The magical tug-of-war ended in their victory. Albeit one that sent them tumbling to the ground, but a victory nonetheless! Nick was just happy that they avoided danger, even when he was lying down on the ground. There was something heavy on his chest, though. It was Augusta. No surprise there, he was the one physically pulling her earlier after all. Having a beauty like her so close, elicited a slight blush from Nick but alas, he was taken.
She quickly got off though and the three got on their feet just in time to see the results of their efforts. The ground beneath and around the slab rumbled and cracked, splitting open as the snow covering it quickly melted and evaporated into the air. In its place came a black sludge that seeped from the cracks, bubbling up into a pool around the slab. The liquid soon rose, veins of it crawled atop the slab. Nick was a little horrified by the sight. Just what have they done?
The sludge began forming shapes once it was atop the slab. It first formed a stem then it gathered mass as it formed a huge ball or head over the stem. It almost looked like a flower, or perhaps it was one just not the usual kind. The bulb grew and grew until it blossomed open, releasing a creature in front of the three. With its purpose served, the sludge flower withered away and leaving only a few of its 'petals' behind.
Nick took a look at the creature. It was a black-furred puppy. No, demonic black-furred puppy dog. Look at those bloodthirsty eyes and that long snout full of jagged teeth. It was small though so it was still pretty cute but Nick was sure that if this thing grew up, it would be the stuff of nightmares.
"With that probably colossal thing out here, perhaps we should follow the dog inside? Just to make sure we don't get crushed under foot? Besides, Octavia there is much too adorable to mean anything bad. Doesn't she seem friendly?"
"Yeah, we should get out of here." Nick agreed with Augusta. His danger sense was flaring up, but not from the demonic puppy. Rather, it was probably from that giant thing that Isidore mentioned earlier. Still, there might be no danger from the puppy right now but Nick did not trust it just yet. "Hold on a second, did you already give that thing a name?"
Seeing that Donovan's plan to sacrifice himself ended up backfiring, the group's options of survival seemed limited. Surely if they split up, they could more easily ensure their individual survival. Still, there is the risk of at least one of theirs to get caught out. As much as Malphas wouldn't mind another one of his allies to take such a sacrifice, he knew he had just as much of a chance to be that unlucky fool ending up getting crushed by that giant. With a similar mindset, doing that would be less than ideal as well.
Malphas knew that in this specific instance, they would have to stand together.
"O, Goddess, please grant us your second miracle! One of celerity, of mobility, of swiftness! Aid us in our plight and hasten our flight!"
As he uttered his miraculous words aloud, he attempted to imitate what Donovan had done just earlier. Pushing the limits of his Goddess-given form and further enhancing his abilities with his magical gifts. While doing so, he also deviated his movement to the far right side of the field, beginning his split with the rest as they make their way to the gatehouse. Hopefully his two companions will catch on to his enhanced speed, and believing that his ability to "make miracles" is something to truly take note of.
It wouldn't be a complete lie, either. These poor lost souls truly do have the aptitude for greatness. All they had to do was believe.
It was a black dog. Demonic, and as physically powerful as they were, but still, a black dog. A puppy even, if Augusta’s murmurs were to be considered accurate. And the way she took to it so quickly, it reminded him…
Isidore rolled onto his feet after the others got off him an dcrouched down beside the pup, then grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up. Though physically powerful, it was still a pup, after all. It didn’t weight much at all. Inspecting its nether regions, the dark-haired youth raised a brow at what he saw. Octavia, hm? Well, a name was just a name. Isidore let the puppy on the ground, but retained his light pressure on his neck. Unravelling the chain around his right forearm, he wrapped it around Oct’s neck, fashioning a rudimentary leash for the demonic pup. Wouldn’t do much if he exerted his strength, but building a habit of obedience early was important.
It bothered him, somewhat, that the creature wanted to go back the way they came, into the prison with those wretched experiments, but on the other hand…well, better the devil you know that the one you don’t. He slipped the withered petals off that monster-birthing plant, pocketing it, before picking up his sword once more. It was lucky that he had kicked it away before Nick could fall back and impale himself upon it.
Lucky?
“Then let’s see if our second sojourn within the prison informs us of anything new,” Isidore replied. Letting Oct lead, he strolled down the path they had once trodden, into the prison sector with all those freaks of nature. “Perhaps it would be apt, since we’re there, to re-examine the walls there too.”
So this was the sea of this world. In life, Nobunaga had never set her eyes across the sea. Perhaps she would have, had she not faced her untimely death. But as it stood... no, she had never set her eyes across the sea.
Would she in this new life?
That was something for another time. A distant time in the future. A new world meant she would have to work from the ground up, conquer this land before event considering looking past the sea.
And the first step to that, was knowing the people.
Coincidentally...
A young girl. Taller then Nobunaga herself, in this new form, youthful-looking form, but nevertheless a girl in her teens.
"... Fear not, young one," she began, turning to face her fully and putting on a gentle smile, "We mean no harm."
