Summer gasped when she heard what her friend said. I'm her short time at school she learned a lot about many creatures. She knew these things were vicious, especially when something they cared or loved about was killed. She got away from the creature before it could attack her.

Summer looked around at the ground knowing these creatures could come out of the ground and she had no idea if there was more than one. Suddenly the ground under her left foot collapsed and she moved on time as a younger paich came up attacking her leg scratching her.

"Ah" she yelled in pain. She held out her hand as it howled green as she used a a growth spell she learned in her class to trap it making it more pissed off at her. She knew in her heart she could never kill a creature from nature, but at least she could stop it from hurting her. She looked to her friends and but her lip. She looked around for things to use to help them.

E'nasha Williams Lyn's Hunt

E'nasha froze at first at the sound of growling around them, the Creature's howl breaking her paralysis as she bent and scooped a handful of tree nuts, seeds, off the ground. Good thing she'd been studying so much before this. As Keri drew a sword, E'nasha watched the shadows, waiting for the creatures to appear. Soon enough one did, charging right at her from the shadows.

Acting quickly, She threw a couple of the seeds towards it, causing them to sprout and grow into full-sized trees right in front of the creature, effectively blocking it from reaching her. In the next moment, a thud behind her made her turn to see another one about to attack Keri. Luckily, its hind foot was placed just right that E'nasha was able to manipulate a tree's root to wrap around and possibly trip the creature before it could reach the vampire. "And now, we should probably start running."

Aramir

"Caution? Who needs caution? Lets just charge into the middle of the pack, that seems like a perfectly intelligent idea." Aramir muttered under her breath, pulling back her bow and aiming carefully at the writhing mess. At this distance, with this many enemies, she couldn't mess. However, she didn't want to accidentally hit Myrn or Colette or her little bat demon either. There was a rhythm to the chaos. Packs never moved unorganized. "And...there!" She let loose an arrow, and another. She was careful to make sure that Myrn was moving in the opposite direction. She hoped Colette wasn't in the way and she couldn't see her little bat either. She only hoped that she didn't hit any of her allies or the stone wall. She only had finite amount of arrows and she didn't want to go breaking any. Making new ones was a pain.

"Come down to the Catacombs, they said. Investigate some rumors, they said. Nothing major, they said." She muttered under her breath, drawing and firing another arrow in an automatic motion, her hands a blue blur.

E'docsil.

The bat flew over the battle, stopping only briefly to examine who all was there. Satisfied with her examination, she flew on after the Esyire and the Demonomancy master.

Slade, Mackendrick, and co.

Tendrils of shadows leapt out from the shade cast by the trees, several grabbing each harpy. With vicious yanks and twisting, the monsters were ripped in various pieces. Slade's version of being drawn and quartered. The shadow man strode past the gore, giggling to himself as he picked up a shoulder and arm of a Harpy and ate it, swallowing it in one gulp.

If you do not have the courage to kill her yourself, my servants will do it and you can slither away in shame back to your tribe. Chessmaster's voice whispered in Ellys's ear, as Mackendrick and the three new pawns walked past her, heading towards Lyn.

Leith

They are here. Prepare yourself! The ring warned.

Keri Wolf Lyn's Hunt

Keri watched the alpha as it landed with a thump on the ground. Rage, panic, and memories of the attack flooded into her mind all at once. Keri refused E'nasha’s fate to be death. New blood wouldn’t stain her already crimson red hands as long as she was able to stop it. As she watched in a half glare as the the alpha snarled and huffed, she returned the violent announcement with hisses and growls of her own. A plan formed insides her mind helping push the already planted thoughts aside.

Once the massive creature moved Keri allowed her body to mimic the movements. She was almost completely unaware of the other Cosh. Her main focus was keeping the alpha hurting her partner, perhaps in a way so that way both of the wolf like creature would clash together hopefully causing some sort of damage. As her body shifted a finally time readying herself for the bite on her foothe was amazed as trees grew from what her partner had thrown. Keri’s body began to relax as trees grew in front of her eyes. Amazement filled her eyes as she watched them grow.

Keri turned just in time to see E'nasha snag the second creature's foot into some vines. As her partners words filled the silence Keri gave an amused grin at the now trapped animal. She knew they had to run but for some reason she didn't want to leave the creature without some sort of wound. She gripped her sword tighter as she walked towards it. Keri slashed at the trapped leg hoping her swipe had caused some sort of damage or at least stunned it.

“ I believe you're correct about us overstaying our welcome here. I suggest we rush be towards the meadows and see what they need help with. I apologize in advance for this but I want you to be able to keep up with me.” Keri said as she placed her sword back into it's holster. After it was secure she picked up E’nasha in her arms as she ran up the newly grown trees and launch them both ahead of the Cosh.

They had been traveling for days, their tails slithering across the stone and rough terrain as they were persuaded for days by the Ridge Hound pack. It had been a good idea at first until the creatures had turned upon them, still starving even after wiping out the whole Yasomere army. They pressed the large group of hundreds into the Ravine but only eleven made it to the college. It was the Naga that opened the seals Tyrael had set, their intelligence and quick thinking barely keeping them ahead of the monsters hunting them down. Only time of great risk did Naga ever manage to work together, their minds united and bodies moved like a well oiled machine in defending the last matriarch from falling.

Lyamis, Marya’s brother, was among those individuals.

The ridge hound reptile like bodies flickered in then out, each time their moves made to avoid the stabbing weapons greeting their approach. Some were struck and promptly became a new meal for their brethren causing Lyamis to mentally huff in disgust at the waste and lacking loyalty. His spear darted in again to nail a charging hound as the point buried itself into the creature’s shoulder, oozing fresh blood across its wrinkled hide. It easily toppled to its side whimpering while Lyamis jerked his weapon free viciously. Immediately it tried to wiggle back onto its feet before another Ridge Hound collided with its throat, ripping it out. Another went to the side, slashing the underbelly to cause intestines to crumble out across the floor. In a rabid frenzy the animal was becoming a meal for seven to eight creatures of its own kin.

Each time one crumbled down, the ridge hound was hauled away to rip into pieces and devour. This made making a wall of flesh between his tribe and the attacks difficult when the ‘bricks’ were vanishing. As a sister covered his flank, Lyamis looked over his shoulder. Huddled in the corner was the single elderly Naga, Amaryllis, and the remaining matriarch for Mar’s tribe. Her skin was albino and smooth, all color lost when she stopped going out into the sun when she became the head. Her white hair hung off her skull and draped down past her shoulder blades, her red eyes flickered with a calm and steady gaze.

Lyamis spared only a moment when he spotted another female Naga crumble under the sheer numbers. Ridge hounds bite and clawed, her screams started then ended suddenly. Immediately several were flung from the now ‘dead’ corpse while she rose upright, her eyes empty and fangs out. Pieces of flesh dangled off her bones exposing the red and white underneath the flesh. Her fingers no longer grasped her weapon when she turned toward Lyamis, her mouth opened hissed, as she lounged forward. Lyamis’ weapon went up instantly allowing her fingers to seize the handle of his spear. Larger weight easily sent him back as she snapped her jaws, stretching her neck out to sink her fangs in.

Alaira cursed as she swung... She felt the blade find purchase, cleaving deep into the creature's flesh... But she knew that it was strong, it's bones would not be sliced so easily. So, her sword tore apart the meat but proceeded to glide off the bone. The creature was stopped, and the follow-through from her swing caused her to turn around... There was a flash out of the corner of her eye, the woman only having a split second to raise her blade to guard, along with a back-hop assisted by aeromancy...

