[IC] Plague-Hunters

[LHG100]

Schulze aimed straight for the neck, a single quick, no-nonsense strike directly into the windpipe. Nawar could only try to quick-draw his blade, failing utterly in that, yet his shoulder nudged Schulze's attack just enough to make his blade go in underneath his helmet, stabbing into his jaw instead and cutting off a large chunk of his left chin, bringing along some of his teeth as well. He could only gurgle and try to scream as Schulze tried to rip off his helmet by raw instinct for a second slash, Tasket would try to roll Schulze off, but that only hindered his Masters' situation, making his head slam into the ground while Schulze jumped off in time, smacking away his flame-blade and its' specially modified scabbard.

Tasket threw off his master and went into a rage, blatantly and viciously going to maul Schulze, deflecting the first strike from the big cats' helmet-mounted horn, but now he was certainly trapped in such a horrible position... if he didn't think fast and stab the pussy (hah) straight in the chest with his own master's blade, not damaging the creature underneath, but making its' less armored underbelly even an easier target and saving himself from a trip to the morgue. It threw away the then stuck blade and took a precious moment to try and charge another swipe of its' claws.

Will Schulze dodge? Or use the opportunity to attempt a fatally risky riposte? After such a heads-on attack, he really should try to dodge... but the glory!

In any case, Nawar is definitely out of the fight, his helmet being thrown off, and missing a good portion of his lower face. He continued gurgling, attempting to re-regulate his own breathing (and likely check to see if his face was okay.. newsflash: it isn't.).

All the others heard and saw was insanely quick, all that happening in a scant few seconds at most. One second, Schulze was going in, the next Nawar was on the ground writhing in pain and Nickolaus was directly in the path of an incoming swipe from Taskets' mighty paws. Now would be a good time to start shooting the cat, the ranged fighters would see.

[agentmanatee]

The armor Nickolaus had ripped from the beasts undercarriage was not random, it was the plates guarding the beasts heart... Nickolaus had no intention of dodging the cats attack.

Nick brought the knuckle dagger in an uppercut, meeting the beast's claw with his armored knuckles. When they met, the knuckle dagger shattered, the iron hard claws raked up his right his right arm, cutting deep, bloody furrows all the way up to his shoulder. However, this is what Nickolaus wanted as it was the perfect opening. In his left hand, his pistol was cocked. Nick slammed the muzzle of the pistol into the beasts exposed skin, and pulled the trigger. Even with its thick hide and muscle, the bullet at that range would pass all the way through to its heart (assuming Nickolaus had remembered a lions anatomy the correctly). With that, he dropped the pistol and threw himself away from the beast, in case it fell over or he had missed it's heart. If he had missed though, there would be little he could do to avoid another charge.

[Eklispe]

Alexander was barely able to keep track of the events, but as he saw Nick come under attack from the beast he grabbed the musket by his feet and aimed at the creature. He had seen Joshua use one of these before, you just had to point and pull the trig-BOOM. Alex staggered backwards from the force of the shot, it was far more than his hand crossbow had for recoil. "Sic!' he called out to Larion hoping it could hear him through all the noise and smoke.

[LHG100]

Tasket's underbelly would be pierced by Nick's pistol, ingraining itself just next to the heart and doing 'good enough' damage. It wouldn't survive for long... If it wasn't for the second shot slamming into the side of its' head, piercing its' helmet and damaging the brain stem. It would collapse as Schulze barely got out of the way, and Nawar retreats back into the smoke. Suddenly, blinding lights from his last position... and Schulze, nor Ruby, nor the others, could detect him. It also dispelled Imgor's little tracking spell, his 'map' was on the fritz, so to speak. Did he use an Exicus he's been saving? Did he teleport away, or did he just go invisible and was plotting a sneak attack...?

The wait for anything at all to happen continued, as the 'Bandits' familiar stopped moving completely...

And it continued after the rest noticed the fighting seemed to have stopped and came to where Schulze last was, finding him, and checking to make sure everyone was reasonably okay...

