralóm]

Ánië slid to a halt near the edge of the meadow. The monster seemed reluctant to draw too far from its place on the other side near the tree line, but its preferred place had put it directly in the path she needed to take. She could try to go around of course, but given the landscape and the troubles she had encountered thus far when straying too far from the path, it would take far too long and time was too short.

It paced where it was, its eyes never leaving her all the while, and hers too stayed firmly placed upon it. As she'd fought with it she'd come to sense some sort of familiarity with it, mostly in how in defended itself. Some of its magic was almost similar to her own, though she could not entirely be certain. Arethil was a vast place and home to many strange things, it could simply be something similar. Even still, she would study it with greater depth moving forward after having a momentary reprieve. The reprieve was short lived, however, as it took only for her to make one single step for the beast to become enraged once again.

It roared its terrible roar, and then bolted toward her with a formidable speed.

She could not evade it forever, and saw no better opportunity to strike than now. Perhaps it would not expect that. Perhaps it didn't matter.

She too started forward as quickly as she could, and she moved with a speed that was quite inhuman. Light took shape around her like a mist that spun in her wake, and in one half closed fist another, crackling light began to grow. As she drew close this light grew with a great flash into the shape of a long spear in the likeness of lightning. She leapt high into the air, and in the same motion she drew her arm back. The great spear of lightning too drew back, like an arrow drawn back in its bow ready to be loosed.

The beast lunged upward, and in the same movement she thrust her arm forward and loosed the great spear of light. It struck the beast, glancing the side of its head and striking against its back. The beast was forcefully and thoroughly thrust into the ground as though an enormous weight had crashed down on it.

Ánië afforded no lack of grace in her finding the ground once again some meters away from the heap of a monster. But the dust had hardly settled before the beasts roar once again split the air and it emerged from the cloud in a rampage toward her, to which she promptly took up a stance to react...

---

Petra Darthinian | Arkobold | Osuin ​

 

[Petra Darthinian]

Rider and dragon had gotten into the habit of patrolling the forest surrounding the Monastery every night. It was normally very quiet in this part of the Vale. Most of the sentient creatures knew of the Knights and either kept their peace or kept their distance, while anything more monstrous was usually repelled by the magical barrier that was suspended around the Monastery.

So Petra and her dragon, Norvyk, took any opportunity they could, to spend time free from the confines of the earth and the responsibilities that came with their newfound position among the Knights. Thus they found their way into the sky tonight, into freedom. For there was nothing they both loved more than swimming through a sea of stars on a crisp and moonless night.

Tonight it seemed the only company they would enjoy would be the steady friendly banter and stories told between them as they practiced maneuvers and kept a watchful eye on the tree line below.

Norvyk was just regaling her with a story in regards to a rather cantankerous flock of seagulls and the spritely magician in the lighthouse that kept them, when a startlingly loud feline-like roar ripped through the silence around them.

The storm dragon pulled up abruptly, keeping them suspended in air with languished beats of his wings, his crowned head swinging around to look to the northeast. A deep and angry rumble rising from his gut that his rider could feel through the leather of her saddle. Dragons were naturally territorial beings, and her dragon had staked claim to the area surrounding the Monastery. His presence, and mainly his wrath, keeping many of the nastier creatures away.

"But it would seem one such creature needs to be reminded of what's mine." The dragon hissed in irritation.

The elf patted his neck placatingly, "Sure, buddy. Whatever you say." She pulled a mundane steel sword from the scabbard strapped to her saddle as another feline monstrous scream ripped through the air. The sound spurred Norvyk back into flight, his violent eagerness was palpable as if it rippled beneath his scales.

She wasn't familiar with the sound they heard, let alone what kind of beast made it. But she was sure it wasn't anything a cranky dragon and a feral elf woman couldn't take over.

 

[Arkobold]

Arkobold screeched in horror, as the creature came into view. Feline and bat winged, with a hood like a horrid serpent. It was the sort of thing that looked like it would eat a little Kobold up in one bite.

Break every bone in his little body with but a single swipe.

But while Arkobold hid behind the cover of the woods, just at the edge of the meadow, opposite of the horrid beast, he watched the beautiful warrior gather the magicks of wind and fire, touched by loch. Lightning.