She wasn't quick enough to avoid the blow, but since she was moving back as well the beast couldn't strike her weapon hard enough to break it. However, the additional force from the blow caused her to fly back further than expected and lose her balance, tumbling to the ground. She didn't have time to strike back immediately, the woman springing to her feet first. Her eyes flicked down to her blade, noting the scratch along the blade that could have easily shattered it had she been slower. She spat, shouldering her blade before dashing in for another strike. She cloaked herself in lightning, bolts of energy arcing around her body and singing grasses as she passed (She wasn't in contact long enough to outright start a blaze, however). She rather liked this 'cloak' spell of hers, it made physical attacks against her a risky prospect: While you could still hit her normally, such an action would not go unpunished... Most creatures and people were not keen on being zapped, after-all. She tried for a running start into an overhead, downward swing at its midsection. And if that didn't work, a backhop was in order.

"Yes! Yes, John Cena, do what we practiced!" Baulder said as he managed to land his left handed blade into the side of the ridge hound's lower neck, while his right hand swung free seeing as he had not timed that one properly to actually hit one of the beasts. As he followed his hand which was still tightly gripping the embedded blade which he had put enough force to nearly cut through the ridge hound, he began to lower himself to the ground with the still struggling hound. He wanted to know what his enemy tasted like after all. The back half of the hound was not moving but the front legs and the neck were still weakly struggling against him. He knelt down and took a bite out of the emaciated animal, a bite which only took up flesh, blood, and the slimmest piece of meat from it's side. Baulder put his right foot down on the nearly dead hound and stood up while he pulled the blade out with him, all the while still chewing on the tough meat. "Hmmm, they don't taste bad.... peppery, we would call it. Yes, too much pepper.

Baulder looking over to John Cena or a rather close look alike to himself he saw the now grown Imp grab a ridge hound and embrace it with his full body. Grabbing it by the top of its neck and one of its back legs John brought the demon close to himself before jumping half backwards half sideways with the head of the ridge hound underneath him. Putting his full weight down on the hounds neck via his first knee on his left leg John Cena quite literally "popped" the head off the hound. The body began flailing like crazy as John still held it in his left hand and waved it at Baulder excitedly."Yes, close, quite close, continue!" Baulder yelled at his demon as it then pulled out the dagger from the sheath the dagger had come with. He then began waving it wildly as he grabbed another one and began going at it wildly with the knife. Though this time though another hound began gnawing at John Cena, turning a rather lopsided fight into a life or death struggle between the demon and the beasts.

"Hggggggghhh-ound, f-f-fl raffff!" John attempted to stammer out with his horrible understanding of how to say words in common. Baulder felt proud of his demon for a moment before another hound jumped on Baulder almost knocking him over. Then another bit his leg which made him instinctively kick which knocked him off balance. With no free hand and ridge hound biting at his shoulders from the position it was digging into his chest with it's sharp claws Baulder grabbed the hound and pulled it close to him as he fell and he bit into it's neck. It wasn't hard enough to take off anything but he did manage to sink his teeth in deep before he landed on his left side still grappling the hound. With his right hand closest to his face and the hounds neck he reached up and placed the blade to the base of its skull. He bit harder as the hound struggled more intensely to free itself and slid the kukhri across the back of it's neck, cutting roughly between two vertebrae and functionally killing the hound. Cover in blood he let go of the one hound and wildly swung his right blade to his exposed side. The blade missed and the other hound that had bit into his leg earlier continued clawing at his upper leg aswell as biting. Baulder yelled and swung both blades at the creature this time. By proxy the other dead hound was carried with him as it was between his arms when he killed it.

This time one of the blades hit and cut off its front right leg. The hound collapsed into its now gone leg and attempted to scramble to its remaining legs. Baulder brought his right blade down on the middle of it's back and cut into it somewhat. The hound collapsed this time and barely moved other than attempting to breath as he pulled the blade out of it. Pushing the dead hounds off of himself Baulder put his left blade in its sheath and decided that he should focus on one weapon for the time being. He looked up to the other students that were around him, seeing a small-ish elf girl lead a group of the hounds around and simply dodging them. He then yelled over to where he had seen John Cena earlier. "John to me, we have many to kill!" When he looked over John had massive chunks of himself missing and was limping, but he looked like he could still kill a few. "Elf girl! Bring them here, they are edible enough!"

Annabeth Gultch

Annabeth thought she's seen a lot of strange things at the college, but this horse wasn't like anything she's ever dealt with before. Right as her arrow was going to hit the creature right in the eye, it vanished into shadows and only managed to land in it's rump before disappearing. And while she didn't know what the creature was, Annabeth could recognize the power of the Nox when she saw it. It was one of the mage bloods she could have accessed, but she chose Psychomancy instead. "A nox monster... What's it doing here?" Annabeth was planning her attack when Alaira put Lyn into Annabeth's saddle and slapped Samon on the rear, which made him dash forward. "Hawa!? Alaira!"

This was not as planned, but Annabeth needed to act fast. At least Alaira's action allowed Annabeth to get away from the Nightmare as it reemerged and did battle with Alaira. Taking Samson, and by proxy Lyn, at least sixty feet away Annabeth took out two arrows. She knew that trying to shoot both her arrows at the nitemare as it fought Alaira wasn't going to be easy, since despite Annabeth's skill two arrows were just going to cut down her power, accuracy, and range. But she wasn't aiming for the monster. Annabeth's two arrows were a smoke arrow and a whistling arrow. She was going to fire them off into the air to alert the other hunters, but as she had the arrows notched she heard screaming from harpies. She definitely knew about them, and had heard their screams before after an incident with trying to use psychomancy on monsters.

Worse still, the screaming came in the direction that Mar and Athalus was, at least last time Annabeth saw them. Considering the rumors and controversy they stirred up just for being together, Annabeth feared they were getting hit the worse. She was originally going to use her arrows to call for back up, but those two may need it more. "Lyn, cover your ears!" Aiming in their general direction, Annabeth let loose her two arrows. ALmost immediately the whistling arrow emitted a high pitch screech across the skies, loud enough for everyone in the area to hear them. Shortly after the smoke arrow started to emit a thick black smoke, which while not hot enough to actually burn anything, would continue to burn for a good ten minutes or so. If anyone was around, they could spot the smoke from a mile away, and hopefully come to help Mar and Athalus.

Annabeth would have gone, but she couldn't leave Alaira alone here, even if she had Lyn with her. If anything, Annabeth would be much more helpful to Mar and Athalus if Alaira came with her then if Annabeth went alone. So she was going to help her fight the Nightmare. But how was what Annabeth needed to think fast on. If she stuck with her arrows, she might end up hitting Alaira if the Nightmare did it's shadow dodging maneuver again. Annabeth was thinking of using her spear instead, relying on the combined speed and strength of Samson and a couched spear to do massive damage to the nightmare. But that still didn't mean that the creature couldn't dodge using it's shadow attack. She debated using her invisibility spell over herself, Samson, and Lyn, but that may make things even riskier since then Alaira couldn't see Annabeth, and she may end up in the way.

