Blin's daydream fragmented as the hero there collapsed, he registered a steadily building headache until his eyes snapped open staring up at the sky unfocused. The light was too bright and he heard a voice saying “Sleepyhead, open your eyes! But don’t move -- oh, if you miss this you’re going to regret it!”

He was almost about to empty the contents of his stomach when he eyes finally focused on the light infront of his face, a glowing orb. Were there scales? They swirled around and a pair of eyes appeared, they stared at Blin unbinking and he couldn't move. The slitted eyes were unnerving but for some reason Blin didn't fear them, he felt something, a connection maybe, but he couldn't really define it. He continued gazing into its depths and felt relaxed. His stomach settled down, his headache passed and then he was jolted from where he lay.

Nikki had grabbed Blin and dragged him up from the grass, just as a boulder crased into the spot he was laying in. "Woah, where did that come from and how..." Blin turned to Nikki, the orb that was on his nose had already faded, a wispy looking tail quickly disappeared behind his back. "...did you know. Nikki you've saved me twice now. Thank you." He took both of her hands in his, smiling as she did and then embarassed by his forwardness, let them drop sheepishly as he stepped back.

"The other girl...." Blin couldnt recall seeing her before, with Tivo? He couldn't remember. "Is she alright?" He turned to look and saw Blank close the girl. "When did you get here? Blank isn't it? I've seen you with Lord Gaius before." He turned red and realised that Blank had been with Nikki when he had seen him and he had just held her hands. "Er, and while you, ah, were with, um, Nikki...." his voice trailed off, and he wished he could just go back to sleep and forget this.

Instead he turned and looked at the boulder and then at the hole it had left at the edge of the clearing in the trees.

Blank didn't have much time to admire his new friend as the boulder crashed through the trees. Nikki got Blin out of the way, and Sera was far enough back that she wasn't affected much. With his nausea gone, her drew his sword on instinct, closing his fingers gently around the ball of light that seemed to have cured him, and as he got ready for combat, he felt a vague sense of savage loyalty and trust from it. He drew strength from it, allowing the feeling to suffused his body.

"Get back!" He shouted at the others, charging forward to face the direction the stone flew from. He set himself, turning sideways and raising the sword parallel to the ground, and waited. Anything that wanted to get to them had to go through them, and he felt confident they wouldn't find it pleasant.

A practical malady of symptoms began to overtake Gaius as he crept closer to his two nearby companions, forcing him onto one knee by Rahna's side. What the hell Gaius thought, frantically clutching his shoulder plate as his breathing grew heavier and heavier. He felt like he was about to throw up his lungs, but despite the nauseous churning at his core, he kept himself from upchucking. Were his injuries really that bad? No, it wasn't just him. Lee and Rahna looked to be affected too. But Rahna didn't crash, so what the hell was happening? Gaius tried to call for aid, but even kneeling at her side, his voice rang deaf to his friends, coming out as nothing more than a faint rasping. That had to be it, they were going to die there, and nobody would bear witness to their last breaths.

Or so Gaius thought, until his head suddenly felt lighter, overcome by a soothing sensation. Although his chest pain remained, it was slightly easier to breath than just a moment ago. He felt something perch in his hair, but didn't have a clue as to what it was. He just took a moment to soak in the relief it offered, staying down on one knee by Lee and Rahna.

Suddenly, something swooped down and slammed against the ground nearby, tall bony and feathered, like a skeleton with wings. Gaius's head shot upwards, baring witness to the strange white menace that hung over Lee and Rahna several feet away. It was comparable to his own height. What a frightening sight! Gaius' eye darted between Lee and Rahna for a moment. It was too much to take in at once. His instinct took hold of his better judgement and he rose to his feet despite the sharp pain in the left side of his body. But it was pointless. Gaius couldn't fight like this. His sword was worthless if he couldn't wield it with both hands, and as it stood, his shoulder felt like it was flooded with cement. Damn it all.