Schulze used some medical supplies the Quartet brought along from Joshua's camp, to fix his wounds and help with the others'. The woman dodged any questions, citing that this all happened so fast and she needed a small amount of time to process all of this. She sat in a most refined way on a nearby rock, obviously holding in a large amount of panic, trying to sort through her own mind. After the Aspiring Hunters finished mending their own alongside their familiars' wounds (And helping Imgor's mole out of its' little cave), the Woman went to try and speak, dripping with panic and a tinge of sadness;

"I... Thank-you for stopping him, I'm Miss Abigail and uhh.. I'll reward you all generously...", yet, she stopped, "Oh to hell with it, just... just escort me to that damned town! This is insane...". That would be the wisest course of action, mainly because it'd get her out of your hair. And obviously a reward.

Still, Nawar could be lurking in the clearing smoke, or hiding invisibly in the bushes nearby, in the outskirts of the forest... Interestingly, Joshua never mentioned that invisibility and teleportation magics (as the Quartet can guess) are a thing. Did he just forget to mention that, or are they a completely new ability?

Of course, thinking deeply about questions such as those would be counter-productive at this time. The more pressing issues should be handled first, obviously.

[M127]

Iṃgor returned to the group, keeping the spell active in case Nawar would attempt to surprise attack and drop his counter to the tracking-spell.
He collected all his arrows he could find on the scene, that were still usable.
"Looks like it's over."

[NanoFreakV2]

As soon as Nickolaus finished up patching up his wounds Sapphire addressed him.

“That was reckless . . . and stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed.” She stared at him with a frown.

She grabbed her hood and pulled at it to cover more of her face. She then closed her eyes and then turned around, her cloak fluttering as air brushed against it. That was all she had to say to him. She had preferred not saying anything to him but she knew that actions like these can put the entire team in peril.
That thought concerned her.

She began walking towards the area covered in scars from the previous battle. It didn’t take much effort to locate her Kris which she had launched into their enemy's leg.
Moreover something caught her attention.

Amidst the chaos, Nawar had failed to recover his rune covered blade before retreating. She delicately picked off the blade off the ground and inspected it closely. As she did this Ruby landed next to her. Satisfied with her findings she placed it in her backpack and turned towards her familiar gently placing her hand on its neck. She closed her eyes taking in the feeling of its feathers on her palm.

“You did good today.” She spoke softly, knowing she didn’t need words to transmit her feelings, but it felt appropriate nonetheless.

“Let’s go.” Sapphire said as she began walking back towards the group. Ruby’s sight lingered on Sapphire for a moment before she took off and began circling above Sapphire . . . as she usually did.

[Eklispe]

Alexander gave a sigh of relief as the unknown man vanished. Perhaps he was some sort of rough hunter? He would have to ask Joshua about it later. "Well that's that, the most we can do now is escort Ms. Abigail to town and keep an eye out for that stranger." Larion rushed out of the smoke eagerly looking at Alex expectantly. Sighing in mock disbelief he gave Larion a small chunk of meat and scratched behind his ear. "Good job buddy," he whispered as he crouched down, "Now you're gonna have to keep an eye out for me okay?" Larion nodded and ran in front of him sniffing the air and looking around vigilantly. Alexander stood back examining his spoil of war. A gun hm? It seemed like it could be quite helpful, he would have to experiment with it more later. Stowing it in his pack for now after making sure it wasn't loaded he began the trip back to the village. Sapphire's words were a little harsh but he couldn't exactly fault her for them. Neither could he fault Nick, for those his actions had been recklessly they had also been effective.

[M127]

"We still need to get to Coalstrike, correct?" Iṃgor inquired.
He proposes: "It would be quicker if Ruby would fly Abigail back into town and then returned to us, while we continue following this road."
Unlike the others Iṃgor didn't praise his familiar. Not because he didn't do well, but because he saw no point in praise, if the immedeate goal the familiar had was accomplished.