While she was a feared warlord in life, that did not mean she had no understanding of how to act in a calming matter. Nothing would be gained of terrorizing.
"Can you tell us where we are? My companions and I are somewhat lost."
As the group proceeded along their escape route, Misaki slowly found the strength to not need to rely upon Nobunaga for further support. Given that the worst of things (for her ears, at least) had come and gone, the foxgirl, having regained her full retinue of senses, began to observe the land more closely. Though the colossus at their backs was still a bit of a pressing concern, the three of them were still essentially foreigners to this land, which made at least trying to orient themselves a more pressing concern.
Of course, the briny smell of the coast gave at least a little away in terms of what sort of location they were in now. If anything, though, proximity to the ocean would prove valuable regardless of what they planned to do.
"Hm... I suppose this is our cue to..." she trailed off as the sound of something nearby immediately caught her interest. Of course, she herself was not aware that her ears had twitched the second they had caught wind of whatever that was, but it was an obvious enough tell to the source if they had deigned to look.
After a moment, Misaki turned towards the sound and, after motioning to the others to follow, walked forward to speak with the young girl. Nobunaga taking the lead in doing so was probably for the best, though, but given what she could see so far...
"I'd also ask if there's anywhere nearby where we can warm ourselves up a little. This place is a bit..." she trailed off, tail flicking back and forth as her gaze panned towards the blanket of white that seemed to cover everything in sight.
The catgirl would have cursed under her breath if she had the focus to, but right now her survival instincts were kicking into overdrive. She'd chosen to follow the new girl on the spur of the moment, and yet even with the shining gatehouse right there the thunderous steps of death followed rapidly. She could hear it. The stop. The growl. The movement now coming towards them. She'd jumped the gun. They'd jumped the gun. It was coming for them. Donovan was perhaps the safest one right now, all things considered in the heat of the moment, and they were being focused. Should they just gun for the exit? Should they scatter and hope it confused this thing? Would they all just gun for it and let Donovan die? Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit.
No. She had to think. Something on the-...crap.
Well, she'd lived a good life and gotten this chance at another start.
"DONOVAN, EVERYONE, FUCKING RUN!!!."
Wait. What?
"COME ON YOU BIG STONE SHITSTAIN, YOU WANT SOME OF THIS ASS? YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST, NOT THE LAST! GOTTA CATCH ME THOUGH!"
The catgirl virtually screamed at the stone giant as she began to break off to her right, heading north and beelined it toward the entrance door of the tower at top speed. Whatever 'magic' stuff she had in her, or something, maybe, she did her best to try to push it into action as well. Speed. Give her speed. Push it through her body like a flowing river. Imagine a flowing river. Imagine the racing currents are her body moving, but not her body beaming. Just don't let it fail, please. If she could do one thing right let it be this right now.
She didn't care if it made big light, or somehow amplified her voice, or whatever that could draw attention as a side effect. She wanted to draw attention as she darted off. Draw the big lug towards her a bit, scatter away with some insults tossed at it, see if she could help the others try to make a break for the exit.
But who knew? She believed that Malphas guy had some ability, so as she heard his own call aloud she decided to try something. She would try to believe. Believe he had the power to get them out of here. She wasn't going to complain right now about it. She was willing to do anything to get this to work.
Her spear was clutched in her hand so hard her knuckles were turning white, but heck she had to get moving. If she died trying to save some strangers, then at least she died on her own terms. Not that she'd get another chance, but it wasn't like she knew she was getting this second chance in the first place. Wasn't even guaranteed one. So yeah. No skin off her bones, ah, in that sense.
Narkissa, despite the manner of her untimely death, was quite the pragmatist when it came to personal survival. From the moment she had left the ruins and Donovan had broken away on whatever misguided distraction attempt he was on, she had made a dead sprint for the gatehouse like structure in the distance, if only by virtue of it being in the opposite direction of the stone guardian at the time she had made her decision.
Thus, she was in the lead by quite a margin when the stone guardian’s attention turned away from Donovan, which she noticed when she briefly turned her head back in his direction. Seeing the stone monster start to catch up to them, she screamed backwards. “Run, you fools!”
Despite her words, she happened to disagree with Malphas’ internal sentiment. Being in the lead, she really couldn’t care less if the others got trampled behind her –it would be unfortunate, but she would live—as long as she could make it past the gatehouse. Although Narkissa couldn’t be sure, it seemed almost like a portal of some sort, and in the distance, she had noticed some others pass through as well, with a strange resulting visual effect.
Hedging her bets on this, she gathered her remaining strength and broke into (even more) of a dead sprint, book in hand. While the catgirl’s words sounded utterly useless to her, hearing Malphas call upon the goddess’s blessing behind her, she remembered the contents of said book. Immediately, she concentrated her attention on her lower body and legs, attempting to gather what otherworldly energy could be gathered. Magic speed spells or not, she made a bet to herself and straight-lined it to the gate.
