Mas Bagus

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Jazdia was in a hurry, but even then she slowed down to watch where the hell those oversized ice swords were going. It careened itself overhead, flew past injured Athena, and crashed itself on the two freezing enraged by their east, knocking them over, but failed to cleanly sever their bodies. Their hearts were still beating.

"Do you need..."

And there he was, the mage behind those spectacular displays. Jazdia responded by shaking her head. Not sure what was the purpose of showing off the conjuration of ice strands on fingers at this moment, nor she would spare a moment to ask.

"Yeah, please light that campfire. Can you do it?"

She said, walking past him, and not even bothering to see that the man had slumped down behind her.
___

Jonas Delving, with what was left of his strength struggled. His arms, then outstretched and feebled, now moved to clutch Yvonne's hand, trying to release her grip from his neck. His stumped hand was outstretched, smearing blood onto the mercenary's upper arms and clothes.

"That's enough."

Still struggling, his eyes stared at the approaching elf defiantly, tears formed in his eyes, his sclera reddened, and saliva ran from the corner of his lips.

"YVONNE ROSENVING, THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"

She grabbed her by the shoulder and squeezed it with her bloodied and trembling hand.

"Let... let him be. We need him alive..."

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Landing on all four, the giant bear let out a roar when he realized that his enemy had escaped his mighty hug.
Varya leaped to his back and began hacking his hind leg with his butterfly knight. His visibility faded. At the wrong time. Really.

He felt a surge of electricity suddenly ensnared him from his back. His legs refused to move, and his hand suddenly went limp. Enraged Ted did not waste a moment to turn back, but instead, he used his hindleg to kick Varya back, hurling him to the other room. The sound of door cells being clanged open could be heard before his body finally crashed against the hard and cold wall.

Behind the bars, a beautiful red-haired woman smiled mischievously. Her staff glowed in pale white when she stomped it to the floor. Runic letters glowed on the cell doors and wall behind him, and as if moved by some unknown power, the door swung shut.

"Ah! A new test subject! Be a dear and make yourself at home. Fret not. This will be over soon!"

___

Ted the Gladiator growled and turned back. Then turned back again. Huffing like mad. Confused was an understatement to describe what he felt right now. He stood by his two legs again, trying to sniff that wretched magic. It was gone now. Did he pulverize that thing under his legs?

"Ted. Focus! llonydd!" The doctor shouted something powerful. It felt like something was blitzing in his head when he heard it, yet the magic felt calming. Focus, yes, he would be so.

Fully adjusted to the room's ambient brightness, he could clearly see them now. The intruders, this many, surround them. blocking his way from the entrance. What they want?

"You see, my boy? They are here for mother, they are here to kill mother."

His heart raced. A voice in his head spoke up, and it was somewhat familiar. Yes, what about Mother? If the intruders were here, would that mean....? He shook his head. The pain swelled again. No, Mother IS safe, she is in the big house. Those intruders came here through tunnels, like rats they were.

Yes... don't think much about it. Mother is safe, but Ted has to do something to keep her safe. Get rid of those intruders! Crush them! Don't think much! Remember Mother think. Ted Smash.

Mother think. Ted Smash.

Mother think. Ted Smash

Crush them!!!

His enormous hand caught the axe, letting the warm iron dig into his palm. It was shallow, almost painless. This old sensation, adrenaline, the rush. The Gladiator Were-Bear grabbed the axe with his two hands now and tried to take it by force. The armored thing refused, so Ted swung his arm and thwacked the blazing specter's chest armor.

The fire temporarily ignited his fur, but such minuscule pain was a mere trifle thing to him.

---

Ted might be slow, dull-witted, and sees himself as a wild animal. But they did not crown him as the arena's Champion out of pure savagery alone. And thus, he was capable of logical thinking, and if those juvenile bears thought they could lure him like an animal in heat, they were wrong.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Like a guillotine, the ice blade twice bigger than an average human came down. It managed to withstand the heat as it cleaved the enraged's hardened body starting from his shoulder. As it reached the heart, the glowing blood splashed about, and suddenly the body started to lose its integrity and shattered.

