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The hut disappearing around her came unexpectedly, and Yoshe twitched slightly. Surprise was quickly replaced by a small delight taken in feeling the open morning air on her skin, and she involuntarily stretched her wings with a slight groan She didn’t get to enjoy the sensation for long, though, as she was reminded of present circumstances.

"Better," Yoshe answered absently to Keladry’s question. Some of the worry that was showing in Eango’s expression had already worked into her own voice. "You are fine?" She then asked. A moment later, she spotted Falco and the two others coming back to the camp. As if to hasten Keladry’s answer, she added, "Eango seem edgy. Anything he say to you now?"

There wasn’t much time for an answer before the three were back in the camp, and Falco’s prompt beginning of his explanation meant that anything more than a simple "I’m fine" or some such would have to wait.

Yoshe understood most of Falco’s explanation. She was able to draw an analogy to her own experience, as it was in fact part of her profession that she be in tune with the animal and plant life around her enough to at the least sense their energy. Indeed, some of her most potent magic was formed by using that energy rather than her own.

All in all, she at least got the gist of what Falco was attempting by the time he had begun to attempt it.

As the orb reacted to Falco’s exertions, Yoshe was feeling rather hopeful. She’d put aside her worry for Keladry, at least for the moment, and was paying close attention to the auras that began to form around the orb and Falco himself–just in case he wanted a second opinion. Seeing that the object was working, she let herself hope that they would be able to find their target and at the very least learn something about him or, failing that, how they could more successfully utilize the orb in the future. When Falco spoke, though, Yoshe’s good feeling ebbed and dissipated. As yet, she could sense nothing wrong with the magic, but...

"Falco..." She dared to whisper, "what happens?"

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何をしてんだよ、俺は！

((Alright... It's on!))

Keladry only had time to look from Yoshe to Eango and then back again before the others returned. A quickly fading look of puzzlement disappeared almost as quickly as it had sprung up, and it seemed to be the only sign of acknowledgment that she was going to show about the matter. Falco had started talking so quickly that her lack of any answer was easily forgiven.

She tried to listen to Falco's long, drawn out explanation of what was going do be done but her mind kept drifting back to the fact that he knew how to find Zhillcrad. That changed things, and not in a good way. No it would, in fact, be devastating. It ruined everything.

The woman's eyes darted around the group in an almost frantic manner before coming to rest on the Orb in Falco's hand. She couldn't risk it; it was now or never...

There was a loud ring as Kel drew her sword from its scabbard. The tip of the blade went immediately in Falco's direction and she held the sword in a completely offensive position, something she had yet to do on their journey. "Give me the Artifact," she demanded, all but spitting the words. Her eyes flicked to Eango before barking, "Get it."

The big cat just stood there with probably the most shocked look of all the group. ~What are you doing!?!~ his voice was a low growl. ~Keladry!~ he belted as loudly as his mind-voice could upon not being answered.

~Ahalad-kaa...~ the painfully weak voice of Keladry fluttered into his mind only to be engulfed by the wall that kept their consciouses apart. Eango bared his fangs aggressively, not at the group, but at his partner.

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Falco averted his gaze from the orb and brought his eyes to Keladry in shock by her words, only to wrench back and shut his eyes as if blinded by some strong light. He kept the Orb in a vice grip in his left hand as the right tried to comfort his burning eyes, but he managed to get off a shout of, “That is not Keladry!”

Keladry, meanwhile, spoke out loud to someone that was not actually there, as her words did not seem directed at the group. “I’m sorry, my King! I played my role as best I could, but your safety is all that matters!” After taking a half-hearted swing at the big cat, more of a warning than an actually attack, she dropped her sword which winked away into nothing. Keladry began to convulse and shake, her body morphing into something hideous. Its consistency was like a tan jelly the size of a person, and it consisted of dozens of eyes and mouths. Each mouth let out a terrible chattering that sounded as if they were all saying ‘Give it, give it’ over and over again. The sound were distracting and almost painful as the mass slithered its way towards the still blinded Falco.

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The Undiscovered World OOC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f14/the-u...orld-ooc-4575/
The Undiscovered World IC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f9/the-un...ed-world-4608/

Motivational Tips: Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me, who believes in you!

Athradien put the leaf back in his satchel when he was satisfied with hit job, this taking a while, which stopped just after Falco began to speak. Both Bane and Athradien looked at Falco, blinking as he spoke. 'Sounds interesting...' Bane spoke into Athradiens mind, looking over his shoulder a second after he said it to notice Athradien nodding faintly. He became slightly entranced by the artifact, staring at the luster of the object in Falco's hand.