[NanoFreakV2]

“If that’s alright with you, Ms. Abigail . . .” as she said that Ruby landed in front of the group, stopping them in their tracks. Ruby turned her head sideways and intently observed Ms. Abigail.
This more than likely distracted the woman allowing for a question directed towards Imgor to go unnoticed.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What if she decides we’re not worth her reward after all? Moreover we won’t get another chance to ask her about the attackers.” Sapphire whispered to him, thinking back to when Ms. Abigail initially dodged all of the groups’ questions.

“You think we’ll find her again?” She finished off.

Seeing her previous attitude after being rescued, it probably wasn’t beneath her to attempt such a trick, Sapphire thought.

[M127]

Iṃgor whispers back: "As long as she doesn't move to a very remote location I can track her, if we ever need to see her again, but I suppose even if we know where she is, we may not be able to reach her, depending on the circumstances.
Although, I doubt that she will tell us in the future, if she won't tell us now. Unless of course..."
Iṃgor didn't finish his sentence, but the way he started it suggests, that he was referring to torture or the threat of torture/harm.

[LHG100]

"Ahem... I'm standing right HERE!", the young, now infuriated woman would say. She calms down (mildly) and re-assures you all, "Hmprrf... No, you may be blunt and as subtle as a mob of angry peasants, but yes I'm going to assist you... Aspiring Hunters. That's what you all are right?", and wonders, "I'm quite certain only Hunters are allowed... familiars.". She scoffs a little before saying familiars, almost like she recalled something else she finds funny... or pathetic.

"On the nature of your treat, I believe as you're all Aspiring Hunters you're likely going somewhere for actual Trick-Weapons, yes? Well, my family controls mining facilities, which I can steer in some ways. I could make them 'accidentally lose' a cache of Star-metal they've been keeping around. So you don't have to buy its' exorbitant price yourselves?"

"I believe that's only fair. After that, I request you don't come to me for anything else unless that's work related. I... well, my bloodline really, has plenty of problems we can't fix by ourselves that involve... removing certain individuals. Nothing evil or underhanded, but some people really should disappear, you know?" After that, she eyes the talons of Ruby and seems to mentally shake her head, "Uhh... your hawk is very beautiful but I'm afraid I should decline your offer.". Wow. rude...

[Eklispe]

Alexander responded to Imgor's idea, "We could do that, however if the unknown attacker or worse, his allies, were to be waiting on the road back it would be quite unfortunate for Sapphire. I think it'd be safer if we were to go together. I'm sure Joshua will understand if we are slightly delayed. Besides it appears our esteemed guess prefers more mundane transportation. I suggest that for safety we all go to escort her, perhaps we could find this 'lost' cache along the way yes?" Alexander suggested to the group.

[LHG100]

The Quartet would agree to Alexanders' suggestion, it is a decent one after-all, and begin going towards Oakstown. Abigail would be quiet during the short trip, yet it seems she's calming down again. If any questions remain, it appears now would be the time to ask them to her.

[LHG100]

The escorting would go completely uneventful, and the Quartet would explain (as Miss Abigail was further escorted into Oakstowns' little central castle) that she should send the Starmetal to a 'Harold The Blacksmith' in Coalstrike. Afterwards, they'd find themselves going back towards the road... However, you'd all get an idea. This 'Nawar's flamesword, no one here is absolutely sure how to operate such a piece of kit. They could pawn it for a few months and return to it, after doing some questing and asking Joshua how to handle these strange eastern blades. Especially how to properly handle one when it could sear your fingers off. Or, they could also take it to an enchanter so they could get a better idea on just what the hell it's capable of. Who knows, maybe it's not just a flaming sword? He could go invisible, perhaps it has something else up its' sleeve as well?