Evan had carefully positioned himself and the blade so it wouldn't get into the range of Jonas' Radiant field, but still, moving that enormous mass of ice was very taxing he could feel his magic reserve draining.

It was one down and two to go.

___

Even Jonas could be blinded by his own light. As the sword staff became bigger and brighter, something whistled in the air, followed by a sharp sensation of pain. He did not see it when it struck, but he now knew that an arrow shaft seemed to have sprouted out from his right shoulder.

Adrenaline was a hell of a painkiller. Even after recognizing his blunder, he continued his channeling, eyes focused on the black-haired, cat-eared shieldbearer, who after dastardly backstabbed him when he was not looking, rushed again toward him to attack.

Yes! That's what you are. Dirty, plague! Can't help yourself but poking your nose where it doesn't belong, right?

His giant spear came crashing down. Initially impinging upon Athena's shield and nailing it deep to the ground before impacting the earth with immense force it blasted Athena and sent her flying.

The Rosenving rushed from another angle, and in response Jonas moved his massive weapon sideways, intending to swipe incoming attackers away, but his arms finally gave in. The massive spear stopped midway and disappeared. Too weak and too slow to properly block, the Delving patriarch retreated back. Yvonne's sword hit a thin air.

Another arrow came, and he could see it this time. Gathering every ounce of willpower he could muster, Jonas hastily conjured a protective layer of light on his body before rushing sideways to evade it and the incoming blast.

But no explosion could be heard or felt. Instead, he got another backstabber. Louise rushed to intercept and ran her blunted sword on the old man's pelvis. His armor blocked the thrust, and Jonas retaliated by kicking the squire in the gut.

"Trash! Everything was fine before you meddlers showed up!"

Shifting his attention to the side, Yvonne had closed the gap, faster than anticipated. Jonas pathetically raised his hand to block, but no shield made of light formed, nor protective layer reached his arm to protect him. His magical energy had been all used up it only partially covered him.

The mad blade's sword cut his forearm off. Her mace followed and struck Jonas right in the face. His protective layer negated half of the damage, but the sheer willpower behind that swing knocked him down regardless. Laying on the grass with a bloody nose and lips, Jonas Delving coughed, spitting teeth and blood in the remainder of his consciousness.

___

Jazdia released the string from her fingers and detached her enchanted arrow. Blood was still trailing from her upper midriff, soaking her leggings and right shoes. Trying her hardest to avert her gaze from her own bloody shoeprint, or the puddle of blood she departed from, she returned her glowing arrow back to her quiver and left.

She has to be there, she must catch up with Yvonne on the others! The Rosenving was still not on her sanest, and God knew what those three Government employees would do in front of a defenseless traitor.

"Yona, remember the plan..." her voice came out huskily. The pain was getting unbearable, and she could only clutch it, and press the bandage to stop the blood from seeping put.

---

The light was starting to shrink and fade, yet the two surviving enraged remained frozen. Whatever unholy magic that governed their movement seemed to have been broken by Jonas's radiance spell. It raised a concern about who actually controlled them. Was it done autonomously? Remotely controlled by someone? Could that spell be reactivated? Repaired?

One thing was for sure, their glowing heart was still beating.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Many unpleasant feelings, a strong headache, and sheer anger burned Ted the Gladiator when Widernia commanded him to wake up. He could hear the cell door being opened, and his chains released.

No questions were asked, rather unusual of her, but it did not make the witch any less obnoxious.

"Come on. Boy. Wake up, That old crone wants to see you." she purred, provocatively, humiliatingly. Something that would make his arm spring to grab her neck and crush it without thinking. But he knew it was futile so he swallowed the taunt whole. At least he finally found something he could tolerate. He would meet his mother, and get out of this stinky place and will see her or this whiny neighbour no more. His great heart thumped in anticipation.

"Lead the way, woman!" he gruffed, forcing his legs to support his enormous bulk and walk in two. Whatever words came of that damn witch she did not care anymore as the door cell closed behind him.

