[IC] Caravan: Resurrection

[tex]

The moment that Daelin spoke, the beasts immediately tensed their bodies and rushed forwards at a breakneck pace. The lengths of their bodies bent and squirmed as they darted from side to side, dodging Daelin's throw and looking to surround the injured captain. Before Flin could even get half way through his first sentence, they were upon him and Pyra, merely feet away from striking. Noru lurched forward and supported all of Neale's weight with his arms. "Move!" He shouted, pulling as quickly as he could towards the cart. He wasn't suited for combat against multiple targets in the slightest. If he tried to stop the beasts himself, it would only end in a pointless failure.

Two of the beasts went for Flin and Pyra respectively, snapping at their legs with rows upon rows of gnashing teeth. The third tried to go for Neal's leg, to pull him away from the other knights. Marilyn froze up for a moment and retreated into the cart with one of the ramp's chains in hand. She would have been even more useless than Noru here, so she prepared to close the back of the cart as soon as her allies were on board. While she prepped herself, the dark haired medic crushed the vile of blue liquid in his hands and kept it stable near the center of his palm with a bit of arcane force. Then he slapped it against the back of Neale's exposed neck, using his magic to force it past skin and flesh as quickly as he could. It was a brand of soul magic that posed little risk and made medical procedures much quicker, especially out in the field. But Neale would still be out of commission for quite a while, even with his blood supply being restored by Noru's hand.

Zay turned towards the scene just before the beasts charged and burst into a sprint. He was too far away to do anything immediately. If they could just hold out for a little while...

[Zyngard]

Ilruvae groaned "Of course there has to be a complication. Because the beasts just have to come out right now." He keeps up the pressure on the knight's wound, pulling out a rock from before and quickly steps back from the beasts gnashing teeth, dropping the rock, and concentrating a bit to shoot it at and into the beasts mouth, now that he's done what he could, working more on using his arcane energy to help lift the injured knight, he was honestly more efficient at using arcane energy to do things rather than his own physical energy. Part of being an Eldi, he supposed. And also part of not focusing on strength.

[Jensoman]

Flin immediately jumped further back to avoid the beast's incoming bite. He began to think the situation over, realising that the creatures seemed to resemble hounds in a sense. The beasts were incredibly fast, so trying to hit them may prove difficult. He glanced over at Zay briefly who sprinted over to them. He grabbed his guitar, and swiped over some of the chords with his hand. A wide shockwave of arcane erupted from his guitar. It was not intended to do damage, but there was a good deal of pushing power behind it in an attempt to knock the creatures back. He kept stepping backwards as he did, moving himself deeper inside the caravan.

[Necrophage]

Daelin stretched out his fingers to the ax embedded in the ground. With a push of his will, it jostled free and whipped back to his hand. "These buggers are fast!" He exclaimed. Daelin sheathed the ax on his back and descended the ladder quickly. "If anyone's got fire this is a good time to use it." He said as he unclasped a box and tipped open the lid. He had made sure a couple of things made it into the caravan. More weapons was one of them. A crossbow a few other goodies were in this box. He pulled it out along with a bolt. Using one muscular arm he drew the string back, nocked a bolt and pointed it for the door. "Complications are part of the job, eldi." He said. Pyra and Flin were doing their best to defend themselves, which left Noru and their guest with one closing in fast. Daelin aimed for the maw hound closing in on their vulnerable stranger and launched a bolt at its slavering mouth.

[tex]

The beasts only reeled back slightly against Flin's spread out attack, barely affected and completely uninjured. Pyra's attack saw more success breaking through several teeth on its way down the creature's throat. It clamped its jaw shut and staggered even further backwards, crunching the small stone inside of its mouth for at least a few seconds with its head shaking from side to side. Teeth fell out of its mouth in shards, along with chunks of stone, but it didn't seem to be in any danger of choking. But as it was pushed away from the Eldi mage, a stream of blood sprayed out of its neck onto the ground below. Now it barely stood with blood trickling from a newly opened wound, where a small silver spike protruded throat the creature's flesh. Zay was closing in on the group now, one hand extended with a second spike slowly emerging from the base of his palm.

