Crimson Paladin

Dungeon Clearer! A Fantasy Adventurer RP

Léon Reverdin

Léon took a step back as the goblins poured into view. He was slightly relieved that they were facing a mundane foe rather than something unnatural or supernatural, but goblins could still pose a serious threat in large numbers and in confined spaces. This wouldn't be the time he had fought their kind, but he had never done it on their own turf before.

On the other hand, this was his turf as well. And he wasn't going to let these monsters desecrate this place any further.

From their movements, it looked like the goblins wanted to swarm them and make use of their superior numbers. Léon wasn't going to let that happen, and was determined to disrupt these little fiends before they could get into position. The cleric drew his scepter and began to channel Mayon's power.

Mayon, Goddess of the Moon, lend me the power to strike down those that desecrate your holy place, he silently prayed before unleashing his spell. A torrent of water shot out from the front of the cleric's scepter, aimed at the goblins emerging from the darkness. It wouldn't kill the goblins, but it would likely strike with enough force to knock them off their feet and prevent them from supporting their fellows in the battle, thus keeping the group from having to fight too many of them at once. It might make fire magic a bit less effective on them, but surely neither Nuri nor Corrine would risk setting this place on fire.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

"That wind looks like the Kyrinth's doing," Novak noted as he regained his footing and looked at the area cleared of fog. "And that's probably that hideout the hunter mentioned," he continued, looking at what appeared to be a path underground ahead.

Novak hurried towards the lair, expecting that Nobunaga wouldn't be far behind. It seemed fortunate that the fog had been cleared, as it now revealed the hideout's entrance ahead, in the side of a hill. As he approached, he briefly glanced in the direction of where the temple used to be- how did an entire temple just disappear overnight? Perhaps the answer could be found in the hunters' hideout.

Novak drew his sword and tentatively made his way into the cave, and down the hallway. He didn't see any door to block their path- was this hideout's entrance always this exposed? At the end of the corridor, he saw several hunters, Akando, and another man- an outsider from the look of it- that he had not seen before. He kept a tight grip on his sword, not knowing yet just how hostile they'd be, or if the mystery man was on their side.

Akando...is he one of them, too?

"Akando, I didn't expect to see you here," Novak addressed the lead hunter as he emerged from the hallway. "Might I ask what's going on here? You're not...err...with these Illuminator worshipers, are you?" he asked, his voice a little broken up at the possibility of the friendly lead hunter being part of the same cabal that tried to kill him multiple times.

@Guy0fV4lor@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

They now had a location and some idea of what the hunters' goals were, but there were still many questions that were left unanswered. There was still more that Novak needed to uncover, and the hunters' hideout may have the answers he was looking for. Novak needed to know more about this seal, the orb, and whatever they might know about that old temple that had disappeared.

"I think we should look for this hideout," Novak suggested to Nobunaga. "We might be able to learn more about what they're up to. With the Kyrinth angry and alert, whatever hunters are still out there are probably too distracted to notice a few outsiders like us sneaking about."

As he voiced his suggestion, Novak walked over to the dead archer. He became uneasy and perhaps a bit nauseous at the sight of the headless corpse, but he had a feeling he'd be seeing a lot more of this sort of thing in this world. He reached into the man's quiver and removed every last arrow, placing them into his own quiver. He didn't have a bow, but it might be helpful to hold onto these arrows for Nobunaga.

"Goodbye, and please be safe, Enli," Novak spoke as the chief departed. He was still a little uncomfortable leaving Enli by himself, but they might not get another opportunity to investigate the hunters while an enraged elder beast was running interference.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri wished he could be surprised to see Veileena Cal and her bodyguard there, but after the encounter with Damon, he could no longer be entirely sure that others in the family weren't also involved in dark dealings. "That is Veileena Cal, daughter of the traitor Phoran Cal, scion of the Cal family, and the person whom I hoped would redeem the family's name," he answered Runa, opting to address their most immediate question. It appeared that the others were already questioning Veileena, so it would be a good opportunity to bring Runa and Gerard up to speed.

"Here's what's going on," he turned to Runa. "This morning, a message arrived requesting the Iron Roses' assistance at Fort Daelantine. When we got there, we discovered the entire garrison was dead, and there had just been a battle between two groups of mercenaries, one of whom had disguised themselves in the dead soldiers' uniforms. It was fortunate we had someone with a knowledge of mercenaries in our ranks," he said, looking at Gerard. "Upon investigating, we learned a few very troubling things."

Fleuri paused to take a breath. "First, the fort wasn't attacked, the soldiers appear to have gone mad and killed one another in a frenzy." Second, someone who wasn't insane apparently broke into the captain's quarters, killed the captain, and stole something from his desk. Third, both mercenary parties were hired to retrieve a black shard from the fort. We believe that it is a shard of the evil weapon Angroron, and that it was somehow involved in the entire garrison going insane. This shrine was mentioned in a note on the corpse of one of the thief's victims just outside the captain's quarters. Currently, we don't know who hired either of the mercenary bands, and we don't know how this place ties into whatever is going on. I'm not sure why Veileena Cal is here," he paused, glancing at her for a moment before turning back to the Hundi knight, "But the fact that she's here makes me think we're on the right track."

@JessieTargaryen@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak looked away as Nobunaga delivered the coup de grace to the first hunter, then again when she finished off the other one. It was clear that he wasn't used to this sort of thing. It was probably a mercy, but he wasn't sure if he'd have the stomach to do it if it were up to him.