Annabeth decided to stick with her bow for now. Fortunately for Annabeth she was in a position perpendicular to the horse: she can take shots at the Nightmare and not worry about hitting Alaira, assuming that she doesn't jump in front of her shots. She was shooting the beast from behind, aiming for it's flank and legs. If she could cripple at least one of them, then Alaira should have no problems chopping down the rest of it. Taking out three Broadhead arrow, Annabeth drew the string on her bow and got one arrow ready for a shot, the other two gripped in her hand so she can follow up with a flurry of arrows. When the Nightmare tries to rear it's legs up again for a kick, she'd shoot it right in it's flank

Tyrael Marchosias

Meanwhile down below, Tyrael figured Ssarak did something to the Ridge Hounds when they slid to a halt. The front line seemed stunned for one reason or another, and another few started attacking the Ridge Hounds. Beast they may be, they tend to work well enough together that they wouldn't attack each other, certainly not while they were hunting... Unless they found easier prey. But this only distracted a handful of the Ridge Hounds; the rest behind did not care to wait for the front line to continue moving, and tried to crawl over them. Tried, as it was then that Tyrael let loose one of his mighty arrows. A well placed shot was able to take out three Ridge Hounds at once, slamming them into the wall as the javelin-sized arrows impaled the monsters. Another shot killed two more, pinning them to the wall. That was five out of the twenty ridge hounds dead, with six underneath the pile confused and eating each other. That left the other 9 to make a mad dash towards Ssarak and Tyrael. Seeing that he didn't have time to make another shot before the ridge hounds would get them Tyrael let go of his bow and took out his large knife. It was going to be a melee.

Five ridge hounds pounced at Tyrael, leaving four to Ssarak. In a show of agility and speed, one was able to climb the holes on the wall to go above Ssarak, aiming to land it's full body into his face. Two more worked in tandem to try and slam the Eysire into the wall, while another tried to get behind the eysire and bite his tail or trip his legs. When one of the Ridge Hounds lunged at Tyrael he simply put his blade in the path of it's lunge, letting it run face first into his blade. When his blade sunk partly into it's neck, he ripped it out with enough force to finish severing the head. Tyrael then dodged aside as the other ridge hounds narrowly managed to latch onto him. As he was about to get ready for their second attack, he noticed something down in the distance. It was dim in the fairy fire, but he could barely make out the figures of... Nagas. "Dyreackthanose, down the tunnel! What do you detect!?" Tyrael would have tried to get a better look, but the ridge hounds had quickly turned to attack him again, forcing his attention back towards them.

Meanwhile the ten ridge hounds attacked relentlessly, despite their lost in numbers. Darius's wind motes were enough to keep them confused and allowing him and Myrn to score an easy kill, but once they smelled the blood of their own they knew they were being attacked, and pressed forward. A few went after Myrn thinking her an easy foe, even as they failed to catch her. Though one climbed up onto the coffins and was in an ample position to attack her from above while she was distracted trying to lure the other ridge hounds away. One Ridge Hound who ignored Myrn attempted to lunge at Darius, but was killed in midair by Aramir's arrow. Baulder and John's fancy display allowed them to take out a majority of them, but there was not time for celebrations. Coming down the hall was a horde of 40 Ridge Hounds, many of them much bigger than the runts the students have been fighting with up to this point. There were previous few seconds left to spar. Additionally, another 20 ridge hounds were coming from the opposite side, where Lari was trying to escape towards. They smelled blood, which for the ridge hounds meant food and violence. As soon as they killed whatever was killing their kin, they could feast.

Colette panted as she held her bleeding arm. Somehow it wasn't closing in her and she saw Hyllos get hit by the ridge hound and sent into the stone wall of the catacombs. She grew angry at this and glared at the ridge hound. her angry seemed to spike a similar feeling she got when she had first summoned Hyloos only it seemed a little bit more powerful than Hyllos.

"How dare you hit my friend. You will pay for that" she said as a glow around her started to form. She let go of her bleeding arm to hold out her hand that was covered in her blood. A burst of light came out and a cat like creature appeared before her. It was tiny, but still a little bigger than Hyllos is. His fur was black completely but had a blood red belly. Unlike most cats this one had two tails instead of one and not the normal green eyes. His red eyes stared at the ridge hound and then looked at Colette who was back to holding her bleeding arm. He looked at her arm and then looked at the ridge hound. It glowed and grew the size of a German Shepard.

"Attack....Atticus" Colette said falling to the ground slightly feeling dizzy, her blood dripped down and off her fingers Turing into black dust on the catacomb floors. Atticus responded to his name and attacked the hound aiming for the heart area killing it stanly. Colette's eyes widened at the power Atticus held.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Though he might have been able to simply overpower them, Ssarak, as per usual, decided to take the cautious approach. When the first ridge hound leaped up onto the wall, Ssarak jumped back. Although, the ridge hounds would not necessarily perceive it, as in his place he had left a doppelganger. Though they did not have eyes to see it, their other senses could still perceive it.

With the ridge hounds focused on the illusion, Ssarak retaliated immediately, focusing first on the one that had attempted to pounce on his head. If these beasts were at all capable of recognizing the deception, that would be the hound which would notice it first, since it had passed straight through the doppelganger. Fortunately, killing a single ridge hound was not a difficult matter. A simple thrust with his sword through the confused beast's chest was enough to end it.

It was at that point where Ssarak heard Tyrael shouting about something down the hall, prompting him to focus on collecting thoughts from that direction. Most of them were the bestial intentions and perceptions of the ridge hounds, but there was something else mixed among them, something more coherent. They were beings with sight and rational thought, and they were currently engaged in a fight. He could have attempted to filter out the ridge hounds to listen in greater detail, but it would require more concentration to gain knowledge that would be unnecessary at the moment. With his cursory scan of the tunnel, he already knew there were people ahead fighting for their lives. "There are ridge hounds and...people!" He answered quickly.

Seeing as there were people ahead who could use their help, Ssarak went on the offensive. The hound attempting to flank his doppelganger was his next target. Again, he thrust his blade into the beast, this time from behind towards where he assumed the heart would be. Though, he quickly pulled the blade from its body to keep up his momentum. Two of the beasts had just "tackled" the doppelganger, and subsequently fallen through it, so Ssarak brought down a diagonal overhead strike at the nearest one, intent on using the momentum to proceed into his next swing towards the other. If he was able to kill them, he would turn to aid Tyrael if he had not yet killed those threatening him.

Lira could still hear the hounds close by her, they seemed to have picked up their pace. She swore under her breath and gently looked for another solution letting out a groan. "this will suck" she muttered and found a casket that was slightly opened or least the seal broken, she pushed the casket open just enough for her to slip in feeling the squished muck of the corps under her. The stench made her want to vomit but she kept it back and moved the top back over her hoping the stench would mask her sent. She held the make shift knife close waiting staying as still as possible.

Ellys hissed quietly when the voice entered her head. Her eyes narrowed and head twitched, stopping her from looking around for the source. She knew it wasn’t be there as her mind recalled her companion being invaded and controlled. Her body uprised while she spoke out loud, no longer caring if it made her look unstable, with a venomous tone. ”You don’t know Naga well. Besides, I’ve seen her magic, so how she dies shouldn’t matter in the least, only that she does.”

Ignoring any further words, the Naga’s figure broke into the small opening of trees where Mar currently laid. Her tail coiled and winded along the ground’s grooves with the elegance of a predator, each movement clearly wasted only enough energy that was needed. Her eyes burned into the filth trying to pick herself up. A loud, long whistle abruptly shrieked across the skies over head causing Ellys’ head to jerk upward and scan the air. She half expected the harpies to have returned after ripping the ex-Naga’s accomplish in procreating to pieces. Her fingers tightened about her spear and pulled it close, ready to defend herself when the black smoke lingered through the cracks in the tree top for several minutes. Ellys bared her fangs in snarl.