The other two creatures immediately continued forward in their assault. One of them latched on to Neale's armored boot and began to rip him from Noru and Pyra's grasp with a considerable amount of force, whipping its head from side to side like a crazed hyena. Daelin's bolt scratched past its furry muzzle and drew blood, but it refused to release its grip.

The other beast circled Flin and leaped past him, towards Noru. "Shit!" the medic hissed. He wouldn't be able to move in time. Marilyn began to tug on the metal chain as the group made their way onto the ramp, but she wasn't about to close it on her own with four people and two beasts on top of the heavy iron gate.

[Jensoman]

Flin glared at the beast that circled around him, and took aim immediately. Noru was in very real danger now, and he wasn't about to stand there and let it happen. He struck the chords of his quitar again, and arcane energy emerged from it. Two sharp shards of focused Arcane quickly emerged and circled around the beast, one from it's left and the other from the right, taking position in front of Noru with it's tips faced towards the incoming beast with the intent to stop it dead in it's tracks, or to have it impale itself with it's current momentum while acting somewhat as a pillar. Two more shards followed one second afterwards, intended to pierce the creature's sides from the left and right.

[Dartbored Fairy]

Daelin's alert startled Lyullia. Who was attacking? Bandits? Or something worse?

It didn't take long for her to spot the almost wolf-like creatures that were attacking. She didn't like having to fight, but she had to do something.

Moving to the roof of the Caravan, Lyullia uses her magic to create spiked metal Javelins, and from her relatively safe position on top of the cart starts throwing them at the creatures. Sure, she wasn't the most accurate thrower, but at least she was accurate enough to not hit her allies.

Her main target was the creature closest to the others on top of the ramp. She had to get it off somehow, and maybe this bombardment of javelins would be a good way to accomplish it.

[Zyngard]

From there, Ilruvae's eyes flick over down to the fallen teeth, and chunks of stone, grinning. Small enough... he spares a little concentration from keeping Neale in his grasp to pick up the teeth and chuck them at the one trying to tear at the knight's armored feet, specifically at his hind haunches, trying to distract it.

[tex]

The beast headed for Noru quickly side-stepped the arcane spines and tackled him from the side. He was pinned to the ground and forced to let go of Neale on impact. But even pinned, he pushed his hands into the base of the creature's neck, firmly grasping at its base as it snapped wildly and flung saliva across his face. Flin's follow up shards pierced a few inches into the side of the creature's torso, but it seemed to have no regard for its own safety and continue with reckless abandon towards the dark haired medic's neckline.

Neale's body began to slide out of Centaurus' collective grip immediately after Noru released him. With one final tug, he was ripped from Pyra and Flin and pulled away towards the foothills. But the sudden flurry of teeth that impaled its back leg ground the creature to a halt. It still moved, unwilling to surrender its meal, but only in small backward hops as it turned away from the Caravan. The beast immediately to Pyra's side however, one that he'd previously disarmed with a well placed rock, bared its seemingly endless supply of teeth with a high pitched whine and launched itself towards the Eldi, knocking him over and standing over the man with blood dripping from its maw. How the hell was this thing still alive after Captain Copp's attack? New teeth quickly began to emerge from where Pyra had crushed them, popping out the old roots with brand new razor sharp white spines. But before it could move in for the kill, the creature lurched to the left. One of Lyullia's javelins had gone astray, and planted itself firmly in the creature's rightmost front leg.

Noru was still in peril, shifting his hands constantly to keep his face from being torn to shreds. But suddenly his efforts became far less difficult. The monstrous canine began to weaken, and Noru was easily able to hold it up. That's when he noticed a metal rod piercing through the back of the monster's throat. He looked up and quickly shoved the corpse off of his body.