The words of the second hunter were of particular interest to Novak. The seal they claimed that they protect, that they claimed the Illuminator protected was probably the same seal that Lazhira had mentioned when discussing the Orb with the Illuminator's avatar. Lazhira seemed to think that the god's goal was to open the seal, and up until now Novak had assumed that this was the case. On the other hand, the Illuminator never actually claimed that this was his goal. There was one other thing Novak hadn't considered.

A key doesn't just open things, it can also lock them.

It wouldn't help to reveal possibly incorrect hearsay and conjecture to Nobunaga, however, so Novak didn't speak up it. Besides, he didn't want to let slip the deal he had made with the god to someone so dangerous, ruthless, and opposed to the Illuminator.

"Judging by how the Kyrinth reacted to threats to the deer, I'd guess they were trying to anger it," Novak spoke. "They were probably hoping it'd kill Enli and us. Still, I'm not quite sure how antagonizing the Kyrinth and making the forest a more dangerous place helps to protect that seal they mentioned."

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Dungeon Clearer! A Fantasy Adventurer RP

I'd still like to continue, too.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

The battle was over. One of the hunters was dead, two were fatally injured, and aside from some bruises, it looked like Novak, Nobunaga, and Enli were unscathed. Novak wrenched the spear from his sword and tossed it away, not wanting the hunter to be able to reach it.

"It's a good thing you were with us, Nobunaga," he said to his companion. "Enli and I wouldn't have survived this without you."

Indeed, Nobunaga had felled every single one of their foes, showing considerable skill with both a sword and bow. Novak couldn't help but wonder how Lady Mie's bodyguards would compare to the red-eyed swordswoman in terms of swordsmanship. Either way, it was pretty clear she handily outmatched the hunters.

There was still the matter of the wounded hunters. One had been literally disarmed and wouldn't last long before he bled out. The other- the one whom Novak had been fighting- had taken an arrow to the lung and was probably going to die soon, too. He needed to die- he tried to enrage the Kyrinth, tried to kill Enli, and tried to kill Novak and Nobunaga despite them having helped the hunters. In fact, he very well may have been one of the people trying to kill Novak at the temple, too.

Novak stepped over the man, his blade to deliver a coup de grace, placing the sword over the approximate location of the man's heart. His arms wouldn't drive the sword in, though. The feeling of imminent danger was wearing off, and the willingness to kill was fading from him. Try as he might, he didn't have the will to stab this incapacitated man anymore. He had killed ornery birds and ungrateful slimes, but he had never killed another person- or if he did, he couldn't remember it. Either way, he found himself hesitating to do it.

"Why did you try to kill us? We helped you, we've put our lives on the line to help your village, and you stab us in the back!" he shouted at the man, not caring if the dying hunter could or would respond. He may not yet have the stomach to kill a wounded man, even one so grievously wounded that it'd probably be an act of mercy, but between the throbbing pain in his face and the hurt from the hunters' betrayal, he nonetheless found himself angry to the point of tears.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Sad to see you go. Good luck with everything else!

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak's simplistic attempt to fell his opponent didn't go as he hoped, and his attack was stopped by a blow to the face by the other end of the spear. He wasn't sure in the heat of the moment if he had managed to learn that move, but he would remember the painful lesson that spears can be used to do more than just stab with the pointy end.

Novak didn't have the time to attempt another blow, because the hunter managed to line up the spear for another thrust, aimed at the reincarnated would-be-adventurers's chest. It was possible that the scale armor would stop the spear, but that wasn't a risk that Novak was going to take. He swung his sword to deflect the spear strike similar to how he had done before, but more force behind it this time. This was partially out of frightened desperation due to the fight going south, and partially out of hope that he could strike the spear hard enough to cut through its wooden shaft and deprive the hunter of the weapon's pointy end. Novak kept his ability active, fully expecting the hunter to display more tricks before the fight was over.

At this point it seemed unlikely he'd be able to beat the hunter by himself, but if he could hold his own long enough, Nobunaga might be able to intervene. Having been focusing entirely on his opponent, however, Novak had no idea how the archer had fared, and couldn't be sure if and when help would come.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak watched as Nobunaga dismembered one of the hunters, picking up on her sword movements. He could feel his martial skills growing, and while it wasn't much, it nonetheless felt like a step up from from the utterly untrained newbie he was previously. One had been dealt with, but there were still two of them, and one of them was headed straight for Novak and Enli. This would be his first real fight with a human opponent in this new life. The thought of actually killing another human in close combat unnerved him, but the hunter's murderous intentions were quite clear- at this moment, it was kill or be killed. And if he was killed, then the village chief would likely die, too.

Novak deflected the incoming spear strike with his sword, while using his ability to observe the incoming attack in hopes that he could discern something useful. Before the hunter could line up another thrust, Novak counterattacked almost reflexively, stepping forward and swinging his sword at his foe's neck. He himself found himself a little surprised at the aggression of his move. Was it simply the rush of adrenaline in a fight-or-flight situation that had compelled him to attack rather than defend, it was it the skills and reflexes that he was picking up from watching Nobunaga fight?

It might have been possible to learn some more from this hunter's moves by trying to draw out this fight, but right now, Novak just wanted to get himself and Enli out of this ordeal alive, and that meant not holding anything back and trying to end the fight as quickly as possible.

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist