Dreadlords What Lies Beneath

[Edric]

Edric stood as the acidic air flowed above them, he glanced briefly towards Evie. Eyes narrowed at the poison-eater, but he said nothing as he turned back towards Ventress.

The body on the floor was very clearly not human, at least not entirely. Yet there was something familiar about it too. A frown pulled at Edric's lips, and he watched the former Sirl Dreadlord. He felt a prickle at the back of his mind, a quiet voice.

He was about to speak to ask something when the Professor suddenly appeared behind him.

"Oh-oh my!"​

The Archeologist practically shouted.

"What in goodness name is thi-Oh. Well that's interesting. What would one of the Dragonborn be...no no, not entirely Dragonborn, tails too short, and his teeth aren't fully grown in. Maybe a half-breed, yes. Must be it. I met one of them before in Alliria. I was there fo-"
​

The Professor continued to prattle on as he made his way towards Ventress and Cavil's body, but Edric quickly began to tune him out.

Instead his eyes flickered towards the city above, his senses slowly reaching out. Still feeling the small prickles of distant life.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

There was a lot going on when Alistair executed his thrust. An intense heat that was hot enough to make him sweat. Poisonous steam that for only a moment he thought he felt in his mouth before it was all quickly taken away thanks to Evie. None of it bothered him, however, as he landed the perfect blow.

He had to quickly pull himself away from the sword as the killing blow triggered a wave of heat, enough to make his skin sizzle slightly, but it went away as fast as it came. Alistair took in several deep breathes as the silence took hold, but only for a moment as Ventress took command of the situation. He did not say anything at first, only moving to remove his sword. He quickly focused on his blade. The rune he had used was enough to protect the sword from warping under the heat, that was good.

The professor was saying something, but it was not needed at the moment, so he ignored him. This was no longer the professor's area of expertise, but the expertise of the dreadlords.

"Wh-What is he doing down here?" Alistair questioned in between breaths. He looked to Ventress questioningly and then to Edric, Evie, and Drastus. This place was supposed to be abandoned, but instead, they ran into a half-dragonborn whose magical ability was on the level of four dreadlord initiates. That should be a big deal.

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric

 

[Ventress]

Ventress stepped directly onto Cavill's body, her dress shoes pressing down on his ribcage. Blood from the wound of Alistair's strike touched her right shoe and at present she ignored it.

Two Projections appeared. One who laid a stern arm down on Professor Theldwin's shoulders and urged him to turn around, whether he wanted to or not. The other Projection appeared close by Cavill's head. She crouched down, this Projection, and whispered something into Cavill's ear.

The Dragonborn Forsaken's eyes, weak and weary, flickered upward to meet the true Ventress's gaze.

And she lifted a hand and shot a spike of arcane magic into his face. His head rocked and his body spasmed. A crater of blackened flesh with a hole by which the ground beneath could be seen replaced the left side of his face, and his soul departed his body and into Rupert's awaiting care.

The Projections disappeared, and Ventress stepped off of Cavill. A glance to Alistair, and she said simply, "Initiate Alistair, you are asking the right questions."

Ventress produced from her back pocket a folded handkerchief, and with a flick of her wrist she whipped it open. Upon one of the stones which were the last evidence of Cavill's golem form she sat. She lifted a leg, setting her ankle on her knee, Cavill's blood dripping from her shoe.

Without looking at him, she reached out her hand and said, "Initiate Drastus, your flask."

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Alistair Krixus Edric

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh looked at the city before them, listening to the professor prattle on about this and that. It was then that she stepped over to Edric and tapped his bicep with the back of her hand, wanting his attention.

“There’s more, isn’t there.” She asked in a hushed voice.

One thing was clear to the initiate, there was no way in Kress’ name that there was just one big golem here. And while it was tough and it took teamwork for them to overcome it, Everleigh couldn’t help but imagine some of the big names from the academy from years past being able to handle it with ease. Like Ein. Or Kalix’s older brother. Or Gideon.

She felt her face flush, thinking of how if they were here, by themselves, they would’ve handled such a thing with ease. She looked at Edric and thought about how he could handle it too. And what of her? What the fuck did she do? She looked down at her hands, blood trickling down them from her arms, and glanced at her side, her long hair— well it was still long, just not as long as before. If she had been by herself she would’ve died, it would’ve been a one in one hundred thousand chance that she would’ve made it out alive without severe injuries. She was lucky she only lost her hair and that her skin was slightly seared.

She hated it. She hated how weak she was. And more importantly, she hated proving to the academy that they were right to think she was weak.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

And feast on a soul Rupert did. It even replenished Drasts energy some. But he was still... so hungry. Something about murder, ya know. So.. there in front of the whole group, Drast's belly growled.

