While their attempt to discourage the soldiers to keep fighting them was successful, in large part probably due to the chaos and destruction they had caused to the entire fort, the threat of them being followed was still looming over their heads and that, coupled with some of their own being wounded and having no means to treat them made it clear their situation wasn't exactly a good one.
In particular, Linceleste's situation was especially worrying, having encased herself in ice after the grave wounds she received.
Carmen request to gather and discuss about their situation and the possible paths they could take from now on came in good time as the morale of the group seemed to be much lower after their little 'encounter' with the red stripes.
"Normally I would say to draw as little attention as possible but... Linceleste's condition worries me. Her wounds were grave. Fortunately, it seems either herself or her own powers reacted to her body's condition in order to preserve her life but we have no idea of how much time she was able to buy herself with her powers... do we?" Amaris said with an exhausted sigh.
Osric also had a very good point. Especially after what happened with the red stripes, it was quite likely they wouldn't bother them for some time... At least until they recovered themselves. At least regarding the red stripes, they could afford being a bit less careful.
Carnatia also brought up a very good point, one Amaris herself not only agreed but would have probably suggested herself if Carnatia hadn't brought it up first. In almost every situation of conflict, hearing both sides was very important to have a full and complete view of the entire scene. It was quite obvious that they weren't exactly on 'friendly' terms with the red stripes after what happened. While that would undoubtedly bring them some problems, it could also possibly open them some doors as well, such as negotiating and talking to those the red stripes considered their enemies.
"Like Osric said, the red stripes are likely still recovering themselves. For now, I think we can afford being a bit careless, at least regarding them. Our main priority should be treating our wounded. Particularly Linceleste. While we might not be exactly on friendly terms with the red stripes... We are not completely sure their enemies will receive us with open arms... It might be better for us to recover ourselves first before considering negotiating with the so called 'witch' and the 'traitors' mentioned by the red stripes." Amaris finished as she looked to Carmen and the group, waiting to hear their thoughts about the matter.
While King seemed to be more worried about the pirates and whatever other non-etheric threat that they would certainly find inside, Alice was a bit more worried about the possible ethereal creatures lurking around. Having Echo covering them was certainly comforting though. The moment she felt Ilshar starting to investigate the ether trail, she gently put her hands on his shoulder with a concerned expression before she spoke to the group.
"I agree with King. Not only regarding scans, but particularly regarding the ether signals. Most etheric creatures, particularly predatory ones, tend to be very sensitive to things observing them. Just having a general idea of where they are and if they are getting close would be enough, lest we risk whatever is in the other sign of these ether signals to get as 'curious' about us as we are about them." Alice said, glancing towards Salvator.
"Any attempt to investigate should be done very delicately and with great care." She said, nodding towards Ilshar.
"The shroud will definitely be of great help. Should we get too close, I can use my own ether together with Salvator to strengthen his shroud." she completed, closing her eyes for a moment as she began extended her etheric senses beyond visual range in a field around them.
Just as she finished extending her etheric senses, a strange, groaning sound interrupted her, making Alice open her eyes, alert. It was different from the metallic groans that seemed to be common in the Sargasso station due to it's chaotic, old and decaying structure. Alice's trained eyes immediately focused on the other side of the room. Beyond the door and the fleshy tendrils that covered it, a teal light could be seen, it's intensity fluctuating.
With her aim fixed on the door, Alice stood her ground, waiting for whatever it was behind to peek at them, ready to fire at it, should it show necessary.
"Heads up guys, there's something on the next room." Alice whispered, drawing the team's attention towards the door.
Amaris' expression of glee was visible in her face as the two chains spun around audibly cutting the air as she did so. If the ominous sound of the chains in the air weren't enough, just the thought of what could happen if someone was struck by them was probably enough to keep the soldiers at bay, seeing as not even a single one of them wanted to approach Amaris. That, when coupled with the ferocity Mirielle showed as she charged towards the enemies near the gate made it very clear that the enemy morale was suffering greatly.
Due to that, when Carnatia came to her, asking for her to summon another obelisk near the gate, Amaris couldn't help but let out a sinister smile.
"With pleasure~" Amaris replied to Carnatia with an amused expression, raising her arm up, making the chains stop spinning and coiling around her arm.
"When the third obelisk rises, then they will know what I am truly capable of." She said with an excited expression, much to the terror of whoever soldier happened to hear her.
Before she could do anything though, she heard Carmen's voice echoing through the burning garrison, ordering for her to stop.