The only thing to really break his concentration was the sound of a sword being unsheathed. He immediately jumped up, ripping both of his blades from his sheathes as he quickly found the epicenter of the noise... Keladry... "What in the hell..." He whispered, catching Bane leaping from his position and taking a defensive stance to Athradiens right, his fangs completely visible. He immediately noticed that something was wrong when Eango began to growl at Keladry.

Athradien heard Falco yell to the group, this made him crouch to prepare for anything... Had she just been playing around all along? The next thing which happened freaked him out the most. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what Keladry was turning into. Out of all his years of being around magic users, this was a new one... The monsters first target seemed to be Falco as it slowly moved toward him, and Athradien acted. He darted over to Falco, grabbing him by the stomach and pulling him back, "What in the hell is this thing!?" he had an exasperated tone to his voice, staring at the monstrosities with wide eyes. Bane quickly moved to his friends and Falco's front, slowly moving back with them both.

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The mass of mouths and eyes flowed over and had almost been able to engulf Falco if it were not for Athradien’s quick action. When they had moved out of range and Athradien had released Falco, he managed to steady himself and open his eyes. Immediately the Orb disappeared into Falco’s bag with great speed, and he spoke just as quickly: “When I looked over at her, I was not expecting to encounter such a strong magical aura that it would dull my senses. That creature is called a gibbering mouther, but I doubt that is what it truly is. Its aura might have temporary blinded me, but I still got a quick look at it: Whoever or whatever it is, it is under the influence of a powerful transmutation spell known on my world as Shapechange….look out!”

Before Falco could get any further in his explanation, the gelatinous mass had sprung forward like a wave as it attempted to engulf Athradien, Bane, and Falco. The chattering mouths let out a short cry in tandem, however, as the mass met a wall that did not appear to actually exist inches before it had been able to strike them. It slid down the invisible wall of force and began to writhe again. Falco withdrew his hand from the air and let the protective spell fade. How did it get past my guards and wards?!? Could this be Zhillcrad's magic? Has he broken the seal? Damn-it, there are too many things unanswered! All I can do now is fight! Falco withdrew his shortsword and held it defensively, not letting his thoughts distract him any longer. “Everyone be on guard! The true power of Shapechange lies not in what it allows one to change into, but that it allows one to continue to change and adapt!”

The writhing mass began to grow in size and change in shape and consistency. No longer was it as large as a man, but now it was twice as large as any horse. It was sleek in design, stood on four legs, and appeared to be well armored. It opened its gaping mouth at the party and let out a roar before charging headlong at them all!

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The Undiscovered World OOC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f14/the-u...orld-ooc-4575/
The Undiscovered World IC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f9/the-un...ed-world-4608/

Motivational Tips: Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me, who believes in you!

The fact that Keladry's animal companion had now turned itself upon its master told Lander that something was wrong. It seemed that Keladry was not acting upon her own will and was possibly being controlled by their enemies, just as the silver-haired man had controlled those undead before, and if so there was a chance that she was still in there somewhere. He watched, disbelieving as her form changed to first one shape then another. He thought of the battle the night before and their attackers, gaping wounds and bloodless faces, being manipulated like puppets on strings. If Keladry was still somehow herself and could be restored then he didn't want to harm her, however he barely had time to think as the huge armored beast began to charge.

The animal inside him blazed with fight, waiting close to the surface after the recent transformation, and called forth by the immediate threat to itself. Without warning he changed, the wild, wolfish dog charging ahead at the armored beast in a flash of brown fur, snapping at its underside and scrabbling with claws to try to get it to stop its charge at the others.

Lander couldn't penetrate it's armor-plated underbelly and the big dog was dwarfed by the size of the creature. Quickly he darted between the legs of the beast, growling and snapping, leaping onto the creature's back, sharp claws finding a hold between the armor plates and teeth clinging to its armored neck.

It was the second time in the span of a day that Yoshe had been shocked to stillness. First was when their masked opponent from the night before had suddenly appeared behind her and attacked her with fire. She would have been immensely angry with herself about it, too, had she been given the time. But, with a monstrous armoured quadruped that was easily six times her size bearing down on her, the only time she had was to jump into the air and out of the way.

It was only after she was herself safe that she remembered she was with landbound people. In her way of thinking, their ability to get out of the way of something so large came down to a matter of luck. She had to do SOMETHING to give them a chance!

There was one thing....