Then that scent of quasi roasted man-lizard or from what Rupert was telling him-full lizard. And it was kinda... delicious. So he walked over to the husk formerly known as Cavill, while the archeologist prattled on about him and crouched down.

His eyes locked with the Prattler, knife was pulled free and he cut away some of the fully cooked dragon meat. Eyes still locked, he lifted that morsel and took a few chews. It tasted awful. And wrong. And a little like poison. Eyes now boring through the Prattler he just grinned. "Mmmm... tastes like victory." A wink to the man and he rose to his feet and sheathed the knife.

A few steps later he would spit it out. No, guess he wasn't hungry. Maybe he was anxious? Then he heard Ventress' voice. His flask.

He would beeline back to her side and pull his flask free. She didn't need to clean it, he would. So, he would crouch once more and carefully pour water onto her heel and took her handkerchief to clean off. It would be a process from there, water, handkerchief, his knee supporting her heel. All the while, he maintained the cleanliness of his gloves. And when her heel was spotless and clean, he would set it off his knee and back onto solid ground.

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Alistair Krixus Edric

 

[Edric]

"No one should be down here. That door had been sealed for centuries...unless...unless there is another entrance of course."​

The Professor was the one to answer the question, though that really left a whole host of other problems. Who knew about this entrance? Why had this man been down here? And of course...what were those other flickers of life in the city still.

Edric mulled the questions over in his head, not paying attention to what was going on behind him other than the words that rang out. He frowned at what the Professor said next, half looking over his shoulder in confusion.

"Cannibalism. Fascinating. I once studied a tribe in the Ixchel wylds. Primitives, yes, but with a truly unique culture."​

The Professor did not seem the least bit intimidated by Drastus' consumption of the flesh, in fact he seemed utterly fascinated by the whole thing.

"A Dreadlord practice?"​

He asked Ventress directly, as if he truly did not know.

"I've always been more focused on Foreign cultures, and...well you people aren't exactly the most forthcoming."​

Edric had no fucking idea what the man was on about, not having seen Drastus take from the Halfbreed. A frown pulled at his lips, and he returned his attention back towards the city. Everleigh stepped up besides him, her voice quiet.

He glanced at her, then nodded. "There's something, but they started moving away when we killed that...thing."

The Dreadlord still wasn't sure what to call it. Not a golem, clearly, but a half-breed. At least that was what the Professor called it.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

It did not matter whether someone should be down here. All that mattered was that there were people down here, emphasis on the plural. Still, the first thing he had to do was check on his blade. He took out a handkerchief to wipe any excess blood from his sword, but he was happy to see that the heat had cooked off most of it.

He turned back to the other just in time for his face to scrunch up in disgust. Alistair sheathed his blade but did step back closer to the others. Drastus had just taken a bite out of a sentient person, not just some animal or beast...The thought was rather sickening.

"A Dreadlord practice?"

"No, certainly not a Dreadlord practice," Alistair assured the professor, not doing a great job of hiding that he was disgusted by the event.

His attention, however, was focused on what Ventress had said. A sense of pride did come from supposedly asking the right question, but he was confused by Ventress's response. Did she have an answer, or was she also wondering the same question? It had to be the latter. From what he knew, this place had been closed off for some time.

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric

 

[Ventress]

Observing the filth on her shoes, Ventress did not witness Drastus's partaking which had then provoked the conversation. But it was a necessary filth. Like the blood which would sometimes stain the end of her sleeves when she would politely ask an unsuspecting target to "Please hold still," press her palm to his forehead, and engage the wrist-spike through his skull. This blood on her shoes was of a different character. It was there because she had been instructed, if possible, to establish in Cavill's last moments a sense of dominance. Because of it, likely he knew who had sent her--his end and the end of his foolish dreams--moments before she whispered into his ear:

All of your efforts will be for nothing.

Now that Cavill no longer held life within his chest to crush under her heels, the filth on her shoes became no longer necessary to endure.

Initiate Drastus did not hand her the flask as instructed. Instead, he took it upon his own initiative to clean her shoes himself. She glanced up from her shoes to him as he worked, a reserved surprise hidden well behind a visage accustomed to concealing emotion. As she watched, a warm sensation, subtle and tingling and pleasant, trickled down from the top of her scalp to the back of her neck, tiny hairs standing on end. In the course of her life, there were occasions that she would describe as...unique. This was one.

She let him finish.

Then stood, one hand policing rogue strands of hair that had been blown out of their proper place (and a brief glance to the hair Everleigh had lost as it happened, an unconscious note formed to observe her appearance and the overall condition of her own hair in a mirror upon return).