Pain was swallowing Mar, her eyes filled by dark feathers and ripping claws dancing along her skin. The Harpies were overwhelming her quickly while they mobbed her. There was little place she could look and not smell their stinking breath running down her spine. Her back bent backwards, sparked with fresh ach, until it felt like it would snap in half and kill her. Mar’s teeth gritted in determination to bat them away but the rate she was picking them off was slow. They would kill her at this rate.

As if reading her thoughts, the creatures cawed in their agreement then redoubled their efforts. In moments, Mar was forced to the ground where she was subjected to their slashing talons which split fabric and flesh alike. One even managed to kick away her weapon in the flocking with her hand, leaving the Naga defenseless. Mar’s arms wrapped about her head to protect her throat from being slashed while she hunkered down for the worse. Her tail lashed out and caught another Harpy, which was replaced by two more, on the leg then coiled about to crush the very bone within it. It snapped easily.

Suddenly… all the harpies picking and tearing at her were gone. Shadows formed into tendrils then snaked their way from the darkness and quickly seized them. The sounds of screams, followed by ripping flesh were heard before pieces were left scattered across the forest ground. Gradually, Mar’s arm reached for the nearest tree to hoist her. Her weapon gone and body bleeding in several places, she glared at the man who extended his maw and swiftly swallowed down the whole arm with glee. Feeling her lip bleeding, she brought her hand back to wipe it away. Flicking out her tongue, she caught the strong odor of rot and corruption, causing her to hiss at the mage.

”I don’t think Althalus invited you to the hunt.” With those words, Mar whipped her tail at the mage.

Slade’s lips smiled as he giggled. His figure sank into the ground, forming a shadow and gradually disappear the moment Mar’s tai; reached him. Mar hissed in frustration when she turned to face Ellys only to meet a blade flash through the air.

Thwap! Her body stiffened when pain briefly spread through her then numbed. Mar’s eyes widened in shock causing her head to tilt down and spot the blade several centimeters deep in her skin. Tenderly her hands lifted weakly up and took hold of the hilt. She inhaled what seemed like nails in her lungs when she jerked her arms back to remove the blade.

She barely noticed Ellys ready her spear, preparing to toss it and finish off the job.



The nitemare softly neighed and stumbled like a newborn foal getting to its legs for a few seconds, rolling over to its side. As Alaira went backwards, its tail slashed back, missing nearly cutting itself, as it jerked behind its rear. The long whip flickered about to gain speed and power for a second strike when it tried to pull back upright. Finally managing to rise to its legs, its head noticed the mage rushing in for round two causing it to slash its tail back at her a second time. The range and reach, unless she did something, would easily reach her before she made it close and personal with the monster.

When or if it impacted, her body would be set off balance by the force behind gained by the rapid twist back and forward again. However, when it connected the electrical pulses running up and down her figure shocked the animal’s muscles. Numbing the muscles first then causing it to crumble on its wounded leg then roll over its side, shrieking in pain. If Alaira tried to dodge it in anyway, the horse would start to dart forward at a trot as it gained a little speed to avoid her. Then pop! It vanished just when she went in for a strike since unless it was directly hit, the damage from the cloak wouldn’t be enough to cripple its leg.

Through one thing Alaira would remember is that nitemare needed mobility to be a threat and use its teleporting ability. After all, its horns might’ve been sharp and powerful enough to withstand a blade but its neck could only reach so far to protect its flanks.

Unaware of Annabeth’s position and the girl notching arrows, three arrows quickly sank into the horse’ flank causing it to jerk as the points landed into its hunches. More ‘blood’ leaked from its wounds as it flinched at the pain, limiting its mobility.


Worse still, the screaming came in the direction that Mar and Athalus was, at least last time Annabeth saw them. Considering the rumors and controversy they stirred up just for being together, Annabeth feared they were getting hit the worse. She was originally going to use her arrows to call for back up, but those two may need it more. "Lyn, cover your ears!" Aiming in their general direction, Annabeth let loose her two arrows. ALmost immediately the whistling arrow emitted a high pitch screech across the skies, loud enough for everyone in the area to hear them. Shortly after the smoke arrow started to emit a thick black smoke, which while not hot enough to actually burn anything, would continue to burn for a good ten minutes or so. If anyone was around, they could spot the smoke from a mile away, and hopefully come to help Mar and Athalus.

Sam’s movements hurt Lyn’s ass as she held tightly to Annabeth, her arms pulled tightly to press her front against the older girl’s back. Her eyes squeezed tightly but not out of fear, instead to protect them from the harsh wind darting past. They moved several feet to drive a distance between her and the nitemare, Samson started to grind to a stop as Annabeth jerked him about to once more fact the creature. She loosened her grip when she felt Annabeth reach for her bow and notch two arrows.

There was a loud shriek that broke out over the air and filled everywhere. Her brown head darted to the source and her eyes widened in fear, the emotion creeping but took little hold as it was shoved away by the spell Annabeth had created. The girl shifted uncomfortably in her sit while she considered lowering herself down. However, Annabeth exclaimed for her to cover her ears. Listening to her elder, Lyn’s hands immediately went over her ears and sealed them shut from the loud arrows screeching across the air.



When the seeds hit the ground, the Cosh was immediately snatched by the rapidly growing trees. Their leaves and branches scratched then seized the beast’s mass, lifting him off the ground. The beast snarled as his teeth dug into his makeshift restraints, trying to tear away the whipping branches as they became thicker with each passing second. Splinters filled his mouth causing the Cosh to whimper and growl in his futile efforts.

Meanwhile, the Alpha Cosh shifted abruptly only to found his hand like paw ensnared by the roots of the tree. The tip slithered and tightened, nearly crushing the bone. Pulling his lips back the creature started to grip and tear at the vines gripping him, teeth easily shredding the crude restraints. From the corner of its eyes, the Alpha spotted movement causing its head to rear upright then snap in warning. One too late when the vampire slashed at his trapped leg. Blood spurted and it cried out in fury, its paw ripped free at last as it lounged forward. The monster’s breath skimmed Keri’s leg when she suddenly took off into the meadow’s direction. Her speed made it hard for even the Alpha to keep up, her figure quickly gone in the shrubbery, leave the two Cosh behind. The trees E’nasha held the other, smaller Cosh for a short time before the trees started to wither and die, dropping it onto the ground with a heavy thump.

The Alpha snorted in the lesser Cosh’s direction causing the younger beast to whimper and lower his tail. Ignoring the reaction, the larger Cosh raised his head and howled for three others. In various areas just ahead of Keri and E’nasha’s location, three Cosh perked up their ears then abruptly vanished from side, their skin reflecting light to make them invisible while they lurked in the bushes for the incoming pair.

Keri Wolf Lyn's Hunt

Keri rushed through the forest ignoring the howling. She knew most likely more were on the way. Her sense of smell picked up smoke as well as blood. She didn't need anyone telling her that the simple hunt had just turned into one hell of shit storm. This thought forced her instincts to nearly take her into overdrive. Fear and panic spread through her mind.

Keri stopped halfway through the forest just to skid to a stop. Her teeth ground and her red eyes deepened the already crimson coloring of her irises. Anger filled her almost to the brink of no return. She had just about had enough of playing cat and mouse with these mutts. Putting E'nasha gently down on the ground Keri darted her eyes towards where the strongest scent of blood was.