The forest added a new pressure to her body that Lee probably didn't and couldn't notice in this state as it just meshed into one large sensation. An invisible comforting hand slid over her shoulder but she just whined and tried to keep herself from falling back down, head first into the soft grass.
The energy was mixing in with the trauma and the combination was all but crushing her skull, pressure there like something she'd never felt before. The young woman felt like there were boulders nailed to her chest, pressing onto her torso. Her breathing was labored as she tried to get herself to a more upright position, her eyes open just a bit. She swore she saw something glowing flash to the young woman at her side, but she could've been wrong. Too busy paying attention to the other, Lee barely noticed an identical light orb finding its way to her forehead until she started to feel again, catching a glimpse of something like cat eyes, a glowing serpentine shape curling around her throat.
The painfully loud thrum of fauna subsided to a complete bearable murmur, the light and colors seemed to dim down several degrees and the inhumanely violent thudding of her pulse decreased. Lee didn't smell neither marigold nor ginseng, but rather, fresh new scents that she'd never come across before.
Gingerly, with a small but sharp exhale, she turned over onto her back and pulled her right leg up, bending it at the knee. Fully functional. She carefully twisted her left ankle to the left then the right. Fully functional. When she tried to raise her left leg however, there was a sharp shot of pain, for which funnily enough, Lee was grateful. Perhaps a bruise or just the way she'd landed. Nothing horrible.
Lee was about to check on Gaius, knowing he'd fallen in full body armor and a heavy glider, when she paused. Gaius was, in fact, without a helmet. She openly stared even though she knew it was slightly rude, before laughing. Maybe at Gaius, maybe from shock, maybe from relief, she didn't know. She just laughed until she couldn't breathe properly and only then did she stop, hand on her lower abdomen. When she finished she looked to the girl and smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I scared you. I must've, the way I am when this type of thing happens," she said, laying a hand minutely on the girl's to show her that she was grateful for whatever it was that she did. But Gaius probably took the brunt of the fall. Poor man. Like the way a fawn did on their first try, carefully Lee stood. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? There's blood," she said, noting the drops of red at the corner of his mouth. It was strange to see him without a helmet, her first thoughts jumping to Garrett now that she had her wits about her. He looked like him at certain angles, the cut of his cheekbones and jaw as well as the color of his eyes, reminding her of a man she once loved but lost to her own idiocy and weakness. Lee was about to ask the other woman if she knew anything about medicine but she didn't have time. Something large landed by them, too close for comfort. After a moment Lee could see it properly. It looked like a winged and strangely arranged pile of bones, as large as Gaius, jagged and foreign. Suddenly Lee understood that they possibly had other things to worry about. She also understood that she didn't know much about combat and that the best chance she'd have to survive this would be either to hide or to run. The woman took a slow cautious step backwards, eyes fixed on the creature, saying nothing.

"What do I do! Why does this thing want us to run!"

"Sir? I mean, Mushroom? Er- Sir Shroom, is there any problem here?"

The painted mushroom-man scrabbled deep into Thema's bag, but popped its capped head up again at Eli's question, its little face squinched sourly. "Problem? Problem? It's all a problem! We're going to be eaten! The Chimes, you idiot, the Chimes! Don't you hear them? They're awake! They're awake! We failed! Hide hide hide!"

He ducked into Thema's belongings for a moment -- then peeked out once more, eyes wider in realization. He glanced between Eli and Thema as if seeing them properly for the first time. "Are you . . . islanders?" Among the trees -- close -- a hollow wooden sound clattered. The mushroom squeaked and hid for a third time, trembling.

In the face of Thema's fear, the ball of light at her side quivered and faded. Surrounding it was an ethereal shadow of feathers, flickering and undulating, as uncertain and afraid as Thema herself.

The ball of light attached to Eli's arm, however, shone steadily. Very slowly, a shape was taking form around the light: a translucent shadow of something small and furry and -- orange? It flicked its tail like a squirrel's alarm, big eyes peering into the woods.

Another glowing ball of light drifted peacefully over the bushes -- and then a shadow swooped out of the trees and snapped it up in a bony beak. The hollow ring of wood chimes clattered loudly; the monster landed on a boulder above and folded its spotted wings. It was hollow and deathly, made of bone and coarse feathers; it stood long-legged like a heron and as tall as a man. It stared down at Eli and Thema through hollow eye sockets in its bleached skull. Specifically, it stared at the brightly glowing ball of light that hung on Eli's arm.

The Chime flapped into the air and dove straight for Eli, its bony claws outstretched. It meant to drive its claws deep into his chest, force him down, and devour his light for itself.

“Hahaha, /wow/ that was close~”

"Woah, where did that come from and how..."

"Get back!" He shouted at the others, charging forward to face the direction the stone flew from. He set himself, turning sideways and raising the sword parallel to the ground, and waited.

The flame danced up her arm and down her other arm playfully as if it was attached to her, tickling Sera some as well making the girl laugh delighted.