She announced, "The city is before us. Proceed, Initiates."

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh nodded her head at Edric’s words, and glanced back briefly to see Drastus cleaning Ventress’ shoes while Alistair spoke to the professor. Her hand slid down to one of the hidden pouched on the back of her thigh, pulling out a small vile of what seemed to be water. She popped the small cork off of it and then carefully and expertly began pouring the liquid onto her injured arms.

She sucked in a small breath— healing hurt, always. But she couldn’t just let herself go around bleeding freely.

“Either they’re scared or they’re getting some reinforcements,” she said, tossing the empty vile to the side, letting it break along the hardened earth. “I think it’s the latter. Let’s just hope it’s not another big ball of super hot fire.” Everleigh said dryly. And then Ventress gave the order, they were to proceed, and Everleigh couldn’t agree more. She sighed, pulling a band off her wrist, tying her hair behind her into a ponytail.

“Years of hard work down the drain,” she muttered mostly to herself before looking at Edric and then at the professor. She then smiled sweetly at everyone, despite her eyes holding a fierce darkness. “Alrighty, I’ll be back to making sure you’re safe and sound again. Hopefully you won’t need to be pushed off a bridge again.” She said to the professor, stepping up besides him.

“This way everyone, let’s see what else is in store for our little motley crew.” From seemingly nowhere she pulled out more flat blades. She wasn’t even close to one using up one-tenth of the weapons on her.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus had to admit.. the archeologist was a freak. He could respect that, be a pity when Rupert ate his soul and all that. So at his question about common Dreadlord practices, he nodded his head after the "no" in a secretive manner to let him know that it really happened. It didn't. But hey, he didn't need to know that.

I guess Drast could say he experienced his second intimate cleaning moment.. in a day, whilst cleaning off that heel. He wasn't going to lie, it was semi-erotic and he couldn't quite explain why. All he did know, was something about it got Ventress. He felt a tingling in her ankle that seemed to intensify for several moments and when he looked up, he realized she was looking down at him.. intently. So, game time decision he hit Glove Mommy with a grin and wink as he finished up.

Once he finished, he popped back up to his feet and offered her the blood stained handkerchief. "Think your orbs can handle that?" He asked with a smirk. "Better yet, maybe you can show me how to do it after this mission and I can try to clean it." He would say before pulling it back and tucking it into a pouch.

She would give them their next order and so he bowed his head to her and turned, clean, gloved hands clasping behind his back as he headed for the city.

Rupert hummed in his mind. Eager, excited, hungry. There were souls to harvest and a city that seemed to be familiar ahead. Rupert could sense the dead, and so thats where he walked, Drast would follow. A little more help couldn't hurt.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

"Fascinating, truly fascinating."

The Professor said, observing both Drastus and listening to Alistrai's rebuke. There was a certain sort of wonder on his features, as though he had discovered some grand thing that lay before him. Something that took away from even the mysticism of the city that still rose over them all.

It was only when Ventress urged them forward in the city that the Professor seemed to snap out of some sort of trance. His head perked up just in time to catch Everleigh stepping up besides him, offering her protection once more.

"Oh, thank you my dear. It is much appreciated, and yes I'd rather not go for another...ride..."

He smiled, though was clearly still thinking of something else.

Edric lingered for a moment, and then nodded his head. Quickly he searched the face of the city ahead of the, finding an opening just a few hundred feet down the way. The party passed through the open doorway soon, stepping into the carved columns of the ancient city.

The whole thing was carved into the cliffside, cut into the very earth itself. The Anirians walked through long tunnels made smooth an expertly decorated by hands far more skilled than their own. The deeper they walked, the less primitive the whole place seemed.

No Mosaic's decorated the walls here, yet there was an artistry to it all that impressed even Edric.

Every now and again they would pass by a doorway or an opening, peeking into an empty house or around a tunnel that lead them somewhere. Everytime there was a fork an ancient stone sign presented itself, the language upon it undecipherable even to the Professor.

As they walked Edric noted those flickers of life. They pulled back from the party with every step, yet never went too far. Not running, but keeping their distance. "We're being watched."

The Initiate noted as the party broke out of a long stretch of tunnel into a massive open cavern. Here the walls were once again lined with what seemed like homes and houses. Yet at the center of the cave was a massive building carved from the same stone. A river surrounded it, only a single bridge leading to the platform. The building itself reminded Edric of a Church, though it was the largest he had ever seen in his life.

It sprang up from it's platform and reached near the top of the cavern itself, grasping at the ceiling and designed with smooth curved edges rather than harsh reliefs. Two stone doors kept the building closed, each one carved with depictions of what appeared like strange serpentine winged creatures.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Well, if that isn't an important building with something inside then Alistair was just losing his touch. The large building was like a cross between a church with a few of the strategic underpinnings of a fort or other defensive location. A perfect place for a headquarters in this underground expanse.