” I’ve had just about enough of this cat and mouse game. There is a the smell of blood coming from the left. Can you go check it out and be careful.” She almost pleaded to E'nasha.

Keri knew that she wanted the alpha to follow only her, though her attack seemed to merely managed to anger the thing. She knew she could use this as her advantage and devilish grin replaced her usual serious look. Her instincts told her that this would be fun. Keri would have more practice for her ultimate goal, if the vampire lived.

”Hey come and get me you mangy mutt! Stop falling behind!” she said coldly while turning back towards where they would be.

Keri launched herself towards the opposite direction that she was going originally. As she pushed forward she made sure to make at least some sort of noise to gains it's attention. As the meadow clearing became closer Keri grabbed out her sword. Once she started slowing a little her eyes widen in terror as she saw someone about to throw a spear at Mar. Fury flushed through Keri allowing her to focus on her claimed target. With her sword fully out she pressed towards Mar,skidding to a halt on the unknown Naga’s left side with her sword aimed towards it's throat.

” I don't think so bitch. Step away and I won't hunt you down. If not than I'll gladly end you here and now that's a promise I grantee to for fill.” Keri deeply growled towards the Naga, which seemed to be at her mercy.

Leith frowned when the ground started moving beneath him. Then as quickly as it happened, he started sinking into the ground. He lowered his hands and tried to get his feet out of the ground, forgetting about sustaining the bubble around the Paich's head. Any attempt at getting out pulled him further down instead. He needed to figure out how to get out, and fast. There was a tree near him, but he wasn't sure if he could reach it. Stretching out, he was just out of reach of the tree, the tips of his gauntlet were just scraping the tree.

It took a lot of effort for Leith to not panic. He was starting sink deeper and deeper into the loose dirt. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his pocket and grabbed Seraphim Sword. As quick as he could, he transformed the sword. He switched it to his right hand and stabbed it at the tree. The sword stuck in horizontally, and after a few test pulls, it seemed solid enough to hold his weight. He attempted to pull himself out of the hole, but the sword started to shift, so he stopped and just hung on to the sword.

Then, several things happened at once. First, the ring spoke to him and said that the ones that were after Lyn were here. Then, a loud shrieking noise ripped through the forrest followed by rising smoke. They needed to end this quickly and get to Lyn. He looked toward the Paich that he had been using his magic on. Currently, it was on its back an trying to right itself. As he hung from the sword, he collected the moisture in the air to form a decent sized ball of water directly above the Paich. The ball elongated to form a cone with the point facing down. The cone started spinning rapidly, sending small trails of water off of it. Leith swung left hand downwards and sent the spinning cone down. He was hoping to impale the Paich, but he had just heard of using rapidly spinning water as a weapon and wasn't sure how successful it would be.

Ellys

No matter. You've done your part. Chessmaster replied dismissively. As it spoke, the dagger broke in Mar's chest. The sliver that broke free burrowed rapidly towards the Naga's heart. Once inside, Chessmaster turned Mar's magic against her. The Naga's body started tearing and shifting, as if some manic child was playing with her body. Mar's screams echoed through the Forest.

Althalus

After several more times of smacking into trees, Althalus remembered the gauntlet Tyrael had given him. It was strapped on his arm, the assassin figuring it was better to be safe rather than sorry in case he needed it. Now he definitely needed it. Althalus clenched his fist (the gauntlet already being on the strength he needed) and focused, just like the overprotective bastard told him too. Only one Rune. Don't want to push it. Energy and strength filled him. Alright...my turn. In one quick movement he drew his crossbow, leaned up, shoved it under the chin of the Harpy carrying him, and fired a bolt through her skull. As her body went limp and they both went crashing to the ground he tucked his body into a ball and rolled quickly to his feet, throwing two knives at the remaining Four Harpies. His ankle flared with pain, torn to shreds by the Harpy's tail, but nothing felt broken.

The two harpies he threw at went down, one dead immediately with a knife in her eye, the other writhing around on the forest floor with a knife in her throat. Althalus whipped around to kill the other two when he heard the screaming. He froze. "Mar!" One second he was ready to kill the remaining Harpies, the next he was turned around and sprinting. Five runes on his gauntlet flared, and more power and energy flowed into him. He was moving faster than any mortal should, tearing through the forest.

Mackendrick and Co.

The armored knight halted when he saw Keri. Hatred boiled in his gaze as he regarded her for a moment, various parts of his armor seeming to glow for a moment, before he raised his crossbow and shouted. "VAMPIRE! I will kill you." The bolt was sent flying towards Keri. His brother stopped, a distance behind him. "Do you rea-" Whatever he was going to say was turned into a shout as he was backhanded into a nearby tree, bursting into a cloud of buzzing insects upon impact. He had gotten in Althalus' way.

The Knight ignored his brother's distress, shouldering on his shield as he began to reload to fire again.

Slade reappeared next to the masked Assassin. "You can handle this?" Mackendrick snorted quietly. "I can kill a child." Slade giggled. "Good! I have business in the College." With that, he sank into a shadow and was gone. "Come on, boy." Mackendrick gestured towards the scarred man. "We have to go kill an abomination."

Althalus cont.

He was within reach of Mar in seconds, after knocking that new stranger out of his way. He didn't care who it was, or why they were here. Mar was suffering, and Lyn was protected. He had to save her. He couldn't fail again. There was a well of power inside of him he hadn't had before, and he used it to its fullest ability. As soon as he crashed into Mar, arms wrapping around her writhing form, a shadow opened up beneath them and they were gone. The Nox was a blur as he quickly picked up Mar like he would have a small child and sprinted towards the medical room of the school.

He didn't have long. He had to get Mar to help and then go back to protect Lyn. Within moments, he had dropped Mar in the center of the med room. Perhaps it was unceremonious and harsh, given what she was going through, but Sam and others were there to help, and he could feel the power beginning to run out. Have to hurry. Have to go faster. He tore through the Nox again, looking for Lyn. It didn't take long to find her. Or, rather, find her opposite. He popped out of Samson's shadow, just as his energy disappeared. "That...was too close." He gasped, looking up as the horse continued running past.

There was screaming here too. Althalus cursed before drawing in a deep breath. "ANNABETH! TAKE LYN TO THE COLLEGE! RUN! RUN DAMN IT!" He screamed as loud as he could, seeing a white mask and someone else begin to approach.

Keri Wolf VS Ellys Colab Lyn's Hunt

Keri's sword stayed at Ellys' throat grip, fingers tightening around the handle. Excitement started rising in her as she thought about it. An enemy's life in the palm of her own hand. A madman's grin formed fluently upon her lips. Wind bushed past her as something pushed Keri out of its way towards Mar. The same scent as before the meadow flooded her noise, a sigh of relief escaped her mouth that Althalus would save Mar.

Ellys' breath was shallow as she held her breath, her pulse quickening at the blade pressed into her throat. The flesh already lightly nicked by the sharp edge causing her eyes to narrow on the bitch in front of her. Her tail twitched, her body stiff, when she jerk back the moment Althalus moved passed her. Ellys' tail jerked forward at Keri's legs in a hope to trip and topple the Vampire. If hit, she would clip the knee causing the leg to crumble while the other man's arrows pierced near her heart or chest causing her more damage. Ellys would then start to slither away toward the meadow in order to finish her task and finally end this stain on her race's existence, returning to her tribe without the evidence to follow her.