The bright fiery light that danced around Sera was as lighthearted and unconcerned as she was. As Sera smiled and laughed, the light glimmered and glowed brighter, happily flitting and skittering around her. The flames began to take a more complex shape: feathers, and wings, a beak and bright eyes, though it was still translucent and only playfully formed.

Meanwhile, in the moment it took Nikki to fling Blin out of the way of being crushed, her own ball of light blanketed itself in a new shape. Her surge of protective adrenaline caused the light to flash brightly; a shape quickly took form around the light, until in its place was a lizardy animal with teeth and claws and feathered wings. The newly born animal dropped with very real weight onto Nikki's chest, and it opened its toothy jaws with a creaky noise of proud greeting.

Blin's light seemed to be clinging to his shirt, a faint silhouette of something with claws and wings -- but it was dimmer than the others, as sleepy as Blin himself. The ball of light appeared to be half-asleep, holding onto his shirt like a security blanket.

The light under Blank's hand glowed steadily brighter as he raised his sword. It began to growl deep as long fangs took shape in the air, then narrowed dark eyes and tensed furred shoulders appeared in ghostly silhouette. The shape of a wolf formed out of the glow of the light, as bright as Blank's determination to defend against whatever it was that had attacked them. He didn't have to wait long.

A clattering sound like hollow wood preceded the flash and flutter of wide spotted wings. A tall, birdlike monster with a bony head and skeletal claws lighted on a thick branch overhead and stared down at them with empty eye sockets.

The monster opened its wings wide; as it did so, the boulder trembled and raised into the air, dripping with dirt and tufts of grass. The monster snapped its wings closed, and the boulder shot like an enormous cannonball toward the group -- and Blank, Sera, Blin and Nikki were all in its destructive path.

In this instant, Nikki would instinctively become aware that the creature attached to her was as fast and strong as she was -- and it would do as she wished, with only a thought.

As the boulder flew, Blank's wolf leaped in front of him, in an instant a solid and frightening form, all white fur and sharp teeth, ready to act at a moment's direction.

Rahna sat there, her eyes staring up at the beast in shock, and maybe some awe.

His instinct took hold of his better judgement and he rose to his feet despite the sharp pain in the left side of his body.

The woman took a slow cautious step backwards, eyes fixed on the creature, saying nothing.

While Rahna stared, the light at her shoulder pulsed and very slowly took on a shadowy, ethereal shape: long ears, a thick tail, squinted and uncertain eyes, something green and leafy blossoming on its back. It was only translucent and had no tangible weight, but it clung to her with soft paws and continued to relieve her every pain.

The light at Lee's shoulder was dimmer than the others -- tired and uncertain. An outline of a bright, sinewy shape was draped around her shoulders, but its ill-formed eyes were closed with exhaustion and residual fear. It, too, was intangible, a ghost and nothing more.

The ball of light that had cured Gaius' headache, however, was flitting and flinging itself in the air around his head, excitable and gleaming brightly, trailing a wake of gold shimmer.

The skeletal bird-monster raised its head tall, high above Gaius' stooped strength; its hollow eye sockets followed Gaius' light carefully as it flickered dizzily back and forth over the knight's head. The bird-monster clacked its bony beak hungrily, shifted and coiled to attack, its deadly attention trained on that light over Gaius' head.

The monster's wings flared, and like a flash of lightning it surged at Gaius, its long claws poised to rip into his armor -- and there as no doubt those wicked talons could pierce through the metal and the flesh beneath like it was butter. There was only a split-second in which anyone could react: to all witnesses, it was clear that this was Gaius' last breath, enveloped in a deadly flurry of feathers and bone.

At that moment, the little ball of light rested on Gaius' head; he felt a deep surge of strength and power ripple through his body. His feet planted solidly in the ground, and he knew -- against all odds -- he could not only withstand this attack, but break the monster's bones.

The bony monster's talons dented his armor with the force of its attack, but Gaius would not be thrown down.

The little light that flared at his head glimmered with bright colored wings, and a little toothy mouth opened wide with a triumphant squawl.

SKWAAAAWK!

Blin's head was clearer now, was it the light ball that had done that. He wasn't sure, the eye and scales within it still swirled as it clung to his chest. He didn't know wether to hold it or brush it away. He took a step back as the ball of light on Nikki changed into, what was that? A flying lizard? His eyes grow wide and wider still as Blank's ball turned into a wolf. Even the other girl had a smokey form taking shape while Blin's ball clung to his chest. He gently placed a hand on it wondering what it would transform into.