Alistair had chosen to take up his position on the other side of the professor with Everleigh. The old professor was smart and he liked his curious nature, but he was not wary enough for the dangerous situation they found themselves in.

This expansive city still had enough infrastructure to allow a group to live down here for years. As long as they had water and food supply, then there was no way of knowing just how entrenched they were down here. Assuming the worst, that meant that they were currently facing off against a powerful enemy with a far better understanding of the landscape than they did. From a strategic standpoint, this was not good.

The one bright spot they seemed to have was that they were traveling with the powerhouses like Edric and Ventress. Drastus's...companion seemed sturdy and strong enough, but he did not know much about him. Alistair probably felt the most comfortable around Evie since they had already proven that they work well together.

"Not much we can really do about that. We were being watched as soon as we stepped in here. All we can really do is wait for them to come to us and deal with it."

They could try to chase after them, but in a city which they did not know the layout and the other side did. You were basically looking at an hour-long goose chase or your own death.

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric

 

[Ventress]

Initiate Drastus sought improvement. Good.

"I will provide extracurricular training," Ventress said as she walked beside him, eyes scanning the city. "If you fail, corrective action of a kind your Proctors are restrained from using will be applied."

Ventress remained very much in favor of the old way of the Academy. The Rebellion, in its ineptitude, sought to tear down a system whose effectiveness had stood the test of time. There was a reason the Academy was not the College, and there was a reason that a Great Dragon was allowed to devastate Elbion whilst Vel Anir remained intact even after a Tide of the Dead.

The combat acumen of Initiate Everleigh and Initiate Alistair was proving to be a cut above their companions. It was not only asking the right questions, but making the right assessments. The Forsaken who had gathered to Cavill's banner remained in the city. Foremost in power among them, Cavill's erasure ensured it was correct to suggest that the rest--with their proven reluctance--were either frightened or gathering reinforcements (and it was dangerous folly to even postulate without evidence that they might be trying to escape). Initiate Alistair's assessment reinforced Initiate Everleigh's own. On unfamiliar ground, engaging an enemy of undetermined size without necessary cause would be disastrous. The Forsaken possessed the initiative. Yet, as it was proven with Cavill, the initiative did not count for everything.

Beholding the Church, it was inevitable that such a grand structure would be entered. Its mere presence demanded examination. And, with her primary objective completed and being free to think of other things, Ventress herself retained a certain curiosity.

"Professor Theldwin," Ventress said. She nodded toward the stone doors of the Church. "What do you make of the depictions there."

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh glanced over at Alistair, leaning forward so that he would notice her and shot him a cheeky little grin. Look at that, the two of them back at it again and working together. At least they weren’t walking around a cavern filled with salty-blood this time, kept their clothes much cleaner.

“If they’re receding back, what if there are traps?” Personally, Everleigh, if for some god-forsaken reason she was ever down here in a dank underground city, would have made sure there would be traps for unwanted guest. Not anything like booby-traps, but things that could be employed for just in case. She looked at the big building that was so incredibly church-like and frowned.

She could picture it now, they walk in and whoever was there were waiting for them, in the rafters, behind pillars, secured behind turnt over pews. Now that would be an unfortunate trap to walk into, even with a full-fledged dreadlord and Edric. It’s not like Professor Theldwin was going to help them in a fight, if anything, he was the biggest liability.

“Don’t supposed there’s any windows or a back door we can try to sneak into?” The poison eater said quietly, mostly this time to herself.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus would smirk at Ventress as she offered the private training session and with his hands still clasped he would nod his affirmative. "Good.. and thank the gods.. their punishments have been soo.. boring." His voice would lower. "Its like they're trying to make us soft."

He could feel Rupert's pull, the retreat of the other forms, and more importantly.. he could feel the dead beneath the church.. within.. the church. There was only one way to nullify their enemies apparent advantage and that was by bolstering their own numbers. Without Ruperts aid, this.. would take much longer.

"Decipher them quickly.." Drastus intoned as the verdant glow in Rupert's eyes began to replicate in his own as he crouched again, his gloved hand resting in the carved stone floor. "If anyone is inside.. they'll be coming out to us.." this time when he spoke there would be a faint echo to his voice as if it wasn't entirely his.

He would curse as that green aura misted from his eyes and downward, trailing down his arm, before seeping slowly into the surface. He would make no further noise, but the pain written across his face was clear as day. It would last only seconds but to him, it felt as if two weeks of pain had ripped through his body.