Just as he did so, his voice roared again in an intimidating, commanding tone as he addressed the enemy soldiers, giving them a chance to leave instead of continuing such bloodbath.
Whether the soldiers were honestly considering Carmen's proposal, if they were too stunned by Carmen's tone or still shocked by the sheer massacre that a group of a few people were capable of was unknown, but the silence that fell over the garrison after Carmen spoke meant that they would certainly at least consider their words.
"Unfortunately for me and fortunately for you, that man is the one that holds my 'leash'. One word from him and I will gladly continue. One of the three obelisks is already up and I was just about to invoke the second one~" Amaris said, speaking out as she looked to the soldiers around them, the tone of her voice, her words and her expressions leaving a grim and ominous atmosphere in the air.
"Works perfectly for me." Alice said, nodding in agreement as she replied to Rho-Hux when he suggested a silent signal should they spot enemies.
"Despite my choice of weapon making me a bit ill suited to spearhead the formation, should we encounter heavy ethereal interference or presence, I have no problems in scouting ahead, should it prove to be necessary." Alice said looking to the entire team and nodding reassuringly to them before they prepared to go enter the Sargasso.
The moment they entered the Sargasso station, they were greeted by the flesh growths covering the walls and corridors of the station, releasing unknown, possibly harmful chemicals in the air, contaminating the little oxygen that was still left in it. Mostly due to her experience in expeditions to the Oneiric Chasm, Alice found herself unbothered by the low gravity or even the considerable buildup of qillatu that was ever so familiar to places that constantly fell in and out of the Oneiric Chasm.
Unlike the clear, rampant infection that seemed to plague Sargasso and the apparent state of disrepair, the first thing Alice noticed was that many of the electronic devices not only were still working, but there were signals of them being used quite recently as well. Unsurprising, considering the briefing they had received about the station, but by putting that fact together with the strange, liquid-like sensation she could feel like a trail leading to different rooms made it quite clear that they should expect to meet something rather sooner than later. Other than those clear signals, there were many sounds Alice could hear. From the beeping and buzzing noises of old electronic devices to the sounds of the pulsating flesh growths and veins, there were also other sounds that were... difficult to pinpoint the source. A distant, but strangely clear sound coming from above the room they encountered themselves in, raising and lowering in intensity, indicating whatever it was the source, it was definitely moving.
Even though there seemed to be no immediate danger in that room, something that Alice was making sure of, both sweeping their surroundings and being ready to react at a moment's notice, she still gave Salvator a concerned glance. She wasn't sure the others would have felt the same as she did, but she knew most certainly that Salvator, being a voidhanger like her, would have felt that weird liquid sensation as well as she had. Even though she didn't want to break the silence, fearing to announce her presence to whoever, or whatever might be listening, her expression was enough to send a clear message...
That mission wouldn't be an easy one. Trouble seemed to dwell closer to them than what Alice thought it would at the briefing. A single wrong movement could warn other things of their presence and by the small hints Alice had caught by looking around, there was a rather considerable chance that it could be something worse than just pirates.
Truth be told, even amidst the hell the garrison was turning into, it was very, very hard to ignore Amaris. Not only due to the carnage she was responsible for as she threw herself in the middle of the enemy forces but especially after she invoked the obelisk, it didn't take long until the screams of 'Witch' started echoing through the battlefield.
"Crone? It is awfully rude to call a beautiful, young woman a crone, isn't it?" Amaris replied as she heard the soldiers' shouts, grinning as she pulled the chain from the soldier's chest, splattering his blood on the ground staining it for a moment before it gathered and formed into a second chain.
A single glance was all it took for Amaris to realize not everything was well with her companions. Not only the fire was spreading in an alarming rate, but the amount of enemy soldiers was slowly but surely starting to overwhelm them. In particular, Linceleste was in a particularly dangerous place after one soldier was able to stop her charge by striking her horse with a spear, making her fall to the ground. Dazed by the fall, Linceleste was an easy target and before long, soldiers started surrounding her, one of which, was able to pierce her shoulder with his spear, unfazed by Linceleste's attempt to deflect his blow. Fortunately, her mechanical spider was quick to tackle the soldier away from it's master.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they won't be able to approach her! Whoever is nearby, I would recommend to watch your heads~" Amaris replied, giggling as she heard Carmen's words asking her to swing her chains and prevent the soldiers from approaching Linceleste.