"How on...What is happening?" It was fantastic and unreal what was unfolding before before his eyes. Even his own imagination struggled to keep up with events. Then the creature appeared and landed on a heavy branch, Blin gulped, Blank was the only one with a real weapon. The boulder began to rise in the air and the creature sent it flying in their direction with a beat of its wings.

All Blin could do was repeat Nikki's instructions. It saved him once and he didn't have time to think before he moved. He bent his knees and sprung to one side, dropping his shoulder and attempted to roll out of its path and with one hand was unconsciously protecting the ball of light as he rolled away.

Minutes flew by like seconds for Kelari as she absently wandered through the crowd, barely noticing as stranger and friends alike brushed by her. The constant murmuring of her own and her uncle's advice in her head drowned out her friends with the rest of the crowding villagers. Her speech seemed uncharacteristically cold and distant. Best wishes for her safety were met with at most a brief smile, and then back she retreated into her own head.

'Focus on the landing. Gliding distance means nothing if you crash. Look for a clearing, aim for it. Injury risks lost time. Lost time risks no return. All else fails, survive.'

'Survive'. While setting up her hang glider, that word echoed among the other tips she remembered. Several unknowns about the world below left too many uncomfortable voids in her mind, but the reminder to just 'survive' filled them in temporarily.

The grip of Kelari's familiar hang glider and harness were the only comforts left after leaving the island. She held tightly onto her emotions just like she clutched the control bar, trying to keep herself and her flight together at least long enough to land.

Kelari swallowed hard. Something about passing the point of no return and seeing the open land beneath her made her heart drop, but she clenched her hands again and forced her eyes to stay focused on the path ahead. There was a clearing some distance ahead of her, easily reached by the leisurely pace, and large enough to descend into with ease. Kelari subtly adjusted her course for the clearing and idly drifted, trying to keep her mind occupied with that one word. Survive. "Alright," she murmured in the breeze, "How?"

Resources. Find what resources could be used in place of what she took with her. Anything she didn't have to expend from her adventurer's pack was something saved. Food. Basic materials. But what about the dangers? Were there hostile animals? Inclement weather in the future? Environmental hazards? The thoughts were interrupted by a strange feeling during her careful descent into the clearing. A chill shot through the top of her head and crawled down her back, but it wasn't the cold air.

Ignoring the unwelcome buzz, she hovered over the ground with her boots brushing gently with the grass, taking a few moments to gather her nerve. Once she was comfortable enough, she tilted her hang glider up and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Kelari huffed a breath as the residual thrust jerked her forward by surprise, but stabilized enough to qualify the landing as graceful and leave her glider intact. Not like it mattered, she thought as she undid the harness and tossed it in a pile under the glider.

Then, Kelari winced and placed a hand over her head as a headache kicked in. Stepping back, she stumbled over an exposed root and rolled onto her back. She made a guttural noise of frustration, laying in the grass for a while to get her bearings again. It must've been the stress of the adventure and the overthinking all hitting at once, but there was something undeniable in the air. When Kelari took long enough to focus on it, she could feel it. There was power buzzing in the forest, and it was all over, but she didn't have the presence of mind or knowledge to put her finger on what it was. Something told her to go. Stand up and start moving. A half-hearted attempt to lift her arm pull her torso forward was all she gave before limply flopping back into the dewy grass.

At least from here she could get her bearings, so Kelari turned her head one way, then the other, and then forward to get another look at the forest. It was hard to appreciate the majesty of something so colossal and untouched by humans when it felt like an anvil was being pounded on in your skull, and a bit of sleep deprivation wasn't helping much either, but a gentle sigh was enough expression for Kelari.

Something peculiar in the corner of her eye caught her attention enough to get her to prop herself up on her elbows and look. She squinted at it. Was something reflecting the sunlight? No, too dim, but too bright to be anything else, and it wasn't falling to the ground. It was hovering toward her. Among all the familiar sounds of birds and wetland creatures, something entirely unfamiliar approached her alone in the clearing and singled her out.

Kelari attempted to distance herself, but between the headache and a dull ache in her limbs she only managed to shift half a foot before one arm slipped in the damp grass and she flopped onto her back again. By then, the ball of light reached her and it's decidely passive disposition was very clear, since it just hovered a couple feet over her body. Another weak guttural sound of frustration rumbled in Kelari's throat as she stared up at the wisp. A corner of her mouth quirked up in a small smile, then a low chuckle came through her nose.