There would be several seconds of subtle vibrations through the stone and then nothing.. but silence.. until the sudden sounds of commotion within the church. It was brief, as if order had started to overcome the chaos. Those who could, will feel the presence of a dozen beings stirring beyond the entry.

Ventress Alistair Krixus Edric Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

Edric could feel what Drastus was doing, glancing over towards the other Initiate. Something about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he couldn't disagree with the action.

Those flickers of light that he still sensed were not within the great church, but instead formed almost a ring around them. None of them ever stepped too close, none of them ever approached. Yet he could still feel them there on the edge of everything. As though they were waiting for something. "Could be."

He said in quiet answer to Everleigh's question about traps. "We can look around without crossing the moat."

Even with Drastus' magic beginning to raise within the church, Edric still felt that odd trepidation to step onto the island before them. A feeling that was quickly swept away as Professor Theldwin made the decision to stalk over the small bridge to the church.

"Ah. Something mentioned in Tenebrian texts. Stories of Dragons living in the lands Vel Anir now occupies, or at least what we would think of as Dragons."​

The professor walked along the bridge until he reached the island, reaching up to touch the great stone door. each one looked to weigh about a ton, a foot thick and more a door for a fortress than a Church.

"This must be them. Fascinating."
​

As Theldwin examined the doors, Edric couldn't help but let his gaze roam. His eyes flickered around the great chamber, watching the houses and homes that were arrayed around them. Then he noticed the slight swell in the great Moat, the water rippling and moving in the pale light.

A figure suddenly flickered from the water, silhouette so slight that Edric barely caught it. The figure darted forward, pale as a shadow as a blade swept forward and cut through Professor Theldwin's outstretched arm.

The old man screamed in pain, his cries echoing out as dozens more figures darted out from the shadows. Appearing as though they had melted from the darkness of the city itself. Men with skin tinted green, women with half pointed ears, half-breeds all.

One sprang from the floor in front of Edric, a strange blade of black steel flickering forward and burying itself in the Initiate's chest.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair shot Everleigh a grin back, the two were starting to become a solid combo. It was just a matter of getting used to each other's actions. He did not have much experience working with the others, so Evie was a reliable fallback to have for this mission.

Drastus' magic was definitely something. He could not tell exactly what he was doing, but he could sense the necromantic energies coming from his magic. Unfortunately, he did not get much time to analyze the magic when the professor took off across the bridge.

Bloody idiot, Alistair began to take off at a jog after him, not wanting to let the man get too far away. He should have stopped him from ever going, but he had allowed him to move in deference to his station...bloody idiot.

Everything happened so suddenly that he was not quick enough to react. However, he did manage to close to the distance to the professor as his arm was cut off. Ok, so here was the trap. Time to deal with it.

He would leave Evie to deal with helping Edric. Ventress would be fine on her own, and Drastus would probably be ok with his skeleton friend.

Alistair stabbed out with his sword to confront the professor's attacker while using his free hand to pull the screaming professor out of reach of another attack.

"You stay with me now. Don't wander off." Alistair warned as he activated several of the runic eyes across his body granting him a nearly 360-degree view of the battlefield. He then turned his attention to the attacker and shrugged. "Sorry about that, but I believe I will make a better opponent."

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric

 

[Ventress]

Dragons.

Ventress blinked extremely slowly, in a way that suggested disdainful tiredness at the very idea. For those who would hold humanity in contempt, who would view humankind as lesser, she had nothing but a contempt returned tenfold, be they elves, dragons, or any other. For all of their presumed greatness and superiority, these other creatures could not claim to have bested humanity's strongest bastion. Such was their inadequacy. This was to say nothing of the history of Arethil, which saw those who beset mankind wither as humanity itself ever rose to prominence, claiming a proliferation across the world not matched by any other people.

"If these dragons lay slumbering, as had been Drakormir and Neha," Ventress said, "they had best stay that way. Or, upon their waking, their heads will hang from the gates of Vel Anir within the very same hour."

Some part of her wished a so-called "Great One" would wake. She had never killed a dragon before.

At present, she would have to settle for something less.

Professor Theldwin's lack of situational awareness suffered a remedial injury. In a way, the Forsaken had done Ventress an inadvertent favor, perhaps sparing her the effort of correcting him herself. Edric suffered an ineffectual wound which would hinder him none. From the reports she had read, written by Proctors Novgorodoff and Giovanni and others, much worse had already been done to him at the Academy and with far greater lethality. She was more annoyed that he had allowed it to happen than concerned that it did.

The other Initiates burst into action around her.

And Ventress stood on her own. Correction: not quite on her own. Six golden flashes lit up around her and a ring of Projections, with the true Ventress in the center, had appeared, each with thin wisps of pink and purple arcane energy swirling about their hands, rising from the ground like steam near their dress shoes.