Most of the times since Amaris started fighting, both her and her chains were rarely standing still, unlike now. Instead of attacking, Amaris retreated a bit to the northeast, taking a few steps away from the soldiers as she moved away from her obelisk, halfway towards the other group of soldiers, where Linceleste was. As she did so, Amaris called both her chains back to herself, with them slowly coiling around her, almost as if there was a resistance to that movement.
"GET DOWN, NOW!" Amaris shouted towards any ally that might be within 15m of herself as she spun around. The moment she did so, her chains fully extended, spiraling outwards at the height of the soldiers' necks. As they cut through the air with a frightening speed, the whistle they produced was loud enough to be audible even with all the chaos around them.
Amaris' laughter echoed together with the horrifying sounds of flesh being teared apart and bones cracking as once again, her chains absorbed the blood from the unfortunate soldiers struck by them. Just as she did so, from behind the downed soldiers, Amaris saw as one of the remaining soldiers pointed towards her with a loaded arbalest. There was little time for Amaris to even think on what to do. Instead, she instinctively used the third chain that was just being formed from the blood the others absorbed to block the incoming bolt, with a quick swipe, immediately stopping her dash as she jumped backwards surprised, only for her to see a musketeer among the remaining soldiers, about to press the trigger. This time, there wouldn't be enough time to react. Fortunately, before she could feel the impact of the projectile, a loud bang suddenly echoed as the soldier aiming at her fell to the ground after Carmen shot at him.
Alerted by Carmen's shout regarding the remaining two Musketeers, Amaris immediately turned her attention towards them. The musketeers would soon start shooting again and with only one way for them to escape the inferno the garrison was quickly turning into, they had little options besides standing their ground and fighting their way to the exit. Fortunately, before the remaining two musketeers could take aim, Linceleste charged towards them with her horse, swinging her sword at one of them, using the momentum of her charge. Taking advantage of Linceleste's brutal charge, which would likely leave the remaining musketeer distracted, Amaris immediately sent one of her chains towards the remaining musketeer, aiming to pierce his chest before it quickly returned to her.
"Thank you, Linceleste~ Let me have the group behind, I'll prevent them from rushing towards the exit and blocking our way." Amaris shouted to Linceleste with an amused smile, her attention focused almost entirely on the group of soldiers even as Linceleste dashed past the musketeers with her horse.
As soon as she finished speaking, she crouched, touching the ground and making all three of her chains burrow into the ground. Not even a second after they disappeared, a giant obelisk, made of black iron and bound by chains erupted right in the middle of the group of soldiers, impaling those who were unfortunate enough to be on the center and knocking back the others who were nearby, likely avoiding any of them from attacking Linceleste in retaliation. Using the opening her Obelisk would likely buy for her, Amaris immediately ran towards the group, summoning a single chain as she ran towards the group of soldiers, shooting her chain to impale whoever was the nearest soldier who wasn't knocked down or impaled by her obelisk.
The sound of Amaris' chains hitting Melnik's armor was loud enough to echo through the garrison. Apparently, he wasn't lying when he said that despite the lack of manpower they were well equipped. In order to have stopped Amaris' attack, it at least had to be a fairly high quality, well made armor. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have as much luck with Mirielle's holy lance, having almost completely pierced Melnik's leg, his wound sizzling due to the holy energy on Mirielle's lance.
Using the opening Mirielle and Amaris' attack had created, Carnatia, using multiple illusions of herself, approached for a final blow. With a swift lunge coming from amidst the illusions, Carnatia plunged her rapier into Melnik's neck, cutting sideways as the burly, heavy armored commander dropped his hammer, stumbling backwards before finally falling down.
With the most dangerous one dead, Amaris turned towards Carmen, only to see him pulling a gun and shooting at one of the soldiers. Melnik's strike from earlier left Carmen quite disoriented and the cut on his eye still bled, but his wounds didn't seem bad enough that he couldn't fight.
Despite their commander having fallen, the soldiers didn't seem to lose their will to fight and were still aiming to overwhelm them. With little time to breathe or recover, Mirielle told Amaris to deal with the remaining soldiers, which were now rushing inside the fort after hearing the sounds of battle, a task she would be more than glad to do. Carmen soon after said the same, making it clear that their objective was to flee instead of staying and annihilating the remaining forces. Almost as if right on cue, an explosion shook the garrison, opening a hole in the western wall and spreading a dangerous amount of oil and fire. With the entire garrison made of wood, the fire would likely engulf it in it's entirety before the fight ended. Carmen was correct, they needed to get out of there quickly.