"Well," she said, her smile broken briefly by another wince, "I've read of stranger things, haven't I?"

Bewildered Sera stared at the beautiful creature... thing... whatever that had started to form in that ball of fire was or was supposed to be or become. But it was cute... and it seemed to like her, so she didn't complain. Also it appeared that it was the cause of the healing power she had felt earlier. However distracted she was, her danger sense still started tingling and sure enough, it did not betray her.

At the sight of the beast that had just appeared, Sera stuck out her tongue and contorted her face in disgust, so horrid did the monster appear to her. Still, though, at first she did not expect the beast to do what it actually did now, launching the rock that is. The suddenly appearing wolf did not help her mental state of confusion a lot.
Nevertheless, her trained body quickly reacted to the incoming boulder, grabbed her staff, quickly re-functioned to a halberd and jumped out of the way, but not before spotting Sleepy-Boy, still in the path of the boulder trying to roll out of its way, but in a much slower pace than he should have.
In a little bit of a panic-mode, Sera dove back into the line of fire, grabbed Sleepy's hand and dragged him behind her, just barely out of the way of being crushed to death by stone.
"Too slow!", she called out to him as she picked up her halberd angrily and pointed it at the foe with a ferocious, wild roar. "Rrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Blank leaped into action, pulling his sword close to his body. He moved smoothly around the flying stone, his footwork precise with no wasted movement. Glancing backwards in the middle of his turn, he reassured himself that the others were out of danger, mildly surprised that the girl he barely knew had raised her own weapon. As he moved, his newfound companion stalked into the sparse underbrush, vanishing from sight. Blank dashed forward, his feet finding sure purchase even in the uneven ground of the forest floor. He raised his blade again, moving slightly forward, but there was no way for him to reach the bird creature from where he was. Instead, he found a fist sized stone halfway embedded in the soft ground. Deftly, he dug the tip of his sword into the soil under the rock and flung it up and forward, bouncing it off the trunk of the tree in front of him. It rebounded to him and he gracefully caught it with his free hand, then immediately whipped it at the monster he faced.

"Come get me, wormeater!" He shouted, beginning to move away from the group. He practically danced backwards, trying to lead the bird on a merry chase through the woods, and away from the rest of his group. The danger of the plan didn't even cross his mind as he leaped between the trees, he just felt the need to protect the others, a need that awakened that niggling feeling in the back of his head he had associated with his lost memories.

Blin did his best to move, his eyes snapped open as a warm hand took his and pulled him out of the way of the flying boulder. Didn't he just roll out of of the way? No he had daydreamed it. He blinked in surprise and saw that he had saved again by the same girl that had saved him from crashing.

"Too slow!", she called out to him.

"Th..thanks." Blin stummered back to her, did she know him? A stranger saved him twice and she...

Blin held up his hand, he could still feel the warmth of her touch. It was pleasant and scary at the same time, he didn't know what to make of it. He lightly held his own glowing orb with his other hand, wondering how his would form into a creature or companion as well, as he stared at her back. She pointed her halberd it at the foe with a ferocious, wild roar. "Rrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Blank was facing the creature and had thrown a stone at it. "Come get me, wormeater!" He shouted, beginning to move away from the group. He practically danced backwards, trying to lead the bird on a merry chase through the woods, and away from the rest of his group.

Blin turned to his fallen glider, taking advantage of the two people distracting the creature, and hurriedly took a strong brace from what was left. A short staff, something improvised, but pretty solid he hoped. Now armed he ran back and added his support to the girl and her ghostly companion. He felt better now at least he help in some small way.

Nikki gaped at the winged creature sitting on her chest, her bright eyes meeting its colorful ones. “Whoa~” She hardly noticed Blin squeezing her hand, sparing just enough attention to squeeze back and say something about paying better attention. She was busy looking at her new friend. It still had a bit of the light from before, but now a lithe body covered in warm, fuzzy hide perched on her, its weight pressing four clawed feet into the fabric of her shirt, each structured like a bird’s. Long, swept-back horns sprouted from the back of its wedge-shaped head, and its face ended in a slightly hooked beak. The thing puffed itself up proudly, giving voice to a rough bugle as it fanned feathery wings, the spiky ridges running down its spine from the nape of its neck to the tip of its tail raising, along with various fanned frills on its head. The beast was primarily green and golden and amber, with accents of black, blue, and red nestled in its feathers and ruffled fins. “Ooh, you’re a cutie~” the woman cooed, going to rub the ridges that shadowed its eyes. It responded happily to her touch, but tensed and turned away as a bony bird-thing entered the clearing.