Yet she did not attack. She wouldn't help any of the Initiates. She might let Professor Theldwin within the ring of her Projections, but she wouldn't assist the Initiates, no. Any of the Forsaken who thought themselves capable of besting her would be relieved of that notion. Ventress would purposely leave as much of the fighting to the Initiates as was possible.

They had all been training for nearly a decade.

Graduation may have changed. The Republic may have tried to obscure the realities they would face, but this, here and now, was starkly clear. Do or die. All of their training led to this.

And they had better not fail.

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh’s violet eyes narrowed at Drastus and… whatever it was that he was doing. Why did it look like it was hurting him? Whenever the poison eater used her personal magic there was always a sense of euphoria behind it, it felt good, making poison that is. Also seeing it in action was another “feel good” feeling. Of course, it’s not like her magic took away her life force.

Speaking of life force…

See, that was the problem about not having to fear death— it made you sloppy. Further proof that Everleigh had always been right about the academy’s golden boy, Edric, look at him just getting stabbed in the chest? Even the dorky Professor Theldwin had more sense of self-preservation and was only missing his arm!

“Get out of the way if you’re just going to be a meat shield,” Everleigh growled, springing into action while Alistair took care of the professor and got him back into the line of safety. “They’re gonna fuck us over if we stay on this bridge.” Really, she just wanted an excuse to push Edric out of her way and further into that strange black blade— and wow, look at that, Edric did make a great meat shield!

The attacker was pushed back, allowing Everleigh to swing around Edric’s side and plant a high kick to the Edric-Killer’s head, knocking them back into the water. There was a splash and Everleigh’s eyes glowed gold once again, using her blades to cut into her arm, flinging the blood into the water.

It might have seemed ridiculous, but she had a plan. Her toxikinesis, for whatever reason, was reliable today. But while she waited for osmosis to take part, more half-breeds were making their presence known. Yuck. Why the heck were they under Vel Anir? She’d find out later— right now, she had to not follow Edric’s lead and get stabbed in the chest.

Flat blades and throwing spikes were flung from her after being coated in her desired toxin of choice— not quite killing them but rather paralyzing them although to suck a extreme extent it was a garauntee that many would witness organ failure, as long as her blades were able to infect them. All the while, she made sure that a good portion of her blood was still falling into the water beneath the bridge.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

And just like that, the mole people upped the ante. Oh. No. Not Teddy One-Arm. Heh. Part of Drast hoped he would die, just so Rupert could eat him, but alas, no such luck this second.

As he looked up, he would see Edric get penetrated deeper than a four coin Anirian prostitute in the docks. At that was deep.

Thankfully, Drast would not be getting that experience. Ruperts shield would deflect a blow meant for the mage before the trusty companion took a sword to the gut. Naturally, it didn't do much. But the fear was clear as day on the mongrels face as Rupert grabbed ahold of their hand and the hilt and pulled to him. Rupert sword had shifted and that free hand would then shoot from hilt to head-ear weird thingy and pull them close enough to take a nice and juicy bite out of a jugular. He then shoved the corpse back and turned to the next group, his ethereal eyes focused as that blade reformed in his hand. They would know fear and run.

Meanwhile, Drast had pulled his dagger free and slid it across a mongrels midsection before driving it right into their groin. Another mongrel tried to grab ahold of Drast and he roared as both hands grabbed his foe by the head, allowed necrotic energies to pour through him, and cause the head to decay and whither. Piercing screws spewed forth until a sickening squelch crushed the skull.

The doors to the church would also burst open as the small group of re-animated allies entered the fight.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

Edric looked down at the blade buried in his chest.

He tasted blood on his tongue, a frown flickering over his features as he tried to draw in a breath. The figure in front of him pushed the blade, stabbing it deeper and sending a spike of pain through the Initiate. He grimaced. Fingers tightened.

Everleigh's kick launched just shy of his face, striking the Forsaken and sending him reeling back into the water.

A breath swept into Edric's lungs, and his magic suddenly lashed out. Tethers lashed out in an instant, grappling at those who had swept from the shadows. Their life was pulled away, tugged free in an instant as Edric grasped at the blade buried in his chest.

He wrenched the blackened sword free, a splatter of blood casting over the tainted waters in front of him as another of their foes rushed towards him.

The blade flipped in his palm, clashing forward as his foot kicked out and a loud snap echoed in the darkness.