"No talk!" Rembukung angrily, Ted raised his arm as they nearly reached the lab room. The excessive lighting in that place suddenly made his vision blurry, and by instinct, he switched to his smelling.

It was at that moment he stopped. His breathing was rapid and instead of blocking the light, his hands clutched his head.

"You witch! What evil hab you brought here?! Where are they?!!" the great Ted bellowed. His superiorsmelling, long had been rendered palsied suddenly recognized a very distinctive scent of apple and burned wood and iron and stone. And it brought forth a memory of a certain elf.

With new waves of headache assaulting him, He cried again, "Where are they!" before rushing blindly toward that one corner to his right.

Beside him, Widernia was initially confused, but when Ted charged forth she understood what was going on. A crooked smile bloomed on her lips as she materialized her staff. An electric current ran wild on its tip and bloomed into a crown made of energy.

---

A giant bear, a full whole of the beast, enraged and loaded for all bearish cruelty appeared in front of Varya. His eyes were red, and despite his fluffy brownish fur, his chest appeared to be glowing. He stood on two legs, his arms outstretched and his claws unsheathed like eight nasty sharpened blades strong and sharp enough to tear iron. And he was ready to crush the elf under his enormous bulk.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Using Lurea as a staff to help her stand, Jazdia let out a huff of controlled breath. For now, adrenaline did its part to partially numb the pain. She dared not to look at the damage she sustained, but her other senses knew that the blood loss was profuse.

Her fingers trembled as she fought the urge to grope the wound, nonetheless, it felt like she had just done it. When she reached for her bag to get a bandage, it felt like her fingers had dived into the bloody mess, feeling the depth of it; fifteen centimeters wide, right under her ribcage, seven to ten centimeters deep, the organ felt like a jelly to the touch.

She removed her vest, unbuttoned half of her shirt, and tied it so they wouldn't get in the way, before started rolling her bandage. Was that an adequate first aid? Maybe not. Did she just underestimate the severity of her injury? Oh no, the elf knew it damned well that she was standing on borrowed time.

The fight was far from over.

____

A subtle hint of frustration showed on Evan's face when he realized that his ice spell failed to materialize. He tried again, and it too failed to take shape. Amids the radiant light, his target suddenly disappeared, and showed up just a few steps away from him. A sword staff made of pure light swung in a mighty swipe, and Evan, lacking any means to actively defend himself suddenly found himself violently knocked aside.

"Slow!"

Had he not been protected by his ice armor, being cleaved in two could very well be his final fate now. Still, he landed on the grass with chest contracted in pain, some of his ribs broken, and one of his arms felt numbed and arched the wrong way.

---

Killing one of those enraged did not bring enough satisfaction for Yvonne, so after she managed to ensure that one stayed dead, The mad blade, craved for a bigger fish to fight set her eyes on a new target.

Jonas had just finished his mighty swipe when Yvonne viciously attacked from his left. But the Delving's patriarch was faster than before. After he raised his shield to block the combo from Rosenving's sword and mace, his shield changed shape into the form of a longsword, and with that, he retaliated by swinging a sudden strike at her.

Luckily Yvonne was quick enough to intercept the light sword with her mace.

"How sloppy! he scoffed when both had their weapons locked.
And sad! I expected much from you!"

It was at that moment Athena suddenly attacked from his side and stabbed her spear on Jonas' exposed shoulder. The patriarch's smug face once again contorted in pain as he retracted his blade and dashed backward. Quick-footed he might be, his maneuver could still be predicted. An arrow whistled in the air to welcome him with an explosion close to the spot where he was supposed to repose.

Delving reshaped and raised his shield to block the incoming blast, and everyone will see him standing pridefully through the dust and smoke. Yet, unfaltering as he may with all that poise, a trail of blood dripped from his nose, his hands trembling, and his strength, though still formidable, was no longer at its peak.

Standing tall, his eyes darted on them. One cowardly archer and Two she-warriors. Warrior The term felt bitter to the tongue.