"Wait. What is...what is going on?" Novak asked, bewildered at what had happened. One moment they were fleeing through that narrow trail, the only thing on Novak's mind being the relief at knowing that stone giant wouldn't be able to follow them through there. The next moment they were...somewhere else. The canyon path they had escaped through was nowhere to be seen behind them, just some crumbling ruins, and far beyond that, a massive obelisk rising into the sky. With the immediate threat gone, he found himself staring at the strange structure.
I've never seen anything like this. Or at least I don't think I did. I can't actually remember if I did. But if I did, why does it feel so impossible to me?
It was a this point, as he turned back to the others and started to contemplate the situation they were in- lost in a snowy corner of a strange world, with no sign of recent civilization so far. Suddenly, however, his train of thought was interrupted by the fox girl's abrupt pause accompanied by a twitch of her ear. It seems she had noticed something. Novak followed behind as the fox girl and swordswoman went to investigate, still a bit on edge as evidenced by the tight grip on his sword.
They quickly found the source of the disturbance- it was a young girl, hiding behind one of the black stones. After everything that had happened, Novak was relieved, not only because it wasn't another monster, but also because they had finally run into another person. Assuming this woman was one of this world's natives, and assuming that this wasn't some sort of trick, this meant that they must be close to civilization.
Finally, perhaps now we can get some answers.
The swordswoman was the first to speak to the girl, gently assuring her that they meant no harm, and asking where they were. Novak said nothing, content to watch and listen. Truth be told he had many questions and an insatiable curiosity, but he could wait until the girl had indulged the more pressing inquiries of his companions.
As Nobu and Misaki spoke, the girls face relaxed in relief, and curiosity quickly won out over concern as she took a few steps towards the trio of individuals.
“Wah!~?” Nobu would suddenly find the girl gawking at her, walking in a slow circle around the group, eyes almost sparkling with curiosity perhaps reminding one of a curious child. It would be a few moments before she finally stopped, seemingly realizing she was being rude.
“Ah!” She stopped, spinning in place as her dress billowed out lightly. “Sorry! Sorry! It’s just-ah-oh, I can’t help it this is great, ahah!~” A wide grin was visible on her face, and now that she was close enough to get a better look at, the trio would notice something quite odd on her left hand. A silver, almost tattoo sort of marking. It started at a point, halfway up her forearm, traveling until it reached the back of her hand where it split into a shallow half-crescent. Above it was another similar marking, a half crescent pointing downwards, with four spikes that traveled up to her knuckles.
“Okay, okay, calm down Lazirha,” She giggled, grinning and offering everyone a friendly grin. “Uhm, hi. I’m Lazirha. Sorry, I get super excited meeting travelers like yourself. Like, you!” She hopped towards Nobu. “I’ve never seen clothes like that! Where are you from? And why are you so adorably small? Ahaha, you are an adult right?” Her eager, curious gaze shifted to Misaki. “And you! I’ve seen people like yourself before, but they’re super far to the north! We only ever get a trader here usually-ah.” She blinked, shyly glancing to the side. “...S-sorry, I’m probably bothering you a bit, haha. You said you’re lost? You picked a pretty remotely boring place to get lost in.”
She shifted uncomfortably on her feet.
“Uhm, well, my village isn’t too far from here. We can be there after a bit of a walk along the beach in that direction.” She gestured briefly towards the beach. “Not that I’d suggest visiting. That place is full of old people that don’t know how to have fun...and well...” She glanced at Novak. “Ah, sorry, didn’t see you there. You don’t stand out much next to them, do you?” The native girl teased a bit. “What’s your names anyways?”
The girl, Lazhira, didn’t seem too keen to return to her place of residence if her mannerisms were anything to go buy.
Item Received: Tar Flower Petal x3 Whatever this flower was, its completely alien to you. What was once presumably living, is now nothing more than dead plant life...at least, it seems to be that way. It feels sticky to the touch, having a tar like, rubbery texture to it. It seems entirely organic, and you can’t feel any magical properties from it. Without further information and skill its use seems mostly nonexistent.
The pup titled its head curiously as Isidore approached, yipping and wagging its tail in a friendly manner. It let him approach without much issue, even seemingly wanting to play a bit. When Isidore grabbed it by its neck, however, the pup responded with a mildly distressed sounding bark. He gave a quick look at its nether regions…
Well it was definitely female.
As it was let back down, it looked up at Isidore with a light growl not having been very appreciative of the man handling, nor the continued manhandling of its neck. It especially didn’t like it when Isidore attempted to put the chain around its neck! ‘Octavia’ resisted, trying to unsuccessfully wiggle out of Isidore’s grip.
Once done, the demon pup glared up at the human, huffing through its nose and scratching at the chain with a back paw and trying to briefly wiggle out of it. After a few failed attempts, the pup decided it wasn’t worth it.