The tail was a something Keri never thought the Naga would use. There was contact with her leg but there was no pain at the moment. She slashing across Ellys' chest while taking a step back with her left foot. Keri didn't even noticed the bolt until it hit her left shoulder, feeling the impact when it hit. She crouch forward and taking out the arrow, her sword aiming for the Naga's heart. She dashed towards in attempt to finish Ellys off.

Ellys noted the dust trail from the vampire's wound, scattered to the breeze through the scene. She hissed with a loud, warning sound as she lashed out her tail again. The end tried to leg sweep at the vampire's legs again, finding success there earlier, while she re-gripped her spear. Its tip was raised then made a sharp jab at the crazed vampire's chest and neck, hoping to spill whatever made this being 'live'.

Keri never saw this outcome coming. She figured that she was strong enough but the results had proven her wrong. The hiss should have told her something was off. Then again Keri was the one to screw it all up in the first place. Mar's attacker was more composed. The tail sweep move had indeed worked the second time causing her to run into the jab the Naga threw.

Keri heard the tip tear into her flesh. Black dust flew in front of her. She gasped in shock as her body toppled over. Her breathing shallowed as she stayed in place. Keri was alive but pain began to slowly seeped into her body. Her eyes become to a near pitch black then their usual red.

" Heh kind of figured this would happen. Promise to keep this in mind your ass is mine the next time we meet Naga." She said in more of a hiss than a growl.

Summer continued to concentrate her magic to keep the paich that tried to attack her down when the loud scream pierced the air. She gasped and looked towards where the scream came from. Her green eyes widened when she saw the rising smoke in the air. She looked st the paich she had and bit her lip. She knew that they needed to end this fast and locate Lyn before something worse might happen.

"Meirin we need to end this now and go after Lyn!" She screamed to her friend as she released her magic. The paich seemed to be out cold and not dead which relieved her. She looked at their other companion and saw that he was sinking in the ground. She ran to him.

"Hang on Leith I will get you out of there" She said. She looked at a nearby weed that was growing not to far and luckily facing towards them. She held out her hand and concentrated on the little power she had access to and allowed it grow. She looked at Leith.

"When this gets to you. Grab it and I can retract it long enough so it will get you completely" Summer said.

Baulder,

Baulder bared his teeth into what could only be described as a sadistic smile. "Ah there is more John Cena, these ones have more meat. Oh I do wish there was more flair to them though, they taste rather similar." John then gave what he could only assume was a "good" in the form of a gurgle in response to him. He needed to work on his language, he needed to be able to talk to himself. He looked at John once more who was missing just a few chunks out of his torso but he seemed like he could still fight well enough. Checking himself he found mostly not deep cuts. However, it was hard to tell which blood was actually his as the ridge hounds had bled on him quite a bit.

Baulder turned into the larger group of ridge hounds and yelled at them as they began running at their group. Some of the hounds bumped into each other in an attempt to get to their perceived meal and began fighting each other. This caused a few of the other ones to trip into the fighting ones and cause a bigger pit of in fighting. This didn't stop the bulk of the stampede though. The leading line of hounds were like the ones they had been killing earlier, the bigger ones were behind them. So when the first couple of ridge hounds came up onto Baulder he lowered his kukhri down low as he hunched over himself. He gripped the blade tightly in his right hand and prepared to grab one in his left. Which quickly happened.

He basically punched the first ridge hound with his right hand and caught the back leg of the hound with his blades edge, sending it sliding behind him. Ignoring how much his hand hurt from that Baulder grabbed the next hound by the throat and brought it up to towards himself. As it struggled in his hand he put his right hand around the neck of the ridge hound with the blade in between his hand and the animal. He raised the hound over his head while it still clawed at his hands and brought it down against the ground in front of him. He heard the hounds back break and before he could raise it again another hound closed on him. So he used the hound as a makeshift weapon and used it to pummel aside the new hound, which sent it flying to the wall to his right towards what looked like an semi-opened casket. He felt the hounds neck totally distend after this though and become completely flacid. He dropped the dead hound and was immediately jumped on by another hound, this one bigger than the ones he had just dealt with. While it didn't knock him over it was quite heavy. Not wanting to repeat last time Baulder managed to get his left arm over the back of the ridge hound's neck and as it dug it's claws deep into him carving into his chest he flipped his blade to back hand and began stabbing downwards into the side of the hound. He put the blade deep multiple times as the curved blade did double the damage as he pulled it back out. The hound quickly went from it's eager fighting state into a very docile none moving one.

Baulder could still feel the claws dug into his chest plate and decided to hold onto the dead hound for a minute before he would pull them out. Holding the body under his left arm he moved his blade back to a forward facing position and again slashed down at an angle into a ridge hound that was trying to flank him. It cut a deep gash in the hound's side and it struggled to articulate as it's intestines spilled out onto the floor. Baulder managed to catch a quick glimpse at John surrounded by 5 hound corpses and being eaten by two more. He could see him still clutching the dagger tight as his last reflex. Baulder released John from Tienn with what concentration he could muster. The two hounds immediately went to eating their dead comrades. Baulder brought down his blade down on one of the hounds next to a dagger and he managed to cut deep downward through it's spine. The other hound continued eating and ignored Baulder luckily, so he crouched down still weapon ready and picked up the blade and it's sheath from the ground. He shoved the blade in between his hip and his own blades strap and turned towards the still coming mass of hounds who had given up trying to eat each other. He pressed his chest tightly for a second and tried to put pressure on his still bleeding chest wounds. Why didn't we think killing would be tiring? Baulder thought to himself as he realized how sore every muscle in his body was.

"Come on now! Kill your share everyone!" Baulder said before he coughed up some blood that he again not tell who it belonged to. He licked his lips and brought back his crazed smile and began laughing at what could very well be his own death.

Catacombs

Ssarak, Tyrael, & Naga

The Ridge Hounds were hardly that much of an issue to Tyrael, but his divided attention prevented him from killing them as quickly as he could have. Two of them jumped onto his back, clawing into his shoulders, another trying to bite his hand. Another went for his neck, but that one didn’t go far when Tyrael reached out and throttled it’s neck. When Ssarak mentioned “people”, the demon couldn’t believe it. No one lives in the Ravine except demons, monsters, psychopaths… And the naga. He knew they were attacked and their homes destroyed, but he couldn’t believe they were here.

”They’re going to take it all away. If Mar knows they’re here, she’ll relapse back to the way she was. Lyn will never be accepted by them. They never trust you again. You were suppose to protect her and their purity, but you failed them. They will hate you. And what about you? What will you do?”

Spoke the voices in Tyrael’s head. Just a few words about the various insecurities that’s been haunting his mind, now surfaced due to the appearance of other naga. He wasn’t going to let Xyden’s incident be repeated. He needed to protect his family, and the college. Even if it means wiping out the rest of the naga.

”Nerg… No! This cannot be happening!” Tyrael grabbed one of the Ridge Hounds on his hand, slamming him into the wall. The other two kept trying to bite into his back, but Tyrael slammed his back into the wall, crushing them. ”They should not be here. They cannot be here! Ssarak! Attack them!” Tyrael’s body was enveloped by a demonic aura. His left arm started to warp and twisted, turning into a long, claw tipped arm.

”Leave no survivors.”