Zay noted the progress in an instant, shifting his attention towards Neale. He fired another spike towards the beast, and twisted his hand to maneuver it carefully towards one of its eyes. this time it pierced straight through to its brain. With a quick snap of his fingers, Zay proceeded to detonate his little toy, sending shards of silver rocketing out of the creature's skull in a fashion that left Neale unharmed. Its fur and flesh were shredded and mangled, but Zay's attack did not fully remove its head. But it only took one look to assure that Neale's kidnapper was most certainly dead as a result.

[Jensoman]

Flin took note of Pyra's current position, turning away from Noru who'd been saved. He launched a focused bolt of Arcane at the beast on top of Pyra, with the sheer striking force of a hammer. He made it maneuver quickly towards the left side that it lurched towards and from below, moving under the beast as it looked to slam itself into Zay's metal spike from a specific angle, aiming to tear the spike deeper throughout its neck and to do as much damage as possible.

[Zyngard]

Ilruvae gave a small grin, although somewhat terrified of his current position, and thanking the stars it didn’t surprise him enough to drop the compress, then glanced at the javelin, concentrating his energy to shove it into the beast further, from there simply taking a defensive stance, not wanting to drop the compress even if it meant a bit of injury himself, the tide seemed to be turning.

[Necrophage]

"Damn!" Daelin swore. He dumped the crossbow to the side on the interior of the caravan and sprinted out. Drawing his ax he planted it deep in to the back of the neck of the maw hound that had been dragging their guest away for good measure. Satisfied with the gurgle of blood it released as he pulled it back out, he flicked the blood off quickly as he returned it to its sheathe on his back and peered around him for any immediate threats. The maw hounds were occupied with the others and quickly losing but that didn't mean there weren't more alerted by their cries in the distance. These types of beasts often traveled in packs. If they got away soon the corpses from these ones would feed the later beasts and keep them off the caravan, most likely. With a huff he knelt down and grabbed Neale by his good arm and corresponding leg in a fireman's carry. The man was of course heavy, dripping with blood and pure dead weight but Daelin was no slouch in strength. He was used to carrying lumber and this felt significantly easier. Daelin lifted the man into a more comfortable position before he mustered everything he had to sprint back into the caravan, wary of the dogs even as he moved back in.

[tex]

The last mutt went down in a bloody display, tipping over as the javelin dug into its side and its neck was torn asunder by Flin's arcane shard. Zay looked around quickly for any sign of a second pack, but couldn't spot a damn thing through the hills. He looked over to Daelin and nodded as he carried the injured Captain on board. What a terribly unfortunate encounter. To see action so soon after leaving Arcadia's walls, at least outside of the Caravan, wasn't exactly common on the trade routes. Zay's right hand twitched and shook. When was the last time he'd actually killed something? Or someone?

"Get back on board," He ordered, "Go, close the back end gate right away." Captain Copp moved as he spoke, and helped Pyra up off of the ground. Noru helped himself up and sought composure. But it'd been a long time for him as well. Most creatures as small as these white wolf looking things couldn't even put a dent in the Caravan. They could have been ignored. It was Neale's appearance that complicated the situation, but it may have been beneficial that they found him when they did. The fact that he hadn't been killed already, walking through the wilds alone, was nothing short of a miracle.

Marilyn began to pull at the gate's chains, waiting for everyone to make their way back inside, while Zay took a seat in the common area alongside Noru. The atmosphere was rather tense. With Neale unconscious, a familiar wave of anxiety washed over Zay, keeping him wide awake and drawn away from his usual demeanor. His eyes were peeled back as he traced his index finger across one eyebrow repeatedly while supporting his head on the base of his wrist.

"Captain?" Noru grunted, snapping Zay out of thought. He yanked himself back into a relaxed posture, but couldn't ease the shaking in his right hand. Noru glanced at Zay's fingers and then met his eyes.