Instead, it started pulling on the chain and led the trio back into the prison. The smell of old, musty air quickly filled their nostrils once more, the quiet gurgling and grunting of the warped monsters reaching their ears again. The pup would lead them towards the hallway they had neglected earlier - a number of those creatures stalking the hallway.
It barked loudly, alerting the creatures to their presence! The creatures slowly turned towards them, numbering about three in total, thankfully only one had a weapon, a sword similar to Isidore’s.
‘Octavia’ pulled on the chain, whining and growling at the creatures as one suddenly lunged towards the party!
Donovan’s attempts to distract the giant were as fruitless as Leannah’s taunts. The foreman lobbed a rock at it, the stone bouncing harmlessly off its frame as it barely even registered his attempt. The massive stone giant watched as the group split, with Leannah heading for the tower...and the two heading right for the gate.
It was tasked with making sure none left, afterall - and it had already failed once today.
Malphas and Narkissa would find some success with their attempts. Even if it was only a marginal boost, it was still a boost. Their lungs however would soon start burning with strain and exhaustion - they were so close, almost there - !
There was a hum, almost electrical in nature as something started powering up. If any had been looking at the giant, blue electrical energy covered its body, several carvings on its aging form filling with a blue glow, traveling downwards from the openings on its shoulders and towards its stone blade. Lines of energy covered it, and the stone raised its weapon, and swung forwards.
For a moment, the moon overhead seemed to glow briefly brighter.
Blue streaked behind it as it swung towards the ground in a crescent shaped arc, causing the air to twist and bend around the stone giant as it finished its swing. The ethereal, crescent projectile raced through the air, little specks of white light forming with the projectile as it raced forwards. It carved a path through the air right between Narkissa and Malphas, slamming into the gatehouse in front of them with explosive force and consequently knocking them off their feet and sending them sprawling to the ground. A burnt, acrid smell filled the air around them, the specks of white light showering upon them and lightly burning them should it touch their flesh.
Thankfully it seemed they had escaped the brunt of the impact, but the stone giant was now closing in on them and they would need to decide what to do quickly. The thing started moving again, and they could hear it humming and presumably charging up another one of those blasts, whatever it was.
Donovan meanwhile continued circling around, walking along the cliff to the courtyard, just barely missing the trio of Augusta, Isidore, and Nicholas and only catching the result of their little misadventure with the stone. He could, however, hear the barking of a certain demonic pup not far inside of the building.
Leannah would suddenly find herself at the base of the tower, barreling inside at top speed, not that she had much of a choice. Inside, she would find herself in a small square room, a large stone staircase leading upwards to the top level of the tower presumably. Against the far wall was a door, and on the walls were a few faded, unreadable tapestries.
“Gllgrhhhk!”
One of those wretched experiments were in here, having taken a quick note of her presence and was lunging at her with a sword!
The book wrote on the page as Alice started rubbing it lightly with her clothing. Carefully like one might attempt cleaning a cd-rom or phone screen.
“I-I’m not sure what you’re hoping to accomplish but I don’t think that’s the problem!” The book immediately closed itself, before Alice could do much more ‘cleaning’. Seeing no other option, however, Alice took the book and quickly made her way towards the building the skull wearing creature had gone inside of, making her entrance through the same window.
It didn’t seem any different from the time the others had left, leaving it in a mostly clean state. The only difference was the place's new occupant.
The cloaked figure was standing near the staircase, quietly tapping its foot on the floor beneath him.
“...I’m curious. What’s a fey doing here?” He suddenly said, his voice perhaps a bit deeper than what someone of his stature might suggest. Deep, and smooth, but oddly calming and relaxing. “Humans, a Sirithen, and even one of the Bastelian. Has the flow of fate begun? Or are you mere entertainment for a capricious goddess?” The small staturered figure turned to face Alice.
That was definitely a skull of some sort it was wearing over its face, not quite human, it was much larger with long, jagged canines but an oddly flat overall facial structure, just rounded enough to fit comfortably and contour to the wearers facial features.
“I suppose both would be the same, in this instance.” The rest of his body was hidden mostly under his blue cloak, the only visible part were his pitch black claws and hands. Rather than being covered in fur or skin, it seemed to be some sort of hard carapace. “You are looking for the way out, you are not? The gatehouse will provide, willing that you desire combating that stone construct.”
His face appeared to be made of the same, smooth, black shell and there didn’t seem to be any movement when it spoke.
Augusta felt like she was forgetting something as they entered the old decrepit prison once more. "Hey... Wasn't there more of those..." Augusta trailed off as the group followed Octavia and came to face the wretched things from earlier. "Things." Octavia started to bark at them and got their attention. She almost attempted a "shush-shush" but it was much too late as those things started to move toward them. It was the moments like this she wished she had a weapon. Hmmm. Perhaps? If she felt the energy draining from her when she touched the stone that Octavia seemed to come out of... Perhaps... She bit her lip for half a second before stepping slightly forward. It probably required similar components to before.