Dealing with the two remaining ridge hounds had not been an exceptionally difficult task for Ssarak by any means. They were like pests, being most effective in swarms. The pair of beasts did decide to attack him after he allowed his doppelganger to dissipate, but the first he blocked with his shield, while the second he impaled mid-leap on his sword. He followed through with a shield bash against the last creature’s skull around the time that Tyrael shouted out his orders.

Immediately, Ssarak recoiled back in disbelief. For a moment, he wondered if he had heard the Demonmancer’s order clearly, but the aura around his body, and the general rage he was demonstrating, caused that hope to quickly diminish. Now that he had a moment to concentrate, he was able to look down the corridor to see the outlines of the people he had sensed. He could not glean any details, but their silhouettes were familiar. He had heard of the attacks on them which had essentially destroyed their civilization. Until this point, he did not even know if there were any survivors beyond Mar. In working with Mar, he had heard her describe what they were like, and while their ways were not particularly appealing to Ssarak, he was not about to eradicate a group of innocents, especially a group who could be the last of their kind.

”Attack them? The Naga? Are you mad? We need to help them! Their thoughts are not hostile towards us, and more than that, they could very well be the last of their kind. At the very least, we need to question them. They know what happened to Mesa Gaan.” Ssarak protested. For as much as he could have spoken about the morals of killing them, he decided to insert a practical reason not to attack them, as he did not expect a moral argument to be particularly effective on Tyrael, of all people.

Lyamis jerked and twisted his weapon, his tail delivered a sharp smack to the Malice’s middle causing her to rear back. Her body tilted giving him just enough leeway to send her backward and gain some distance between him and her. The male glared at her stumbling corpse, knowing her soul no longer was among the living, yet the body refused to completely die. They weren’t going to make it if they were bound to become their own worst enemy thought Mar’s brother.

The Malice easily crumbled to the ground then shambled her way up, her tail nearly bitten to pieces with chunks and more taken off. She hissed gaining another from him, as his fangs were exposed in warning, and then raised his spear to plunge it into her middle and into the floor. It only hit the side and several inches off center, enough to hold the Naga for a limited time.

The male knew he had to get the matriarch out of here, her survival would help the Naga and prevent them from dying out in a matter of days. Lyamis shouted to the others, his authority held only because the matriarch trusted him above the others, as he gave orders merely because not all the Naga could see him clearly. “Make a tight circle, do not let any Hound through. Cover your partner and protect the Matriarch with your lives. If you feel Malice start then rush forward and break the line, taking as many as you can.”

Tyrael turned to Ssarak, throwing his claw at him and drag Ssarak closer. Despite being nearly as big as Tyrael and weighed down by his equipment, the demon professor had no issue pulling Ssarak towards him as if he was a small child. ”They are not the naga! They all died! Wiped out by the Yarosmere! Mar… And Lyn… They’re the only ones left. These things… They are from the Ravine. Monsters preying on my thoughts. Trying to lower my guard. But I will not allow them to harm anyone, nor to haunt my memories any longer.” Tyrael pushed Ssarak away before turning back towards the Nagas. His body began to grow elongated barbs, his features becoming even more demonic than they did before. his eyes grew from small beady dots to something more spider like. He started to grow horns, and he notably got bigger.

”Fight, or stay out of my way. And if you interfere… I will kill you.” Tyrael’s voice notably shifted when he spoke that last sentence. There was an echo, as if there was another voice speaking at the same time. It wouldn’t take Ssarak much of a leap in logic to think that perhaps Tyrael was channeling one of his demons. It would certainly explain his mutations. Dropping his knife, Tyrael took out his Dragon Tooth and dropped the rest of his supplies. he was going to get ready to charge at the nagas when one came at him. Specifically, a different maliced naga.

This one was male, and instead of spears, it seemed to have claw-like weapons in his hand. Vicious claws, which could have torn Tyrael apart if he hadn’t entered his demon state to layer more armor on his body. The naga slammed Tyrael into the wall and pinned his arms, trying to bite Tyrael’s face off. But he managed to get his feet in between himself and his attacker and kicked the naga down the tunnel it came, but it quickly came up and got ready for another pounce. Tyrael too readied himself, waiting for the naga to come into range so he can stab it through the chest with his giant Dragon’s Tooth.

Ssarak growled reflexively when he was pulled close to Tyrael. His words actually seemed to be legitimately mad, or at least paranoid. Although, it was more than just his words themselves that caused Ssarak concern, it was the way he spoke, particularly at the end. His voice carried with it an insidious echo, and he was overall much more aggressive than Ssarak had come to expect even for him. Being that he was a fallen, Ssarak’s thoughts naturally went to the demon he was bound to, or at the very least, the demons he controlled with his magic. If Tyrael had come under the influence of a demon, then he was truly dangerous.

Tyrael had to turn away from Ssarak to face down the approaching Naga, so Ssarak backed into the shadows and instead sent forward a doppelganger to be the one to continue confronting him, as it would allow him more options. Ssarak was fortunate that he had taken the time to help Mar over the past few months, as it meant he had learned more about her, and the Naga in general. He recognized the signs of malice, so he knew that the Naga Tyrael was fighting was already, for all intents and purposes, dead. As such, there was no need for him to attempt to protect it.

”The only monster here is the one inside you, Tyrael!” Ssarak, or rather, his doppelganger, shouted. ”It is the demon dictating your thoughts. These Naga, I can hear their thoughts clearly. The mind is my domain, and I understand it clearly enough to know that they are genuine.”

Pausing a moment, Ssarak searched through the Nagas’ thoughts, listening for anything identifying in their minds. ”Amaryllis, the Matriarch, Lyamis...” He began, his eyes widening slightly upon the last name. It was one he recognized, one that Mar had told to him. If his memory served him correctly, he was Mar’s brother. ”Those are names and titles I hear in their minds. Lyamis, Mar’s brother. He is among them. Would you kill Mar’s family? If you are so afraid that the Ravine is playing tricks on you, let me take the risk. I will talk to them myself. If they kill me, then you can go ahead and kill them. For a master Demonmancer like yourself, it should be trivial, even without me.”

Tyrael bashed at the naga, his blows heavy and crushing, but meant little to the implacable monster he was facing. But while his blows didn’t seem to be able to do much than batter and crush it’s bones, the naga at least wasn’t able to get a good hit off of Tyrael. he made sure to avoid it’s tail and stay out of the range of its claws. The doppelganger also served as a decent distraction, dividing the maliced naga’s attention between himself and the figment of illusion.

That being said Tyrael was growing ever more angry at Ssarak. He was trying to reason with Tyrael, but frankly reason was the last thing on his mind. For starters Tyrael was more focused on his fight against the naga, so trying to process his words took some time. Secondly Tyrael got the basic jist that he thinks the naga down the tunnel were in fact the survivors. He even said names that Tyrael recognized. The Matriarch, Mar’s brother, other hunters that Tyrael had the tenuous pleasure of working with. For a moment Tyrael thought perhaps they weren’t monsters from the ravine. But his demons told him otherwise.

”All the more reason they must be killed. If they are not monsters, then they are naga. Remember Xyden. He would have killed Mar was she not protected by the gods themselves. You know the nagas stubbornness. They will bring harm to her, and all your loved ones. They are your enemies. And so is that Eysire. He conspires against you, from the very beginning. It was because of him that Mar has changed too drastically.”