The woman didn’t wait. Her little friend was from the surface, and its reaction told her the new arrival was bad news. She surged to her feet as the creature on her chest scurried aside, then leaped with a flap of wings to catch the fabric of her shorts and climb to her shoulder. It was a good thing she’d gotten up, too, for suddenly that boulder was flying at her again, and both she and her new friend had to lunge away, Nikki going to the side and the feathered lizard launching skyward to avoid getting hit. The girl from the ruins got Blin out of the way this time, challenging their attacker with a fierce roar, and Blank went to taunt the white bird-beast, hurling a rock at it, then try to lure it off.

Nikki herself wasn’t really a fighter, but she couldn’t let Blank run off alone. They were better off working together to get this thing to leave them alone, weren’t they? She dashed after him, tossing a few choice insults at the white avian over her shoulder. “So...what’s the plan?” she asked him when she caught up, her eyes shining with wild excitement.

If he hadn't been busy running for his life, Blank would have buried his face in his hands. "The plan," he said with exasperation, "was for me to distract this thing while you and the others run and hide, so I could meet up with you later. You chasing after me is exactly the opposite of what you were supposed to do, and now it's too late for you to go back." He stopped for a moment to find and launch another rock at the creature, making sure it didn't lose interest in him. Even if Nikki was following him, the other two could still find safety.

"There's almost no chance I can fight this thing." He said as he started running again. "It flies Nikki, and I don't have a bow with me. If it landed, I might have a chance, but it doesn't need to be anywhere near me to kill me. In an ideal world, this thing is powerful but stupid, and won't realize that. More likely my best chance to escape it was being alone." He stayed silent for a while then, focusing on the ground in front of him and trying to think of a new plan.

"Just keep running," he said eventually. "Once we lead it away from Sera and Blin, it might eventually decide to find easier prey."

Like a jackhammer, the swell of energy shattered the cement in Gaius' veins and he steeled the creature's powerful assault. "Hrrg!" Gaius grunted, keeping his feet planted in the ground with relative ease. Where the hell did this power come from? Something whizzed by his sight, between him and the attacking monstrosity. Again! A trail of golden light followed it as it passed. What the hell was it? No matter, there were more pressing matters at hand. Gaius flung the giant creature off, and stepped back twice, reaching for his sword. He was surprised that it didn't fall from its sheath in his armor as he fell. With one hand, he flung the hilt up, and grabbed the blade half-way along its tremendous length. Upon pulling it from its housing, he quickly positioned both hands around the hilt and wielded it with a mighty stance. "Whoa-ho-ho!" Gaius chanted, thoroughly impressed by his own feat of endurance. The little fairy-like light creature that gramted Gaius his new-found power buzzed into view and looked at him with its beady little eyes. A little dragon?? "Would you look at that!" Gaius shouted. "Thanks, bud!" the little dragon squeaked happily and flew around him in circles, before hovering quietly behind his left shoulder.

"Right, you've a date with some steel, bone-head," Gaius assured the intruder, lunging forward as soon as he was ready, and slashing length-wise at its collar-bone with his massive weapon.

Sera stared at the bird creature quite dumbfounded as it hopped from tree to tree trying to follow Wolf-Dude.
"No fair! I wanted to pierce its heart!", she cried out at the injustice of the whole situation. She pouted and raced after the fleeing boy, the halberd swinging with her steps.
"Oi! Leave some for me, will ya!" The rush of combat hormones into her system absolutely drove her over the edge of combat eagerness. Now, the girl was, while only on the lower end of the spectrum, lusting after the blood of the creature who tried to murder them a couple of times now.

The girl was as crazy as Nikki, they certainly seemed to be made from the same mold. Were all girls like this? he wondered to himself. No time for that now, he really needed time to sort through his glider and reclaim whatevre gear had survived, and the only way to do that was to get rid of the bone flying monster. Blin gripped his makeshift staff, turned it the other way up as that end had a wicked splintered spike on it.

"Bad idea." he said with a sigh of exasperation at her forwardness, he followed holding his staff defensiveky.

Blin bent his knees and sprung to one side, dropping his shoulder and attempted to roll out of its path and with one hand was unconsciously protecting the ball of light as he rolled away.