Instead of draining energy from the stone or giving it... Perhaps she could project it? That one blessing did mention they had some sort of bonus to magic... Or learning magic. Or something. It was a bit hectic at the moment. She pointed her palm at the creature with the sword and focused on gathering the energy at it. Now... Condensing it into a form of sorts... A small blue ball of sorts. Then... She launched it. Her arm moved back and pushed forward, aiming for the sword wielding wretch.
She blinked a couple of times. "Eh?" Did she really do that? She felt like it would be a bit more difficult. "Did I just shoot magic?" Augusta just slowly turned to Isidore and Nick. "I'm great, right?"
The girl introduced herself as Lazirha. She seemed fascinated with the two women of the group, barraging them with questions and comments regarding their unusual appearances. There were two things that Novak picked up in particular in the girl's ramblings. The first was that according to Lazirha, there were others like the fox-girl in this world, living to the north of here. The fact that her race is something that the natives of this world have seen and heard of should make things somewhat less complicated. The second was her remark on their location.
"You picked a pretty remotely boring place to get lost in.”
Her tone suggested that Lazirha viewed this as a bad thing, and if this was the case, Novak would have to disagree. A boring place was just what they needed to rest, regain their bearings, and catch up on everything they'd need to know about this strange new world. They couldn't stay there forever, of course- the goddess didn't snatch them from death and bring them here so they could live a quiet life in a quiet corner of nowhere, after all- but they were hardly in a position to save the world in their current state.
Lazirha mentioned a village, and indicated that it was a short walk away from here. She didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about it, however, stating that it was boring and mostly composed of elderly folks. Clearly she didn't seem to happy living here.
“Ah, sorry, didn’t see you there," she finally addressed Novak. "You don’t stand out much next to them, do you? What’s your names anyways?”
"My name is Novak. Pleased to meet you, Lazirha," he introduced himself. It was only at this point that he got a better look at the tattoo on her arm. That symbol looks familiar, he thought, as he glanced back up at the immense stone pillar, then back at Lazirha. They both have a crescent symbol. I wonder what it means. His first thought was to ask her about it, but he decided that his queries could wait until later. After all, he still hadn't heard the names of his companions.
Isidore entertained that thought for a moment, before brushing it aside. Demonic beast it may be, he had no intention of killing young animals unless absolutely necessary, no matter what problems they brought up. Even if those problems were of the long-limbed, incredibly ugly type. By the blessing of the Goddess, or just by good fortune, only one of the shambling creatures wielded a proper weapon, though, and that weapon would go to…
They could consider the split afterwards.
Octavia pulled at the chain, eager to attack, while Augusta was treading new ground again, that same strange energy she exuded before now shooting out from her palm in a burst of light. It shot out at a speed that the dark-haired youth could only barely follow with his eyes, before scattering over the sword-wielding monster’s body with a concussive force.
He breathed in.
Release the dog. It’ll draw attention. Close the distance. They’ll swing outwards. Block with chain, counter with swing. Disarm and deliver to Nick. Dodge offhand swing. Draw blade against its neck. Disengage with shove. It will bleed out. But he wouldn’t let it die so slowly.
He breathed out.
Visualize and execute.
The chain links didn’t even hit the ground when Isidore released Octavia, the puppy shooting forwards in her eagerness to pounce. Moving in step with the hellhound, Isidore charged for the sword-wielder as well, watching its movements slow to a fatal speed. Struck by Augusta’s bolt and beset with two different targets, it wasn’t able to commit to either one before Isidore was upon it. Rust scattered as the monster’s sword clanged ineffectually against links of chain. He sliced deep into its arm, hearing the satisfying ‘pop’ of a tendon being ruptured, before tearing the sword out of the monster’s hand. No muscles could sustain its grip now; it came loose easily.
Catching the dropped weapon, Isidore slid it back towards Nick and instinctively ducked down, his legs bending and his head craning to the side. Wind brushed overhead, the sign of the offhand claw-swing that he visualized. He stepped out to the monster’s side, pivoted on his front foot, and drew his arming sword against its neck. They were of flesh, and flesh parted easily when faced against sharpened steel. The blood that gushed out and the gurgled bubbling of disrupted breath told him what he needed. A left-handed shove followed, sending the creature face-first.
The stomp that crushed the skull followed soon after, even as he faced the creatures that remained. How many were left? How reliable were the pup and the boy?
The martial artist's years of training and skill would kick in the moment the sword-wielding monstrosity would lash out at her. For her, it was almost like time had slowed to a point, even, as her instincts kicked in and she moved to return the favor to this thing. After all, even without time to process what it was at the moment she was getting the chance to finally put her new body into action! In lieu of this The spear point would deftly rise up as the thing swung down its sword, her body ducking a bit and dodging to the left of the lunging strike at the right moment as she then in an instant drove herself immediately straight and up at the creature. With all her weight behind it, and two hands on the shaft of the spear now, she would simply thrust the spear at the thing's face in one fluid motion.