Yoshe began channeling her energy, drawing some from the nearest trees and shrubs, into the grass and the few vines that were in the monster’s path. All the flora in front of it suddenly began to grow, turning the forest floor into a writhing mass that snagged and tangled the monsters feet and slowed its pace, at least a little bit. As the plants continued to grow, leaves on the trees began to rapidly lose their green colour, going through the reds and yellows of autumn and then falling off as Yoshe’s spell drew some of their life energy and redistributed it. Within seconds, the grass directly in front of the monster and immediately around was tall enough that Yoshe could stand on her tip toes and still not be able to see over it; a human would have been up to his belly. Some vines could not continue to cling to the trees with their sudden new weight and came falling down; branches snapped as other vines fell.

Yoshe watched with some satisfaction as the beast became more and more tangled.

"It hold him not long," Yoshe called to her companions. Her voice carried a very clear message that had little to do with her words: move your ass! She knew that it would soon either come crashing through her soft barrier in a rage or change its shape again into something that could slide its way out some how.

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何をしてんだよ、俺は！

The large beast groaned as the forest itself came to life and formed a mesh of tangling grass, vines, and branches. Brought to a sudden halt from its charging by the entangling undergrowth, Lander slid forward across the armored head plating of the beast, unable to sink his claws into the plating to hold on. He had not been able to really injure the beast until now, however. By sliding forward across its head, he came into range of its eyes, which he began to claw at madly. The huge mouth of the creature opened up and let out a cry of pain while rearing its head back. Lander was flung off of its face, but landed safely in the tall, soft grasses that Yoshe had conjured. The massive beast began to convulse and change again…

Falco had backed away when the beast began to charge, making use of the cover granted by the high grass. He took shelter by a tree, watching as his friends toppled the beast, so to speak. He could not help but think, This person is a fool! It will drive itself mad by changing so frequently, if it is not already crazy! We have to finish this quickly before it changes into something we cannot possibly fight…“Drisk, Athradien, I need a distraction. Keep it away from me if you can. Yoshe and Lander, if you can still understand me, try to pin it down again. I might have been useless in the last fight, but I will not stand idly by in this one!” Falco’s hands began to move in intricate patterns of a somatic component, and he muttered something under his breath.

The convulsions ceased, and a new monster was upon them. It had three heads: one of a dragon, one of a lion, and one of a goat. Folded up on its torso were two bat-like wings, and a lizard tail trailed off behind it. The dragon head opened its foul jaws and sprayed a stream of fire, burning away much of the underbrush that trapped it. Then the monster turned its attention on Drisk, biting at him with all three heads.

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The Undiscovered World OOC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f14/the-u...orld-ooc-4575/
The Undiscovered World IC:http://roleplayerguild.com/f9/the-un...ed-world-4608/

Motivational Tips: Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me, who believes in you!

Drisk could see the jaws of the creature reaching toward him, saliva dripping from the mouths in their quest to make a snack of him. There was no chance in hell that Drisk could evade that, it was coming at him too fast. He saw his death before him, saw his life flash before his eyes. Damn... his life kind of sucked. But it did remind him that he was an omnishifter, this didn't have to be the end.

His change happened quickly, and when the jaws finally clamped together, there was no Drisk being chewed up in the thing's mandibles. Drisk was five feet to the left, his hair blue and feathers once again on the outside of is arms. Agile form comes in handy, especailly when you're trying to avoid a three-headed creature that wants to eat you. Not letting the creature recover from it's failed attempt at biting, Drisk removed Lucifer from it's holder, and unloaded five of the six shots towards the things knees, hoping to impede the things movement. It was at that point that he realized he was in his agile form... in front of the rest of the group. Quickly he reverted back to normal, knowing that it was too late, they'd have to have been blind not to see it.

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Eango was know a hundred percent certain that the thing that assumed his Ahalad-Kaaslane's shape was not Keladry. Enraged that he had been tricked in such a fashion the big-cat watched feverishly as the creature changed shape into two different beasts. The animal stood stiff-legged as he watched the humanoids battle with the impostor, involuntarily shaking with his fury.

Fragmented thoughts were starting to trickle into his mind now; Keladry's futile attempt at reconnecting with her companion. She was trying to break through the fog of her mind, he knew, but whatever had caused it wasn't letting her out of its grasp so easily. He wanted... no, needed to be with her. He needed to help her and he needed to stop the cause of her distress. It was no surprise that before too long all his pent up frustrations got to him and he couldn't keep himself out of the scuffle any longer.

With his screaming roar that was so easily identifiable as a mountain lions' Eango leaped at the back of the creature as it went to attack Drisk. His vicious leap was fueled by the anger of being duped into thinking the impostor was the real Keladry and the fear as to what was happening to his Ahalad-Kaaslane and where she currently was. With his fangs poised to strike and claws extended fully he had the full intent to cling onto and tear it to ribbons with his razor teeth until the beast took its last breath.

((Eh, sorry for the crappy post... I'm pretty much dead on my feet right now.))

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