"You should be dead."​

A gurgling plea came from his foe, green skin flickering in the pale light as the black blade slipped through Edric's palm and buried in the man's shoulder. Pinning him in place. "I should be a lo-"

Before he could finish speaking, the man in front of him seemed to smile. A glow erupted in his palm, and then suddenly an explosion ruptured forth from his hand. It ripped through the air, expanding and bursting with a sudden concussive force that sent Edric flying.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Oh, I doubt that."

...Well, that was rude. The figure in front of him was a lean female half-elf, maybe only a little older than himself from what he could tell. It did not take much for Alistair to realize that she knew what she was doing, just from the way she held the blade and balanced herself. She had expertly parried Alistair's strike at her.

"Let's find out. I'm Alistair. What's your-"

Alistair always liked to talk when having little duals like this, but that wasn't her style. His sentence was cut off as her short sword lashed out to stab into his chest. He was able to parry the strike on his own just in time. He smirked with confidence only to frown as he felt a warm wet spot on his abdomen.

He looked down to see he had been cut on his body's right side. How had she done that? Almost in answer, 6 faintly translucent purple daggers rose and surrounded his attacker. Psychic knives? Oh, come on. That wasn't fair.

"Well...time to back up."

Still grasping the professor, Alistair pulled him back towards the others, all the while fighting off a barrage of attacks from the half-elf. He was doing fairly well to only be using one hand, but some of the blades kept managing to make shallow cuts across his body. The damage would have been a lot worse if not for his eyes that allowed him to keep track of all the incoming attacks...

...or maybe she was just playing with him.

Ventress Drastus Tal'deneshaar Everleigh Ebersol Edric

 

[Ventress]

Ventress stood within her ring of Projections, seeing through seven total pairs of eyes. She observed the Initiates, each of them employing their own specific magic and their own specific style of fighting which complemented it. Interesting items of note: Initiate Everleigh's self-injury and purposeful blood in the water, Initiate Drastus's risen reinforcements bursting out from the Church, Initiate Edric's demonstrated indestructibility, Initiate Alistair's use of small talk as a tactic to disarm his foe.

It always served to keep such notes. She would say that it was the difference between her graduating from the Academy, or her contemporary rival. He rested in his grave now.

The Forsaken, larger in number than she expected for this fight, either did not attack her because she was not actively attacking them, or--

Ventress felt something. A shadowy face emerged from just over her left shoulder, its inky form disconnected from a body--a manifestation of magic not so dissimilar from her own Projections. One side of the face was human, yet the eye was burned shut in a grotesque tumor of flesh, the mouth with long scar which stretched up into an eternal smile. The right side of the face was hideously avian, like a bisected crow's head fashioned into a mask. The split-open beak stretched out like a display of dissection, molting feathers clung to pinkish skin, and a bulging corvine eye swiveled around in its socket until it peered down and across the cleaved beak at Ventress.

The twisted gaze of the Avian Forsaken stared with an almost blissful contentment, if not for the sinister sharpness. Ventress glared sidelong at it, not even deigning to turn her head.

"Cavill told us about you..." The Avian cooed, feasting with a sick grandeur on the syllable of every word.

"What did he say," Ventress said. The battle raged on about her and the ring of Projections.

The Avian let out a luxurious hmmmmmmmm. A long, oily tongue snaked out of its mouth and dragged a wet trail along its scarred, human face. The lilt with which he spoke had a perversely seductive quality to it. "House...Sirl. House..." The Avian's degenerate voice, just outside her left ear, hissing like the climatic moan of a whore's midnight affair, "...Ssssssssssssssiiiiiirrrrrl."

"Dispense with your insipid parlor trickery," Ventress said, her nostrils flaring. "And we will end you mercifully."

"I've been counting..." The Avian cooed, its eye rolling back orgasmically before settling again on the livid golden gaze of Ventress. As if sharing a forbidden secret, it whispered into her ear, "Counting...your sins..."

"We will count to three. Show yourself by then." Her words were curt. Commanding. "If you would rather us find you, you will be made to beg for the blade, and you will be denied permission to die."

"I can taste...what vexes you..." The Avian cooed, "Aura...Ventress..."

"One."

The shadowy face disappeared.

"Two."

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

A roar from behind caught Drastus by surprised as some large beast grabbed ahold of him. It felt. Wrong. One arm was some sort of mottled and soaked fur while the other was green and possibly laden with pox. He couldn't see it, but he was quite certain he wasn't up to date with his vaccinations

Going up, was no problem. Going down... really hurt. Drastus cursed as his back was driven into stone, the wind nearly knocked out of him. He did a quick roll to the right as a blade just nearly missed. And he looked up and saw possibly the most grotesque looking beast he had -ever- seen in his life. No wonder they were killing these people. It was just this half-orcish face with the pig nose, nearly stitched in half to the face of a pupper. He didn't even want to think of how they got that to work.