"With pleasure~" Amaris said, a grin forming on her face as she ran towards the soldiers entering the garrison, spinning, with a wave of her hand, making both her chains sing through the air, sweeping at the incoming soldiers' legs. Whether Carmen, Mirielle and Carnatia chose to leave through the ruined northern wall or through the main entrance, Amaris would make sure to deal with as many of the incoming soldiers as possible.
"Understood, I can cover both Kleo and Echo, no worries. Don't worry about Kleo. I can take care of her." Alice said whispering the last part, agreeing with King as he suggested for the team's Etherealists to pair up with the others in case something happens.
While Alice wished the two teams to work a bit more harmoniously, sparks seemed to fly between them every second they spent near each other. The animosity between the teams went as far as a duel being suggested between Rho-Hux and the Husk from the other team. Fortunately, before the challenge to a duel deteriorated into a brawl right then and there, Salvator was quick to reprimand both parties and remember them that the focus should be the mission instead of any personal disagreements or quarrels.
After a certain point, Alice realized nothing she could say would be of much difference so instead of speaking up, she decided just to silently hope that the animosity and the conflicts coming from that first meeting between them wouldn't affect the outcome of mission or how well the two teams would be able to work with each other.
Alice thought she was prepared to enter Sargasso after the briefing and the information they received, but upon seeing the abandoned station by herself it became clear that it would be almost impossible for that mission to proceeded without complications. Even from outside, the station's appearance was that of a chaotic amalgamation of ethereal, infected flesh and metal. From the derelict station, old vessels, in various states of disrepair could be seen. Some, irregular ships that seemed to be built completely out of scrap and spare parts and others, very old models, with refurbished armor and haphazard repairs to make it at least usable, all of them in a hopeless fight against vacuum-coral and infected flesh.
"It is honestly much worse than what I had imagined..." Alice said to herself with a deep sigh as she watched the abandoned station from inside a dropship, just before the Invictoid asked for radio silence.
As they approached the drop point, Alice thought about the suggestion given to them. Using raw firepower to clear obstacles would be easy, but definitely best only used on last resort. Attracting attention from unwanted creatures or pirates was definitely the last thing they needed.
Just as Salvator had said, close-quarter breaches were always chaotic. In Alice's case, it was an even bigger reason for her to keep alert at all times due to her weapon choice. From the multiple entrance points available for them, the hatch was chosen by Salvator, a choice Alice had no problems with, considering it seemed to be the best choice if they wanted to remain unnoticed.
As soon as they approached the hatch, Alice would stand besides Rho-Hux, looking through the hatch with her rifle, sweeping the perimeter as the others entered.
"I can cover you as you enter. I'll keep an eye out for anything strange." Alice said as she continued looking through her rifle's scope.
Just as the soldier fell to the ground pleading for his life, Amaris' chain began to greedily absorb the first drops of blood that were spilled in that battle. Together with it, Amaris herself could feel a growing feeling of excitement and euphoria welling up from deep within her. More than just adrenaline of combat and the familiar ferrous smell of blood, it was also a physiological reaction to the old magic of iron and blood. As long as blood continued to flow on the battlefield, the feeling of excitement and euphoria invoked by the magic would only grow, sending the user into a bloody trance, which was the very reason for Amaris' infamy and nickname.
Much to the soldier's dismay, the only reply the poor soldier would receive from Amaris was the excited laughter as the chain that was spinning around her, now soaked in blood, began to rattle and grind against itself before it suddenly splitting into another chain. Turning her head towards the groveling soldier, with a wave of her hand, Amaris made the new chain shoot towards the soldier, coiling and grinding around his uninjured arm, making sure he wouldn't be able to attack them. Cruel as it might be, letting him leave with life was a small mercy and the price he paid for that was at least acceptable. If the soldier was smart enough, he would take the fact that Amaris immediately turned her face away from him after wounding his other arm as a cue and escape... before she changed her mind.
"Run boy, before I change my mind~!" Amaris said without looking at the soldier, her eyes focused on the remaining soldiers as she licked her lips, letting out a wicked grin.
In an almost instinctive reaction to the sound of gunfire, seeing how many of the soldiers were already dealt with, Amaris immediately dashed towards the commander. Not only she hoped to hide herself from the musketeers by using the commander's large frame as a shield, but as she dashed towards him, her chains, which were previously spinning around her in a defensive ring immediately stopped, before they began moving through the air with sharp, irregular movements, aiming to pierce any enemy nearby as she ran.
With the second chain of thorns joining the cacophony of iron and blood, the sound of chains grinding only became louder, as it did Amaris' excited and euphoric laughter. With an excited grin on her face, she took a small glance towards the soldier running in the back, calling for reinforcements before she turned to the commander. Approaching him with a frightening speed, she ran around the commander, hiding herself behind Carnatia's illusions just as his warhammer missed Mirielle, before she stopped a few meters away, behind the commander as she sent both of her chains towards his back, aiming to impale him.
Truth be told, Melnik's outright refusal to answer came in as a bit of a surprise for Amaris. Judging by how he negotiated with them until now, he was anything but an idiot. He would know well how suspicious refusing to answer their inquiries, especially with such a curt reply and reason like that, would look and yet, despite Carmen's pleas, Melnik wouldn't budge.
Amaris could understand Carmen's reaction. Having an old friend murdered, knowing he was dead and not even being able to know who did it, why and how was a lot to deal. Still, considering how uncooperative Melnik was being, Amaris herself had a feeling that no amount of negotiating would change his mind. Unsurprisingly, the moment eight soldiers approached the group with weapons drawn, it became obvious that they had no intention to help them from the beginning. Instead, they wanted just to get rid of them. Be it by fooling them and doing anything to send them back to Westernant or by outright detaining them under threat of violence.
"I thought of you as being a bit more reasonable than that..." she said with heavy sigh as she looked to Melnik and the soldiers surrounding them.
"I hate to say it, Carnatia... But it seems that the time for negotiations is long gone... No matter how reasonable we are, it seems it was never their intention to help us, they just want to get rid of us, for us to leave and go back to Westernant since the beginning." she said, hearing Carnatia still trying to salvage the situation.
"Now that they finally decided to attack us... There isn't any reason to show any of them mercy, is there?" Amaris said with a sinister grin as she looked at the soldiers and Melnik
The tense standoff only lasted for a moment as the garrison commander finally shattered the silence with his fists, breaking the table and taking a swing at Carmen as he ordered the soldiers to slay them as they surrounded the group.
A quick glance around was enough for Amaris to evaluate their position. Truth be told, while there weren't exactly many soldiers in the garrison, they were sill quite a few. Melnik himself seemed to be quite dangerous, but the watchtowers and the musketeers taking aim at them were putting them in an incredibly disadvantageous position. Mirielle's flash of light was quite helpful in delaying the musketeers, but sooner or later they would begin shooting. Before that happened, Amaris would have to buy them some breathing room for them to move.
With the soldiers already closing in on her, Amaris gave them no time, waving her hand as she spun around making a chain of thorns materialize and spin around herself, forcing whichever enemies might be around to give a step back or be struck by the chain, rapidly spinning around her.
While she could make the chain spin in a wider arc, being amidst enemy soldiers might be the only thing avoiding the enemy musketeers to begin shooting at them in the very moment Mirielle's light faded down and they recovered themselves. As such, Amaris intended to use the other soldiers as cover for musket fire while dealing with them. The smaller, more contained attack perfect for that situation. Enough to hit those too close to her or forcing them to focus on dodging her quick attack instead of attacking her, still keep them close enough from her so that the musketeers might have some trouble hitting her and also not forcing her own allies to have to dodge her own attacks.
"It's been some time since I was allowed to go all out like this! How fun~!" she said with an amused smirk and a blood-chilling chuckle as she spun around together with her chain.
"Humanity takes great pride in three things. Their willpower, their greed and their mortality.
Their will and endless greed allows them to grow and accend past other creatures
But their mortality denies them divinity
It's a delightful purgatory between being Fallen and being Divine"
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<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">"Humanity takes great pride in three things. Their willpower, their greed and their mortality.<br><br>Their will and endless greed allows them to grow and accend past other creatures<br>But their mortality denies them divinity<br><br>It's a delightful purgatory between being Fallen and being Divine"<br><br><div class="hider-panel"><div class="hider-heading"><button type="button" class="btn btn-default btn-xs hider-button" data-name="Character 'archive' (because graveyard doesn't really sound nice)">Character 'archive' (because graveyard doesn't really sound nice) [+]</button></div><div class="hider-body" style="display: none"><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/144877-13orgs-characters/ooc" title="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/144877-13orgs-characters/ooc">roleplayerguild.com/topics/144877-13o…</a></div></div><br></div>
sovlereign
Randomness
Silly
MurderVictim
Silent Showers
Majoraa
The Savant
blindwoofer
Kaithe Dame
Hillan