Sera dove back into the line of fire, grabbed Sleepy's hand and dragged him behind her, just barely out of the way of being crushed to death by stone. "Too slow!", she called out to him as she picked up her halberd angrily and pointed it at the foe with a ferocious, wild roar. "Rrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"Come get me, wormeater!" Blank shouted, beginning to move away from the group. He practically danced backwards, trying to lead the bird on a merry chase through the woods, and away from the rest of his group.

Blin turned to his fallen glider, taking advantage of the two people distracting the creature, and hurriedly took a strong brace from what was left. A short staff, something improvised, but pretty solid he hoped. Now armed he ran back and added his support to the girl and her ghostly companion.

Nikki dashed after Blank, tossing a few choice insults at the white avian over her shoulder. “So...what’s the plan?” she asked him when she caught up, her eyes shining with wild excitement.

"Just keep running," he said eventually. "Once we lead it away from Sera and Blin, it might eventually decide to find easier prey."

"No fair! I wanted to pierce its heart!", Sera cried out at the injustice of the whole situation. She pouted and raced after the fleeing boy, the halberd swinging with her steps.

"Bad idea." Blin said with a sigh of exasperation at her forwardness, he followed holding his staff defensively.

The wormeater spread its coarse spotted wings and stood tall, its hollow eyes locked on the trailing squad of armed islanders. Bones rattled angrily at its throat, and the clatter of it resounded in the quieted forest.

Running in this untamed forest was not an easy thing. There were no paths, very few clearings, and walls of enormous plants, webs of thick straggled vines, stones and upturned roots and broken ground, and massive violet flowers that stank like sap and honey. All around was bright green and shadows and twists of white trunks.

Blank and Nikki -- at the head of the fleeing islanders -- rushed by a tall boulder that was twisting and shifting; it lifted in the air just as Blin and Sera made it past. Another huge rock, to the right this time, yanked itself out of the ground as the islanders approached. Pebbles hovered over the ground at their feet.

High above, over the tops of the trees, the pale deathly bird soared. It tracked their movements, clattering, raising stones to impede their progress.

A rain of pebbles shot after Sera and Blin, fast enough to cause real damage to their skin and bones. At this moment, the ghostly glowing shape at Sera's back lighted on her shoulder; it spread its wide wings with a snap, and a shock of bright fire blinded them. The pebbles struck the fiery barrier and melted at once, leaving Blin and Sera unharmed. A bit of the plantlife around them smoked and glowed, singed by the flames of the birdlike creature that now clung to Sera's shoulder, but Sera and Blin could not be burned.

The sinewy ghost around Blin's neck was less translucent now -- and as it gained corporeal form, its scales and spines seemed familiar. Its intelligent eyes stared up through the trees at the creature pursuing them -- and Blin would know, instinctively, that the bony bird above had swallowed a sword that belonged to him.

Ahead of Blank and Nikki -- among the rising stones that perpetually threatened their treacherous path -- something bright and manmade flashed between the leaves. Another grounded glider?

A great boulder zoomed past them, crashing ahead through the trees, raining down broken twigs and leaves in its wake.

"Well," Kelari said, her smile broken briefly by another wince, "I've read of stranger things, haven't I?"

The forest here was warm and quiet; the trees rustled overhead, and great green leaves hung like curtains all around. Just behind those leaves, something smooth and dark sat covered in lichen and vines. A statue -- carved out of black stone a millennia ago -- sat proudly atop a crumbling pedestal. The statue depicted a tall bird like a heron, with its bones exposed and a skull-like head. It clutched a smooth ball in one clawed foot, and a curved sword in the other.

Beside the mossy statue were the decrepit and overgrown remains of a wide staircase, carved into the side of a forested hill. The crumbled stairs disappeared into the shadows and plantlife above, destroyed by vines and roots and time.

The dense energy pressed on Kelari's skull and wrapped like tendrils around her limbs, pressing in, trapping her, as the sunlight glimmered merrily above.

One of the floating balls of light drifted and spun over her head, and then lighted gently on the back of her hand. Its glow brightened and swelled, and Kelari would feel the constricting tendrils leaving her, sucked into the growing energy of the light-ball. Relief flooded her chest, and her head was eased of pain. A new sensation -- a chill, like ice -- drew invisible patterns up her arm, but it was not an unpleasant feeling. Her breath billowed in a frozen cloud with each exhale.

Not so distantly behind her, something rumbled and flashed; it looked like firelight that suddenly exploded behind the trees, then was gone. Occasionally she heard something crash, like falling boulders -- and if she strained, she might hear the shout of human voices.

