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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 22, 2019 22:21:57 GMT
"Well... I am glad my stars are not like yours, then. In my world, one can look at the night sky and bask in its beauty all they want. The moon, the stars, the auroras... very beautiful... for those who have eyes to see them."
Usken remained silent for a few seconds, not because she was saddened by again being reminded of her inability to see perhaps the most beautiful sight her world had to offer, but because her nose had picked up an unusual scent. She snuffed the air and turned to the direction the smell came from, lowering her crossbow to ready herself.
"Be on your guard, scaly little friend. I think something is coming.
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 22, 2019 22:45:34 GMT
"Yes. Something is." Kelziro began to scan around. His nose as well picked up an odd scent, one alien to him. Whatever it was, if it put the beast beside him on edge, he would have to be careful.
And worse, the Ophanim weren't around either. Earlier, he had sent them off to try and locate Usken's supposed village, so now, all he had was this blind creature as a line of defense between whatever it was that was out there, and him.
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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 23, 2019 2:21:58 GMT
An eerie silence settled across the forest. Birds a short distance flew away in fear, the rustling of cold, dried leaves catching Usken's attention as she pointed her crossbow in the direction of the noises. Shuffling footsteps of something heavy resonated in muffled echoes, shaking the branches and leaves and making the water of the nearby river ripple. It seemed as though the scenery was shuddering at the steps of the monstrosity wandering about.
Usken, who previously had shown herself as a calm and laidback figure, showed serious concern for the first time.
The creature soon revealed itself.
It was absolutely enormous, dwarfing even Usken. It was a massive white bear, but it was clearly corrupted. Its body displayed damage that had presumably meant its death, but it was still animated by some power. Its eyes glowed an eerie light blue. From a gaping hole in the bear's stomach dragged some of its entrails. Its tongue stuck out of its mouth as it drooled, shambling towards a berry bush - acting purely on what instinct remained in its warped mind. Despite it being so close, it did not notice either of the two looking at it. It was nerve-dead. It had likely been risen just recently.
"Kelziro", Usken began in a hushed voice, leveling her crossbow up in firing position. "You said you could handle bears... Now, what about Undead bears?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 23, 2019 2:39:42 GMT
Kelziro balked at the sight of the creature. It was... No, it couldn't be. The energy he felt from this wasn't Negative Energy. This wasn't one of the Star of Calamity's thralls. This was something else, even if it gave the star drakon a very similar feeling.
Perhaps... the weakness was also the same? If only the Ophanim could be back in time.
"Those are the kind we nuke from orbit," He silently hissed back. "Any ideas?"
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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 23, 2019 4:44:58 GMT
"The Undead are controlled by the ones below the sea... but a mind cannot be controlled if it cannot function."
The bear munched on a few berries with uncoordinated movements, most of its snack falling out of its maw. It could not even taste the berries it had once enjoyed in life. Finally noticing the presence of Usken and Kelziro, it turned to their direction; inadvertently presenting a perfect opportunity for the arbalist to fire.
BANG!
The harpoon being launched and the bear howling in distress and fury scared off what few birds remained nearby. The harpoon plunged directly into its skull, the bear attempting to claw it out with its huge furry paws. A strange blue mist escaped the wound. Roaring an otherworldy bellow, the unliving ursine charged for Usken, who could not get out of the way in time due to her bum leg. In a rapid blur of events, she was knocked onto her back and pinned down to the ground underneath a massive clawed paw. As the bear mauled her chest and stomach, Usken clutched her harpoon and tried to wrench it further into the bear's skull...
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 23, 2019 5:18:40 GMT
A rock flung over into the side of the undead bear's head, then another rock. " Look over here, thrall! Pick on someone else!" Kelziro sneered. He was up in the air, and his legs kept grabbing at nearby boulders to hurl at the undead bear.
All he had to do was hold out for now. Reinforcements were on the way, no doubt. If he just stayed out of reach of this creature, and kept Usken alive...
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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 23, 2019 15:40:24 GMT
The Undead bear howled in aggravation. It pulled its paw off Usken and turned around, rearing up on its hind legs to an enormous height. The harpoon finally tore free, falling in the snow with an impact that rippled the pool of blood Usken currently lay in. The ursine's paw tried to swipe at Kelziro, but it struck nothing but air, its movements too slow and ungainly to attack efficiently.
Below, Usken weakly teetered to her feet. Her whole front side was covered in blood. Ribs and bones poked out of her torn flesh in places. A vicious bite from the bear had nearly torn her left arm off, a huge fang still stabbed into it. Blood spilled from her mouth and nose in crimson rivers. She tried to take a step forward, but her leg gave in underneath her weight, forcing her to a knee. The arbalist pulled on the rope attached to her harpoon, priming it in her crossbow as quickly as she could in an effort to save Kelziro before the bear would snatch him. She recognized the bear had its back turned to her, however, leaving her with no proper angle to aim for its head.
"Hoj, big bear! Over here!" she hollered hoarsely, reaching for her skeggox. Throwing her burly arm forward in an arc, she threw the axe at the bear. The weapon's blade carved into a few inches of flesh before stopping cold.
When the creature turned to face her, its fate was sealed.
Usken pressed the trigger and the harpoon flew, piercing through the bear's lower jaw and through the roof of its mouth. Icy eyes dimming, the unliving creature was finally put out of its misery, falling inert into the snow.
"Rest easy now, poor creature," Usken said as she staggered to her feet.
Her paw patted around her stomach, feeling her exposed bones and wounds to try and gauge the damage done. Her gloved hand was quickly drenched red, her blood gleaming faintly. She raised her head towards Kelziro.