[Jensoman]

Flin put his guitar on his back again. He sat down on a chair at the common area as well, and didn't say a word. His face was pale. He'd seen that his comrades were all reliable in their own ways, which was good. But the tense atmosphere certainly didn't call for celebration, especially after what'd just happened. It seemed like Zay wasn't used to killing, or at least that's what it looked like. It was understandable. Flin himself didn't enjoy killing things either, but sometimes it was nessecary. He remained silent for a long moment. "At least...we all survived...." Flin eventually spoke in a raspy and sad tone, trying to make the situation a bit less tense. But he wasn't wrong. If things hadn't gone the way they did, they might have all been torn to shreds.

[Zyngard]

Ilruvae gave a groan, pulling himself up off the ground (giving a nod of thanks to the Captain as he did) and back over to Neale, wordlessly flicking his gaze over to see if the man received any new injuries, concentrating on keeping that compress up, a small headache forming from that random encounter.

[Necrophage]

Daelin placed Neale into an unused bunk and nodded to Noru. He studied everyone's shared mood. The anxious feeling was palpable. "The hell is wrong with you all?" He questioned the dour mood that had stricken everyone. "Are you stuck on what happened? We just saved a man from certain death and you're all depressed? Get real!" He shouted. "Right now we should focus." He pointed at their guest. "On him in particular and on getting to our destination."

Zay may have been on edge but this didn't bother Daelin. He'd been through worse and everything he'd gotten through was worth a celebration. What did bother him was how the team was handling it. "Hell, I'd open a drink for y'all to share since we made it out of there but I didn't bring one." Daelin shook his head. "Shame on me." He turned to go to the ladder. "We all signed up for this. Complications ARE the job, otherwise there wouldn't be so many of us just to run between cities. Consider this event a warm up for the hell to come." He started his way up the ladder so he could continue to keep watch outside. "Harden your hearts people, we're not even half way there yet."

[tex]

"Easy there, Tough guy," Zay groaned, "Not everyone has had to deal with this before." Noru went tense. His face tightened. Coarse lines ran down his temples and around his eyes like little streams, as if he'd been suddenly overcome by a flood of doubt and anger. Zay looked at him sternly. "Marilyn, the Venbu," Zay said quietly. The girl stood still. He turned towards her with a warm smile. "At your own pace."

[Zyngard]

Ilruvae took a moment to glare at Daelin, holding a hand near the man’s wound as a focus to help him, well, focus. “The hell do you think I’m doing? And before you get your trousers in a twist, you would do well to remember, as the Captain said, not everyone is ready for attack from damn toothed dogs every hour of the day. We were surprised, and made it through rather well. If you’re done making the rest of us feel guilty we aren’t pillars of positive attitude, perhaps you could find some way to help get this guy stable!”

[tex]

Noru snapped himself back into reality as Pyra snapped back at Daelin's comments and rose from his seat quickly.

"Sorry," He mumbled, scrambling over to Neale's side. He began to examine the injury that his Eldi companion had wrapped in Arcane energy, feeling past the tight compress with his fingers. Zay sighed and began to rub his jaw. Marilyn slowly made her way through the Caravan after assuring that the back entryway was firmly shut, handing Zay the Caravan Key as she passed him.

"Sir," She whispered. Zay nodded and placed the Key in his pocket, mouthing 'thanks' as she passed him by to tend to the Venbu.

[Jensoman]

Flin sighed, looking up at Daelin as he went to the roof and the others began doing their own things. At least people had something to distract themselves with. He turned to Ilruvae. "You have my gratitude for keeping that compress focused on him. I don't think I would've been able to do that while fighting." Flin admitted, and headed towards the front of the caravan. He sat on one of the benches near Marilyn, and grabbed his guitar. He began to play a soothing, calming tune to calm his own nerves, and perhaps Marilyn's.