Plus the surge of adrenaline in her system at this point in time could be called a boon of sorts, perhaps, in driving her counterattack home.
...Even so, the words of an old master of the martial arts rang in her head, a quote she'd memorized as a child for reasons she couldn't currently ponder on. However, the intent of those words seemed to match the ferocity of her attack.
'I need No Second Strike!'
And if she was lucky enough, it would work out like that. Maybe.
With a pensive gaze, Misaki quietly considered the girl's words as she seemed to circle about. That childlike curiosity, if anything, was a bit refreshing after a few brushes past death, and if she was giving out all this information freely, then they would likely be all the better for it.
Of course, that natural curiosity had already given them enough to work with—a nearby village, travelers, and other people like herself further to the north—which already provided a starting point. Lazirha, as she had introduced herself, was already curious enough about them, after all; pulling out more information was probably the only thing they could do at the moment, anyhow.
"Lazirha... Was it?" the foxgirl asked, nodding her head before smiling. "You can call me... Right, I suppose family names might be a bit confusing for now, so Misaki it is, then. It's a pleasure to meet you. For now, though, uh... I'd be happy to answer your questions, but at the very least, can we move somewhere a bit warmer? The chill in the air is a bit..."
Of course, shelter took a bit more priority than information, but there was nothing saying they couldn't get both at once...
She was so close. The gate was in easy reach now, to the point that she could begin to make out the individual bricks on the flanking walls. What she hadn’t counted on, however, was that the stone monstrosity had some other ability other than wildly swinging its arms around and stomping its feet.
For somebody that used to be a well-respected professor, she let out a long string of colorful profanities as a strange ethereal projectile smashed itself into the gatehouse. It was a near miss, but the sheer force of the impact caused her to trip forward. Bringing her book in against her chest, while making sure to not impale herself on her weapon, she hit the ground with the side of her body with a painful groan.
Thankfully, she didn’t flail around on the ground and managed to transfer the momentum to a roll. The danger of the situation and the resulting burst of adrenaline got her off the ground right quick.
Wincing at the pain, she began to run again, taking a backwards glance at the stone giant. Unfortunately for her, while it seemed she could outrun the thing before it reached the gate, it seemed to be charging up for the seemingly magical attack. Making a split second decision, she cut away from the person nearest to her –which seemed to be Malphas—while heading towards the gate, both hoping it would miss or aim elsewhere, or she could reach the gate first.
Malphas ran for dear life, hitting the dirt hard as the giant fired its magical blast towards the gatehouse. The use of magic to accelerate his movements were really getting to him as well, but Malphas knew that such inconveniences were the least of his worries. Quickly getting up and restoring his footing, his body started to run only on adrenaline as he continued his pace forward. Looking back at the giant, Malphas surmised he would be able to outrun it. He just needed to anticipate its next attack.
Like Narkissa, Malphas also made his way out to the gate. After being spotted and focused on, it seemed the best course of action in Malphas's case was to just cut his chances and leave while he still could, following the woman's lead and running opposite of where she is. Hopefully he'll be able to find his own out there in the wild, for there was nothing left here that might interest him in the slightest. As he picked up the pace, he began to think on himself, his capabilities, and his core beliefs. His physical prowess, while among the best a human could be, was quickly draining, and the use of magic surely would make things worse for him. This meant that Malphas could only do what he had done his entire life.
At this moment, Malphas began to put all his faith in himself.
"Dammit!" Don cursed as the rock he'd thrown at the guardian simply bounced off it's colossal frame. He hadn't expected the rock to do much, but he'd at least hoped to get it's attention back on himself while the others ran.
As much as he wanted to rush after it, the man knew that such a suicidal stunt would only be to the detriment of the others. They hadn't the tools, nor knowledge to fight such a monstrosity. Huffing a flustered sigh, Don sank into a light jog and continued his path around the cliffside. Hopefully he could get a chance to regroup with the others, given that he arrive timely enough to do so.
It was upon entering the courtyard of sorts that caused the man to stop completely. This entire place, as far as he'd seen-- had long been left untouched, and snow-covered. But amongst the snow laden ground was a large black stone; fissures bordering it's edges, covered with withered vines of tar, and not a lick of snow to be seen in it's immediate vicinity. Had someone been here? Were they 'chosen' like the others he'd met? Or were they something else entirely?
Kneeling down before the large stone, Don picked a piece of the tar, and examined it in his fingers for a bit. The stuff was still warm to the touch. Someone had to have been here, and recently at that. As he wiped his fingers on some nearby snow, Don heard something echo from the building he'd just rounded.
A bark.
"Tha hell's a dog doin' ere?" Don thought out loud as he rose to his feet. Several sets of fresh footprints led toward the building in question, ending at the open door of whatever that place was. If there was another group that could possibly help Don save the others from the Guardian, they were here-- and he was going to find them.