"It looks bad, does it not? Feels bad, too. If this becomes infected, I am in deep trouble... assuming the blood loss does not do me in first. At least I am still in one piece... We are lucky this bear was a recently-risen one..." her words were shakey, a clear sign of the sheer loss of blood starting to affect her.
Wherever she went, she painted the snow red with the blood flowing from her open wounds. She took another limp step forward, but collapsed to a knee again. "Blast it all! I am not leaving this world without speaking to my daughters and Nor again... We need... have to... must find the healing plants... they can stop the bleeding..."
She forced herself to stand up and advanced a few wobbly steps forward, but quickly fell flat in the snow again, crossbow slipping off her grasp and falling to her side.
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 23, 2019 17:36:07 GMT
The reptile landed on a tree next to where the mighty colossian had fallen. "No... This is not your grave. You won't perish yet." He said with a solemn voice. " I don't know where these healing plants are, but where I lack herbal medication... we have more advanced means of helping you."
A light buzzing noise filled the ranger's ears. It was soft at first, but then it grew louder, until it seemed as if the entire air around her was filled with large mosquitoes. With the beating of wings also came a strange metallic whirl she heard, and the air around her seemed to become lighter as well. They were not alone.
"This will take some time, but my friends can help close your wounds and stop the bleeding." Kelziro stated. "A little late, but better late than never, really. Just relax, rest, and we can patch you up."
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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 23, 2019 17:52:07 GMT
"Thank you," Usken managed to articulate. "I owe you my life, scaly friend. I have no idea who or what your friends are, but they have my thanks as well."
She chuckled.
"So much for me telling my friends back home that I am not helpless, ej?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 23, 2019 18:38:23 GMT
"It's fine, really. We all cannot do everything ourselves. We need help from others. It's how we live, honest." Kelziro said. He turned, and hopped off the tree, before landing on the soft snow beneath him. " Please wait a moment. I need to do something really quick."
He turned, and walked away from Usken. Once he was certain he was out of earshot of the blind ranger, he tapped on a small device on his ear.
What he got was an earful. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU DEMENTED GARGOYLE?!" A voice screeched from the other side of the communicator. "IF YOU WENT OFF TO SUCK ON A STUPID CRYSTAL-"
"I went for a walk and got lost." Kelziro admitted, scratching his lower jaw. " But opportunities have arisen from this."
"I swear to god, if you're talking about another Arbanium crystal for you-"
"No, no. I would love that, but that's not what I mean." Kelziro interrupted. " I ran into a large creature, three times taller than me, mammalian, and sentient. A blind ranger, she calls herself, a member of a village of such creatures."
There was silence on the other end. Then, a response: " I hope for your sake you aren't making this up, or you will wish you were in your beloved lucid dream state. A number of the Ophanim seem to be with you as well. Any word on where our angel went? Did he tell you anything?"
"No, no. I had no idea he hadn't returned himself, but more importantly, there are undead up here. Like the thralls in the great battle, but... different."
"The Lord of Decay's thralls? They're here?!"
"No. Similar, but different. Easier to put down, but smarter in a way. Right now, I'm helping this blind ranger get back to her village. I will activate my locator so you can keep track of where I am. I forgot to put it on earlier, my mistake. When we get there, and I will let you know when we get there..."
Once more, there was silence on the other end. Then, a chuckle. " For once, actual good news. I'll swing the ship over there when you arrive. Whatever these creatures have, might be of use to us. For now, just keep being you."
The communicator died down, and Kelziro turned back to where Usken was. Around the Colossian were divine Ophanim, winged beings composed of wheels within wheels covered with eyes. Several of them were beaming energy into the wounds of the beast, and the wounds were slowly closing up. Others were focusing their energy at other spots, dulling the pain receptors within the giant. This way, she would be back to working order within the hour, if not sooner. " Be gentle with her. Focus on getting her back on her feet." Kelziro ordered as he walked back into what he assumed was earshot range of the ranger, fifty meters away from her.
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Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Mar 24, 2019 23:52:15 GMT
Although Kelziro thought he had been out of Usken's earshot, the scaly little creature had been wrong. The blind ranger, whose hearing stretched even further than her peers, overheard the entirety of his conversation.
Usken frowned, wondering what the scaly creature was seeking. Were he and his comrades planning to threaten her home...?
She wanted to get up, but she was too drowsy. The arbalist collapsed back in the snow, her consciousness slipping away from her.
As Kelziro approached the downed chieftain of Kollagskar, he witnessed a group of moose-like creatures walk out of the trees and surround Usken. One of them, a big black bipedal moose carrying a lantern and an eagle on his mighty shoulder, motioned to his comrades. At once, a few of the antlered beings carefully lifted the Colossian off of the snow. The remaining two, trackers toting spears, took care of picking up Usken’s crossbow and the body of the Stenhud.
The black one glanced over his shoulder towards Kelziro, motioning for him to follow along...
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Post by Executus Gira on Mar 25, 2019 3:09:20 GMT
The arrival of the strange beasts caused the Ophanim to whirl around and buzz with alarm. Their eyes began to flash, and divine energy crackled as they prepared to fire on the intruders...
A hand raised from Kelziro. The Ophanim stopped, then backed away. The Star Drakon took a deep breath. While these creatures seemed to have come out of nowhere, he had a suspicion they weren't hostile. If they had plans to take them by force, they wouldn't have bothered any pretense of being nice. Were these some relative of Usken?
A fight now would get nowhere. And the Ophanim had little in the way of actual offense. Without being able to know exactly what these things could do, Kelziro was facing down too many unknowns to be in charge. For now, these creatures had the ball in their court.
"Very well." He grumbled, before following the black one through the snow...
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