”Argh! Shut up!” Tyrael swing his hand at the Naga and Ssarak’s doppelganger, and mid swing it elongated into a claw. He narrowly missed the doppelganger but managed to grab the maliced naga’s claw with his own, removing one weapon from its repertoire for now. Tyrael swung his Dragon Tooth at the Naga’s head, but it raised its claw to defend itself. Then it used its tail to keep hold of the Dragon’s tooth, putting each other in a stalemate. ”You think you know the naga?! They are ignorant creatures who will kill you for your weakness! Leave then, and die by their hands!” Tyrael’s maw grew larger than usual and he sprouted wicked fangs. The maliced naga did the same, and it looked like they were going to try to close the distance and bite each other to death.

Ssarak growled quietly to himself at Tyrael’s continued aggression, but he had given an answer that was something approaching a “yes.” At the very least, Tyrael was distracted with the maliced Naga, which could give him time to get the surviving Naga to safety. ”Fine, I will go ahead. Just do not attack until they kill me.” He growled back at Tyrael. Stepping out of the shadows, Ssarak grabbed one of the fairy fire torches from the wall and quickly shoved it into his scabbard before taking off running, along with his doppelganger, down the corridor towards the Naga. He had to help them quickly if they were to survive.

As he drew closer, Ssarak could see more clearly the situation the Naga were in. They were backed against the wall, fighting both ridge hounds and a maliced Naga. Immediately, Ssarak directed his doppelganger to “attack” the dead Naga and attempt to guide it both away from the survivors, and in the direction of Tyrael. If Tyrael decided he was going to attack regardless of how the Naga reacted, then it might help to keep him occupied. As for the surviving Naga, Ssarak decided to prove his allegiance first through action. Given that he was approaching from behind the ridge hounds, he had an angle from which to flank them, and slice his way through as many as possible to thin their opposition.

”We need to leave, quickly! From the direction I came, that is the way to the College, but that corridor is not safe. We need to find an alternate path around.” Ssarak shouted. Given the situation, he expected they would be willing to forego proper introductions at the moment.

The first Naga Ssarak encountered was another female, who reared from being slightly startled, her age clearly among the more recent introduced to the tribe and seemed ready to strike. It was at Lyamis’ shout did she resist coiling her tail about the Esyire and trying to crush his bones. Thankfully, Lyamis had heard the shout, leaving the Malice behind, as he slithered over. Several others were quickly hacking whatever ridge hounds were in the creature’s way to pieces with energy effective movement and strikes, creating numerous yelps when they fell.

The Naga made a brief gap in their circle to allow their savior in, then quickly closed it off.

Lyamis knew information was needed, but their time was growing short and any wasted would only murder more of his tribe mates. “if you do, lead the way and we’ll follow.”

Ssarak nodded, then looked down the corridor in the opposite direction from Tyrael. ”We need to go that way. If I remember correctly, these catacombs are like a grid. We should be able to find a path to either side, then loop back around to the entrance. Now, we need to cut through these hounds. I can take the lead, just keep them off my back.”

With all of his armor, Ssarak could serve as a defensive front against the hounds, while the Naga could cut down the ones that attempted to flank him. With his shield raised in front of him, he started his march forward, goring any of the hounds he could on his blade and trusting the Naga behind him to keep them from overwhelming him.

Lyamis looked to his brothers and sisters, their eyes met for a split second then all them fanned out. The Matriarch was in the center while the other Naga created a protective circle, Ssarak left to lead the way. He already proven he could handle himself while their weapons were at the ready and abruptly slashed out. They stabbed and sliced, causing a few ridge hounds to crumble then fall into a heap. Their corpses quickly snatched by their previous allies then devoured in a gluttonous way.

For a while, they ducked and weaved to the decided on hallway as more Ridge hounds fell and more took their place. The path seemed to stretch on for a long time as minutes seemed to crawl by at a snail’s pace. After a bit, there sounds of others coming from ahead. Figure struggling the same way and fashion to outlast the Ridge hounds, their own light flickering with shadows. Lyamis was the first to speak up, his head tilted to Ssarak then to the lights, indicating if he knew who was the source.

Lyamis heard the sounds before Ssarak did, but he could still see them in the torchlight ahead of them. He could not see in enough detail to know who it was yet, but it was certainly another group of the students who had come along for the mission. ”There are others down here with us, fighting against the ridge hounds. They could use our help, and could help us in return.”

Grey, Catacombs

Grey shook his head, pressing onward through the dank catacombs with a sigh. His life had been... Well, one couldn't really call it interesting... He had been around for the previous several months, training, honing his skills. He attempted to learn of himself, but got nowhere. The small amount of free time he had allotted to the library had proven... fruitless. Though in truth he didn't spend a great deal of time there, for he had his duties to distract him. He had done a fair amount of work for his employer that he'd felt was... iffy. He would generally be sent to a location to kill everything there. Now, he wasn't a mercenary (He didn't really think of himself as one, anyway), he preferred to preserve as opposed to destroy, the pleasant thrill of battle notwithstanding. But he had been able to justify his actions on the grounds that he had been eliminating threats to the safety of not just the college, but all the lands in general. Monsters, thieves, bandits, murderers.

The process was simple: First, head to the target area. Second, eliminate all targets. Third, use the provided communication rune to speak of his success. Four, wait for a college wagon to help load any valuables or escort any living captives to safety. Still... unpleasant work, but sometimes 'raid and loot a bandit camp' was really the best way to help the people. He had made some coin, but nothing really notable. He'd spent a fair amount of it on a certain... project he'd been working on at the smithy, but aside from that he didn't spend it on much. He'd realized he hadn't really talked to anyone for very long for the past several months, not after making an ass at himself with that diplomat. Still, he'd returned from one of the aforementioned 'extermination' assignments of his only to be given a new task: Lucilia had apparently worried for the safety of a girl by the name of Colette, who was going to have to protect her. Soft spot for women notwithstanding, Grey had been told that she was heading on an assignment that was to take place near the ravine... not a good place for anyone. So, she would possibly need it, even though Tyrael was there too, apparently.

So he agreed, headed to the library to acquire a map, and was now... horribly lost. The poor quality of the map, coupled with the terrible lighting and his missing eye made reading the thing... difficult. He groaned, looking through the bundle of pages for a moment and sighing... This was hopeless. Or... was it. He heard... sounds. Sounds of battle. He groaned some, that was never a good thing to hear under any circumstances. He tucked the maps away as he drew his blade and his shield, charging toward the fray... It was time to test this 'weapon of the gods'.

Well, he tried to. He had in reality entered the catacombs at roughly the same time as the college group, just at a different entrance... and his wanderings had carried him to entirely different places with his apparently eighty years outdated map. He rushed forward, noting a cracked wall ahead of him, green light from the fairy fire filtering through. He heard the sounds of struggle on the other side, so he sped up. He called upon the power within him, that strange burst of overwhelming strength he'd simply dubbed 'Might' for its similarities to a spell. The runes burned beneath his flesh, bright light cast from beneath his skin as he charged through the wall... And into some sort of... hound creatures? Rubble and his body crushed a few of them, the sudden surprise of it causing the horde to stop for just a precious few moments to allow him to get his bearings.

He stood, raising his shield and looking around to see... Naga? And- "Ssarak?" He asked in confusion, although he was quickly distracted when the hounds got their shit together and one leaped at him. He saw it, however, and smacked he creature away with his shield as he turned to face the threat, helping Ssarak and the Naga beat back the hounds. "What in the god's names did I miss?!" He called, neatly decapitating a hound as he waded forward...