"Right, you've a date with some steel, bone-head," Gaius assured the intruder, lunging forward as soon as he was ready, and slashing length-wise at its collar-bone with his massive weapon.

In the moment Gaius raised his sword, the bird's enormous wings snapped wide. All around Gaius, stones and boulders suddenly wrenched themselves out of the ground and floated, suspended in the air. But the bird's attack came too late.

Gaius' sword snapped cleanly through bone, shattering the monster in two.

The rocks and stones all dropped at once, clattering and crashing to the ground. The bird's bony head fell backward; its wings collapsed and shed loose spotted feathers on the breeze. Broken and splintered hollow bones rattled down in an unformed heap in the grass.

Something silver glittered among the bones -- something that had been at the monster's core. It appeared to be a pocket watch on a thin chain, etched with tiny ornate symbols -- but upon opening the cover by a pressed switch, one would find instead a compass that pointed northwest, and a message inscribed inside the cover:



Something boomed in the distance -- to the east, according to the compass. There was a crash and a rumble, and a flash of light like fire. Human voices shouted, distant on the breeze.

"Hey," Eli whispered to the girl, "How about I distract this thing and you take Sir Shroom and get away from here? Unless you want to take this thing down. I'm down for that, just say the word, we... Islanders can do great things when we combine our strengths. What was the name for that? Ah, yes, synergy!"

There was no time for planning.

The birdlike monster flicked its great wings open, displaying rows of spotted coarse feathers and a chest made of bone and dark. The rocks and stones at Eli's feet trembled and began to rise into the air, and the mushroom squeaked in fright -- but what happened next was entirely unexpected.

CRASH FWOOM BOOM!

An emormous boulder shot through the trees like a cannonball from behind Eli, exploding through splinters of branches and a rain of ripped leaves. It narrowly missed Eli, crashed into the ground and skidded a long deep track straight for the bird-monster, which flapped and fluttered out of the way just in the nick of time. The boulder cracked into the thick trunk of a tree and came to an immediate stop.

A second bird-monster swooped down from above and lighted on the boulder. It turned to face the direction from which the boulder had come, and it waited, watching the shadows between the trees.

Within a moment, Blank and Nikki emerged into the clearing, followed closely by Blin and Sera.

The two bony bird-monsters stood at opposite sides of the clearing ahead of them, blocking their path.

"The cavalry's here!" the little mushroom-man shrieked from within the bag -- and it was unclear whether he meant the arrival of the other islanders, or the team of Chimes that now threatened their escape.

Blin "Brytag" Alborse

Blin ran after the girl, he did want to ask after her her but more pressing issues were at hand. The bird monster was following and still trying to crush them boulders torn from the ground. He heard another one being ripped from the ground and started to feel the patter of pebbles striking his back. This is it, thought Blin he give a small spurt to his speed in a vain attempt to try and protect the girls back.

Then her cloud companion formed into something beautiful to his eyes and seemed to explode in light. A hiss of melted stone and the rain of pebbles was no more than smoke. blin shot a glance up at the flying monster frowning, did he just imagine a sword inside the creature? He slowed a little and then his vision was blocked for real.



The tiny white scaled creature stabbed its claws into Blin's shoulder and it sterred at him and seemed to rise one eyebrow in almost a threat. "Okay no daydreaming..." blin winced at the shar pain and moved on. He took a look at his staff and wonodered if it fly well.

"I think this could rip it's wing membrane if nothing else." Then they all ended up in another clearing the creature had landed and a second one was present. If he was going to use his staff as a spear and throw, Blin would need another weapon. he started to look around but was drawn back to the monster that had followed him and once more felt the sword that was inside it.

He gripped his staff and vowed to rip the monsters wings apart, but he needed to get close and for that someone else would have to distract it. The small white creature hissed at the monster as blin decided his actions, it did incourage him and at least eli was there.

As Blank pushed his way into the clearing, he immediately noticed that the number of enemies they faced had multiplied. He also saw that the chance he had been waiting for had finally presented himself, and he wasn't about to waste a stroke of good luck.

"Now!" He shouted aimlessly, and not a second later a furry white shape launched itself out of a patch of brush, landing on the back of one of the birds and sinking it's teeth into the joint where the wing merged with its back. The Ice Wolf's magic lent it's bite the chill of winter, and the beast hung on with its jaw, refusing to let go.

Meanwhile, Blank was moving in for his own attack, depending on the bite to cripple the wing and keep the beast grounded so he could finish it off.