The woman leapt up as the monster gave chase. Hot on her heels. It snapped at her. But she snapped back. Flung the bolt down and the lightning crashed. The peal of thunder came in its wake.

Arko stared wide eyed, and watched the beast shake off its hurt, a roar pierced through the veil of dust and shrapnel, and the beautiful woman readied herself.

He had lightning too! He thought a moment, as he let out scratchy wheeze of breath. Took from his back the oversized weapon that was his machine-work crossbow, that fine piece of engineering inspired by dwarven traditions, and iterated with Anathaeum ingenuity.

It gleamed 'neath the pale light of the moons. He pulled back on one of the levers along its side, the internal mechanisms clicked and clanked and slats opened up, popped a long bolt into the firing rail. Arkobold blinked. He knew he had three shots before he would have to load the next case of bolts still strapped to his back.

A wheeze left his throat, and he looked up. Laid the machine weapon to rest against a fallen log as it moved and thrashed and tried to take down the agile woman who danced and lept around it. His eyes focused on the big creature. Hands adjusting the aim of his weapon. He let his magick flow through the runeworked metals. Felt the bolt-heads take the charge of his magick. Sizzle and spark. Runes of lightning, to help better pierce armor and hide.

He squeezed shut the firing lever along the weapon's stock. One bolt punched out. The machine work clicked and clanked and a second sprung up quick. He released the lever and squeezed again without missing a beat, eyes and weapon still trained. The second bolt spat out with an arcing zap.

Two missiles streaked down range and aimed to punch into thick hide. Arko was already making ready to move.

Osuin Petra Darthinian Ánië Táralóm

 

[Osuin]

The creature gave pause, but eventually bust from the tree line to barrel towards her. Osuin witnessed the woman's own brand of magic, an energetic spear conjured in her hand. The thrown weapon woven of magic struck the beast with forceful might upon impact, slamming it against the ground from the recoil imparted by the attack.

Arkobold, undeterred by the threat the colossal creature posed, readied his crossbow from beneath the cover of bushes and trees he’d surrounded himself in. The diminutive kobold fired a flurry of bolts flew forth from his weapon to sink into the beast’s hide.

With the attack from Arkobold and the elven woman, the battle was well underway. They both had the advantage of range, and could keep their distance from the creature while fighting it. Though not without a weapon that could strike at range, he’d be a much bigger distraction by taking the battle up close. Osuin readied his shield and pressed forward in pursuit, sprinting towards the monster as it tumbled and tossed on the ground from the attacks it had endured. But long before he could reach it, the beast returned to its feet with renewed vigour and began to burst towards Ánië again.

Continuing his advance with speed, Osuin moved to intercept it. An incantation was uttered under breath, and his weapon-hand gripped his sword tight as he invoked his magick. A bright glow began to emanate from his armour, and Osuin reared his arm back to prepare to strike the beast. As his final few steps took him into range, he invoked the gathered magick with a war shout.

The same glow that his armour gave now began to shine from his shield, though he'd not utilize it's effect quite yet. Bright and noticeable, it was likely to gain the beast's attention. Yet Osuin wasn't leaving it to chance, and swung his sword to strike at the beast while keeping his shield ready. There was no light or fire from it, the spell he wove did nothing to aid the attack. Rather, Osuin intended to guard himself or others against reprisal. He kept his shield held out to block whatever attack the beast would counter or follow up with. The magick within it could afford Osuin a barrier to block its breath, or grant him enough might and steadiness to block a charge or swipe.

He'd done what he could to earn the beast's ire. With his shield ready, he was prepared for it.

Ánië Táralóm Arkobold Petra Darthinian

 

[Ánië Táralóm]

… and when the monster drew close she prepared to ready another volley. But just as that twinkling of light began to form, what to her seemed like a miracle took place. First one, then a prompt second charged bolt struck the beast with enough forced to rouse more fury from it, causing it to slow and rear its head back toward its hind leg where it'd been struck. And in this moment of distraction, yet another near angelic sight to her eyes - Osuin's arrival in brilliant light, attacking the monster with great courage.

She was somewhat struck by the sudden arrival of seemingly two helping hands, but she hesitated for only a moment before joining the fray, readying another bolt. Though Osuin's sword failed to pierce the monster quite as well as the previous attack, it did leave its mark. But he'd brought himself perilously close to the monster which towered over him, and it was all too ready to point its great maw down at him and pour out its rolling pink flames upon him.