The way the book reacted to her cleaning it had given a small chuckle from the fay, as if the very being inside the book thought such actions immodest. This would prove good enough to Alice that whatever simulacra was within the book itself had enough emotional merit to it that it was worth saving. For the information within if nothing else and to preserve whatever entity protected that information as well. So then say. The fact she had chosen so readily to follow inside and to confront this skull-faced entity it best be said she was doing it for her own merits.
"Who said I wanted to leave so soon and readily?" The Fay would say looking upon his figure, obviously he wasn't exactly human, a monster most definitely and the goddess gift as accursed as such a being was for dragging her back to the world of the living could be. Had given her a boon fitting for talking to such a person. "Nay, if I wished to leave I would of been gone from this place with haste befitting my winged self no? I am here to attempt to repair something." She gestured to the book behind her. "And you, A being who seems most knowledgeable with a form that is not one that makes me sick. Happened to be within my view. So say I that i ask you. May you help me repair this book so that I may preview the contents within?" She would ask simply fully expecting the skull-faced creature to ask for something in return.
The style in which Nobunaga was clad in was quite to her liking, even if she didn't quite have any familiarity with this sort of clothing. It had a certain militaristic feel to it. So, the compliment to her manner of dress was hardly unwelcome. The comment on her age and size, however... Well, to be honest, Nobunaga herself wasn't certain if she was an adult or not in this new form. She didn't think she was a child, but at the same time she was quite petite and her facial features were rather rounded and cute-looking. Still, in spite of these factors she didn't believe that she had been reborn as a child.
"I am indeed an adult," she responded, "We've come from some distance away, and I must admit we have found ourselves somewhat lost."
It was careful wording, but all entirely true. It would be difficult to find any falsehood in statements that were true, even if they omitted some of the details. It was important to gain this girl's trust, and going on about being from another world would likely do the opposite and convince her that they were mad.
"I am Oda Nobunaga. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lazirha," Nobunaga introduced herself with a bow. Those tattoos... perhaps a marking related to the girl's culture? "If you could direct us to your village, that would be very helpful."
“Ah! Sorry!” The native replied. “Right uh, you’re not exactly...dressed well, well. Uhm, uhm...” She frowned, a small pout overcoming her features. “Oda, Novak, and Misaki.” Lazirha hopped away from the group down the path and towards the beach.
“We should get going! Don’t wanna get caught out here after nightfall. We should be fine as long as the Kyrinth doesn’t cross our path.” She flashed Misaki a grin. “Eheh, but if you get too cold, I’d be fine with you sticking to me.”
She then bolted off ahead of the group, heading north along the beach. Assuming the group followed, they would find a mostly uneventful journey. The walk was thankfully peaceful, the waves gently crashing against the shore. Several birds similar to the ones they had encountered in the other place flew overhead, or were hopping along the beach but most didn’t seem to pay them any mind. A gentle breeze carrying with it the smell of salt and brine, but otherwise calm and lazily following them on their journey.
“You guys must have come from pretty far away. What’s your home like?” She asked, turning and walking backwards along the beach to keep facing them as they traveled. “I’ve never been outside of my village very far. ” Perhaps now would be a good time to ask her questions as well instead of being on the receiving end.
In the distance, not too far away, smoke gently rose into the sky, and a few wooden piers could be seen jutting out into the shallow water with some nets and other primitive maritime gear nearby.
Augusta’s idea to use that same energy as before seemed to work well. Focusing the energy inwards, she allowed it to flow, feeling it and directing what she could towards the end of her hand. The energy began coalescing in her hand, a bright blue ball of energy forming. With a single motion, Augusta then launched it towards the wretch.
It sailed through the air, striking the thing in the chest.
The creature was stopped mid strike, a loud, pained gurgle as its flesh was burned by the projectile, giving Isidore the opening he’d need to strike it down with little trouble.
His first move was to release Octavia. The pup leaped forward as the creature attempted to make some sort of attack, but it was futile. It gurgled, Isidore’s sword slicing into the muscles keeping its hand locked around its blade. Isidore caught it, taking a moment to send it sliding across the ground to the others and barely avoiding a clawed strike from the weakened creature.
Swiftly standing up once more, Isidore’s blade would sink deep into the creature's flesh, its legs giving out as blood poured from the wound and sending it crashing to the ground. Its life was finally ended by Isidore’s boot.
As Isidore fully engaged the target, Octavia deftly dodged around the creatures feet, the chain around its neck clattering against the ground. The pup snarled, dodging the nails of one as it made a weak swipe towards it. Its jaw opened, dozens of vicious teeth latching onto the creatures ankle. It shrieked, foul blood spilling around the wound. Octavia growled, and with a mighty pull she yanked the thing off its feet, sending it crashing to the ground.
In the next instant, she leaped onto the creature's back, jaw locking onto the beings throat as she started to viciously tear and rip its throat.
It died, writhing in agony, but at least whatever it was, was hopefully at peace now.
- yet that left one more.
Isidore would barely have time to react as the third lunged for him with surprising swiftness, teeth bared with intent to rip and tear.
It seemed however, luck or fate was still on his side. Before it could reach him, the thing slammed its skull into a wall of steel with a solid clunk as Donovan’s shield caught it mid lunge. It recoiled backwards, the sudden impact dazing and giving them enough time to finish it off without much issue.
Name: Donovan MacConaill Race: Homunculus Physical Attributes: Similar to You Magic Attributes: Similar to You Weakness: N/A Abilities: Foreman A special talent gained through unknown means. Allows one to summon a spectral army of construction workers to build whatever the user desires. Special attributes: Traveler from another World This man's name is Donovan. Like you, he is a traveler from another world chosen by the Goddess. His overall abilities are comparable to yours. He is worried. Like yours, his body seems to be naturally conductive to Magical feats. Like yours, his body has been strengthened through some unknown means. He is in peak physical condition. No status abnormalities. His motivations are unreadable.
Octavia, however, ran towards the end of the hallway, quick to make sure its leash was out of reach of Isidore’s hands. It yipped happily, circling once before dashing off down some stairs.
Narkissa attempting to split the stone giants attention by putting some distance between Malphas and herself. Yet, what would that accomplish. The giant was focused on them, to be sure but it wanted to prevent them from getting to the gate.
Blue colored light filled the ridges on the giant's body.
Malpha’s feet felt light, somehow. Just how far would his faith carry him? His beliefs. His purpose. How could he die or stay here, trapped in this little realm with a stone giant? No, he couldn’t. He had far grander plans. Things to accomplish.
Instead of raising its sword, the light seemed to gather near the giants feet.
Narkissa could see Malphas, just barely making it faster than her towards the gate, but something else would grab her attention. The earth began rumbling, throwing off their footing and slowing them ever so slightly. The ground cracked, a mass of earth and jagged rock splitting the ground between the two, yet it was not focused on them.
The two would barely have time to register the earthen wall that now had split them apart.
But that wasn’t what would concern them the most.
The earthen wall had completely enveloped the gatehouse. Jagged rocks covered it completely, its sides enveloped perfectly that one wouldn’t have even known what was under there had they had not previously seen it.
Narkissa’s own energy wasn’t faring well. The stone giant flourished its blade, seemingly not in a hurry to chase them now that their route of exit seemed to be blocked. How could she get around this stone wall? The only options seemed to be to run towards the building she had seen the previous group that exited flee from, or face the giant itself.
Malphas’ energy was fading faster, any more strain might have unintended consequences, but perhaps, perhaps he could pull off a miracle of some sort here. After all, miracles were brought about by both faith, and humanities ingenuity.
“I am under no obligation to entertain you nor aid you.” He replied, gaze briefly looking towards the book she was holding. “If you wish to search this cast off fragment of history, then do it yourself.” His gaze seemed to linger on the book, but quickly he would turn his attention back to the staircase, slowly starting to circle around it, feet tapping against the floor in an odd manner.
“However...perhaps what you seek lay within the depths of this realm.” He placed his hands upon the side of the stairs as he walked. Was he looking for something? He obviously knew something about this place judging from his mannerisms. “I am heading there myself, and should you choose to follow me I do not care...so long as you do not get in the way of my objective.” He had finally circled around back to the front of the stairs, flexing his claws with an irritated, animalistic growl.
“Tch...she did lock this place up tight, huh...” Back still to Alice, he glanced over his shoulder. “Make your decision, for you only get opportunities once, fairy. I can get us into it, but it will be a one way trip and there may not be an exit for you.” From under his cloak he pulled out a single, red colored arrow that had a serrated tip. “And there will likely be more of those creatures that exist in the prison under here.”
Leannah was swift to act, the creature’s blade missing its target as metal clanged against metal deftly deflecting the weapon and sending the creature stumbling forward, unable to control its own momentum very well. It fell forward, Leannah’s spear in the next instant meeting its face.
The spear drove deep into the creature's skull, causing it to gurgle in pain as its head was suddenly jerked backwards by the opposing force. How right this felt, fighting in such a manner. Almost as though her body was made for this sort of thing. A certain adrenaline rush flowed through her body as the creature’s body convulsed, death throes of a wretched being until its final last breath escaped its withered maw.
The creature went limp, still impaled on the reincarnators spear, the deed done.
She was alone again.
The room was square in shape, a narrow set of stairs carved into a nearby wall that led up the tower. Rubble blocked a doorway leading elsewhere, leaving her only seeming option being up. As the adrenaline started to fade, she’d feel something ‘click’. Almost as if she had finally adjusted to her new body.
Ability Gained: Martial Art Prodigy A skill denoting a preternatural affinity for the martial arts. At its current level, this ability merely increases your potential for learning martial arts, and does not denote a higher skill level than average. Keep honing your fists and pushing yourself.
Alice Sicilly : Skull-faced Friend?