The Pawn idea would also give them some money to work with, they'd have to pay it off to get their sword back (and if they miss it, they likely lose the sword forever), but still, it'd give them valuable funds for repairs and minor replacements. Maybe some potions, or re-forgings, even.
Sadly, on the road, Alexander looked as much as he could, but alas; he couldn't find this little 'cache' Nawar mentioned. It's hopefully the other way, then.

[NanoFreakV2]

“I’ll go look for an enchanter or vendor that deals with similar arcane arts.” Sapphire informed the group.

She began looking for said individuals while Ruby offered her an overview of the entire town as she flew overhead. On her way she was already considering the applications of learning a rune that can be applied to various weapons. She considered elemental runes that help immobilize targets, mainly ice and electric current. Both of them would provide a great tactical advantage if applied to her Kris and launched with the air burst spell.

She hadn’t walked too far from the group when she realized the decision she took upon herself to take the blade to an enchanter was rather abrupt on her part so she stopped herself before she was too far away from the rest of the group and turned around waiting for a possible objection from them.

[M127]

Iṃgor followed Sapphire, even though she likely had an overview of the entire town, an overview doesn't help when locating specific targets, something his tracking spell was practically made for. He assumed she knew he had some sort of tracking spell, but not its versatility due to the option to set completely custom conditions.
After a sigh, he informed his other teammates: "I'll help her look. Six eyes and 1 spell see more than 4 eyes."
After catching up on Sapphire Iṃgor asks if he can see the artifact a littlebit closer, hoping to see a pattern for which he can search. In the process he explains that his spell can track anything the caster can define clearly.

[NanoFreakV2]

Sapphire chuckled lightly at Imgor’s figure of speech and stopped for a moment to let him catch up.

She then took out the blade she recovered from the so-called bandit, although by now she figured Nawar was more than just a mere bandit.

“Yes, I have taken note of your tracking spell.” She said as she handed the blade over to him.

“So you can specifically think of a certain object or living track? Interesting. How much do you need to know about the target for it to work ?”

As they kept walking she recalled the time she captured Ruby and how she carved the rune onto a rock which she then propelled with an air burst. This gave her an idea.

“While you’re at it, could you look for a vendor that sells books or offers teachings about runes? A paralysis rune in particular is what I’m looking for.”

[M127]

"It is less than thinking of something, but more like applying conditions, which must be met. For example if I would track 'every lifeform', everything, that is considered alive would be tracked. However, the spell does not disciminate between targets, so I don't know anything about the tracked objects, apart from their location and that they meet all conditions. However, the spell also has its limits, track too many things at once, regardless if intentional or not, and you just wasted a ton of mana and got a headache. Basically, to track something you want, you need to know what makes it different from most other objects in the spell's range. And as Nawar demonstrated the spell can also be countered, as he prevented it from tracking himself during his escape." Iṃgor elaborated while looking closely at the marks on the sword, memorizing them while looking for a common pattern they all follow.

[LHG100]

Nawar's blade is covered in runes most unusual. You can understand them just a little, Imgor, with your existing knowledge about Exicus runes, but they appear to take 'shortcuts' that you aren't familiar with yet. You can definitely identify things such as "Inflame this when ordered" and explaining what the order is, but there are other runes that seem to be utterly unrelated you can't identify.

Sapphire, while engrossed in other things, would bump into the door of Oakstown's sole enchanter. The door would creak open and she'd see a single old man, using a monocular to examine something on the table he was working on. He'd soon notice your clumsy 'entrance' and say hello. "Oh, a visitor? We don't get many visitors, miss. Lovely to meet you.". He'd stop doing what he was, and do a slight polite bow. "Do you need anything in particular?"

[M127]

Unable to identify some of the runes, Iṃgor decides to experiment.
He makes sure nothing, that is affected by fire, is near and then speaks with a loud and clear voice while staring at the sword: "I order thee to ignite!"
His main concern was, that the unknown runes prevented anyone but the owner from using it, effectively making the sword simply a normal sword outside of Nawar's hands.
Meanwhile he started searching for the pattern of the unknown runes with his spell, hoping to find them in a book somewhere in town.