Ánië shouted with great despair, unaware of the Knight's protective enchantments, and fueled with this newfound grief she hurled the bolt, this time directed toward the beast's exposed neck. It was not enough to end the monster, but it did wound it and rekindle its interest in her. It ceased its attack upon Osuin and mindlessly darted its eyes toward her, ignorant of likely completely unscathed warrior still standing by its side.

Ignoring them, it opened its mouth again and loosed its beam toward her, which she again, though more narrowly now, avoided.

She charged another bolt, intent on loosing it and then soon another, all in an attempt at keeping the monster distracted for as long as she could. If she was correct about who had come to her aid, then this beast would be felled before long by their hands.

---

Petra Darthinian | Arkobold | Osuin ​

 

[Arkobold]

Squire that he was, Arkobold did not have the discipline to hide his excitement at seeing his bolts land true. yippng with dry screech and near jumping out of his hiding spot, he quickly remembered his fragile mortality when the beast gave a rumbling roar full of agony.

Then, he saw brave Syr Osuin engage the beast, shield bright with a guardian light.

His eyes as big as eggs, he watched the battle unfold ejected the bolt case from the machine-work-cross-bow's belly with a hard yank of a pull rod and the press of a heavy switch. The light metal bands slipped out, and arkobold took the next set of dual bolts and slid them into place.

Normally smooth action was made rough and jarring as his little arms shook with terror. Magick was sizzling and swirling and the monster. The monster! It roared and the sound of horrid power searing through the air cause his breath to catch, his eyes to look up as his body scrunched low as his arms ceased their action.

The magic of the elf's lightning bolts looked to be amplified by the silver bolts that stuck out of the beast's flesh. Runes, etched into their metal heads, and silver bands along their hardwood shafts, glowed with blue and golden light. The color of lightning, the color of storm clouds.

Loch and Flame, together came, and gave firth to the strike of light's forked spear, ringing, crash from the clouds.

The ancient poem read.

With those bolts imbedded in the creature's flesh, the lightning spears dug deeper. Burned hotter and brighter against their foe.

Osuin Ánië Táralóm Petra Darthinian

 

[Osuin]

His blade had struck the side of the beast, slicing into its hide. It reared back to attack – yet despite the creature’s great proximity and intimidating size, Osuin was undeterred. He’d prepared for such a reprisal through magical protection. remained prepared to continue acting as a decoy, but the monster didn’t follow up with further aggression as he’d anticipated.

Osuin has been ready to deflect the attack, but to his surprise, there was nothing to deflect. Ánië attacked the creature again and the bolt she hurled smashed against the beast’s neck. His head snapped away before Osuin could properly react, and the beam of pink energy that erupted from its open maw was directed squarely towards her. All came as a surprise to him, who’d been prepared to counter an attack that wasn’t directed at him at all. Yet, they each sought to protect the other.

After the realization and a brief and awkward pause, he moved forward in pursuit of the beast once more. Arkobold wove more magic to aid them in the battle, giving Osuin with the idea to do the same. If the elven woman was intent to maintain the beast’s attention, there seemed little purpose in continuing to play the part of a decoy himself. She carried wise caution engaging a beast of such size, yet was clearly adequately prepared to battle it. Osuin knew not why she was, not what the creature was, but there was no time to seek an answer to these questions while the beast remained to threaten their lives.

Osuin focused his magic once more, but rather than a defensive enchantment he poured the gathered energy directly into the blade of his sword, causing the metal to glow with an orange sheen. Once that moment to prepare had been taken, the Knight Pursuant launched into action and dashed towards the beast with his sword wound back. He followed up with a much mightier strike than he’d made before, the orange glow of his sword growing brighter until it became a bright blinding white.

Rather than distract it, Osuin now sought to maim it with the most vicious swing he could muster. The edge of his sword burst in a flash of flight the moment before it made contact with the creature’s hide, unleashing the magic he’d just enchanted it with. The blade burned hot on impact, the light emanating from the blade burning what whatever flesh was in close proximity to it.

The goal had shifted, and Osuin’s aim was now to bring the aggressive beast down. Once they had seen to their own safety, he’d have to ask Ánië some questions.

He was gathering a steady supply.

Ánië Táralóm Arkobold Petra Darthinian