"Hold on!" Drast would hold up a hand giving his opponent a pause. "Let me just puke before ya kill me. What the fuck are you?!" Anger passed over the beasts face and as the blade came down, Drast grinned and shot him with a finger gun. "Skidoosh." He howled as necromantic energy began to eat away at the orcish side of his face before he was grabbed from behind by two of Drasts newest minions, who began to claw at his face before tearing him apart. "Woah, Bone Brothers. Hes dead. C'mon, form a circle around us. Its like amateur hour here."

He looked around and began to look for Edric. He was getting creeped up on, Evie was drooling, Ali was trying to protect the professor, and some hideous bird thing was playing seduction hour with Ventress. Cursing, he would head for Alistair, before firing several necromantic finger gun blasts at whoever sent Edric flying, if only to buy Edric time to get up.

Rupert meanwhile, would slide in front of Alistair, the next group of knives deflecting off of his shield, before he roared and stepped forward, aiming a shield bash for her knee and a slash for her midsection.

A lancing pain would find itself in Drasts side and it caused him to stagger before a form seemed to emerge from his own shadow, poised to strike.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh wasn’t sure exactly what she was fighting, but all she knew was that technically, they had made the first move. First the fire golem and then attacking the professor and Edric. Really, the dreadlord initiates were just protecting themselves at this point, and if that were the case, then Everleigh was allowed to go wild. Just like with some of her more harrowing adventures from before, Everleigh was ready to fight until she couldn’t even move a finger.

And it seemed the universe seemed to hear that thought and decided to test Everleigh’s dedication, before before her stood a giant of a thing. Had to be around seven feet tall and while it wasn’t broad by any means, Everleigh could see the light and shadows tell the stories of strength of the sinews that made up their bare legs and arms. Multi-colored shimmering smoke emanated around it’s body.

Why the fuck did Everleigh get paired up with the big guy?

“ıllıllı ď¤ñ’ț ɱ¤√£ ıllıllı”

Everleigh had slipped her right hand back into one of the hidden pockets behind her, prepared to pull out another blade but the moment the forsaken had spoken she was paralyzed. No, not paralyzed, she could blink, she realized, and move her tongue around. But her feet were glue to the ground, and she couldn’t even so much as turn her head or twitch her fingers.

Magic filled her nostrils and Everleigh could see that the holographic shimmer that was once around her large opponent was now filtering over to her. The poison eater understood, for the most part what was going on: whatever that aura was, it forced Everleigh to bend to the Forsaken’s will. There were some limitations it seemed for parts of Everleigh could move, but for the most part she wasn’t moving. Sound also seemed to be a component but it’s not like she could put in some makeshift earplugs right now.

And in the center of a battlefield, that was incredible dangerous. Thank goodness she had a back up plan. Only a one in twenty or perhaps one in ten chance it would work, but she had to try. Or else her head would go flying, especially since it seemed the forsaken was preparing to say something else. Didn’t mean one of his buddies wasn’t going to notice and finish the job sooner than he could.

Luckily, Everleigh didn’t need to move to use her magic, how nifty was that. Eyes were still glowing gold and Everleigh focused all of her magic on all the poison and toxins and venom around her. The majority of it was in the water, and despite gritting her teeth, she was able to continue amassing all of her poison into one large sum. Blood from her forearms and arms began to accumulate together as well and much to the chagrin of her forsaken opponent, a eight foot long viscous form comprised of blood, toxins and water and morphed into a translucent purple, floating snake.

She loved snakes, always had a special place in her heart, after all it was the first thing she ever ate.

Everleigh may not have been able to move, but her poison could.

Footsteps were running towards her, there was the whisper-sound of steel sliding out of a sheath and while Everleigh couldn’t see, she could pinpoint where they were and the poison snake of her own creature lunged and strike, it’s “fangs” the only solid thing about it but finding purchase in the forsaken’s skin.

A wide smirk appeared on the purple initiate’s face, her eyes scrunching up as she heard the thud and the screams that slowly turned into choked gurgles.

“Your turn, big guy,” she whispered, the snake coiling itself around Everleigh’s body.

“ıllıllı βȑ£åķ ÿ¤ɥȑ§£Ƚƒ ıllıllı” The forsaken shouted, a shrill ringing starting to pierce the room, and Everleigh felt her hands move on their own volition, fingers bending back so uncomfortably so as a multitude cracks could be heard. Everleigh felt the bile rise in her throat from the pain but hey, that’s why they were tortured and punished, right? To keep moving through the pain. And Everleigh was going to make sure her “pet snake” inflicted pain a hundred times greater on the forsaken who utilized sound.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Drastus Tal'deneshaar