"Of course, if you are not fighting dirty, you are not fighting, right?" Particles of lights brighter than the surrounding radiance gathered at the end of his spear, The Delving patriarch raised his sword staff high and had his sight fixed on the first enemy who dared to initiate an attack.

___

Sadly for Louis, there was nothing to anticipate. Yet it did not discourage her from trying to infiltrate the sheer Defense of Jonas Delving by using her wind power.

Propelling herself forward into the radiance, she found the blessing of the wind abruptly disappeared from her very self. With no wind to control her movement, she stumbled and fell after covering a mere three strides into the illuminated zone.

___

After sustaining that many injuries, and failing to siphon any mana from the enraged, the last warg finally faded into nothingness.

The Enraged immediately continued their advance, but rather than aiming for the party's backline, they rushed to aid their Lord instead. Unaware of the effect, their undying loyalty was rewarded with complete immobilization the moment they entered their lord's radiant field.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

In the antechamber, Rose dashed up to the stairs, careful not to overtake the guards, listening carefully for the sounds of men and the clatter of armor in the hall to stop before proceeding, hugging the corner of the hall to remain out of sight until then...

@wierdw

When Rose dashed up to the stairs, the Delving Usuals had made it to the manor and closed the door. The stairs corridor was sufficiently lit, with no rooms, nor crevice on its walls. Up above the door was a single-panel metal door made of iron sheets.

When the bear approached the door, she could hear the sound of a lock being engaged. There was a huff and fast-talkings, one particular sounded like it was uttered by someone who had just escaped from death's grasp.

"You! You! Lock all doors, including this one! Especially this one! Those King's men mean business we can't let them reach the secret. Duncan! Damn it! don't dally! Move that large cupboard and cover this door!"

"Captain, what about milady doctor?!"

"Hell if I care. We got escape tunnels there. It's not like we lock her up to die!"

"Captain! What the hell is happening and where is Sergeant Ardal?"

"He is dead you dumbfuck! Those agents did it! oh Gods! Give strength to our Lord!"

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

The last hit created the opening they needed, allowing Jazdia to shape the detonation behavior in her arrow so it would not blast anything behind it. Still maintaining her composure, Jazdia's purple eyes flickered as she aimed. An arrow glowing with violet luster had already knocked into her bow, and with its strings fully drawn, Lurea sang again in the darkness.

Jonas delving gripped his partisan tightly, trying to ignore the pain from his stomach. He managed to refocus his sight on the enemy, prepared to raise his shield defense. But what came next was another purple light.

Enough of that!

He hardened his shield, ready to take that blow, but it wasn't an arrow this time, but rather the spearhead from that cat-eared shieldbearer. Out of rage, he leaned forward and swatted the incoming fiery spear with his shield, while at the same time, a wayward icy war staff flew behind him, tearing the skin from the back of his head.

Still not done, a stray mutt, after a failed attempt to bite his shield went to his leg instead.

Jazdia's arrow concluded that coordinated strikes by detonating itself right on Jonas' midsection. The blast knocked him several meters away. The Delving patriarch knelt, his entire body was covered in goldish light, but some of his armor and pauldron fell off, revealing the burn marks on his arm and upper torso. Blood dripped from his lacerated nape, staining his tattered cape.

Trembled, not by the wounds he sustained, but rather by great anger, Jonas Delving absorbed some of that light and gathered it in his right palm. His shield shrank, but almost immediately it expanded itself before turning into a form of brilliance pulse that spread wide and bright, so bright it felt like the sun had dawned in that courtyard.

Brilliance light fluttered around him. The ground where he stood cracked. The radiant pulse blasted the warg and dispelled its entire existence, the purple fire in Athena's spear extinguished. Jonas Delving stood like a beacon in the field of light, his partisan glow brighter. He saw another dot of purple coming through, a color he despised so much. But no more guesswork this time.

The pesky archer stood in the distance, fully revealed by his light. He tightened his grip on his partisan and launched it with all of his might.

The crystal arrow and the partisan collided, but the explosion only did little to hinder its flight. Almost at the speed of thunder, the brilliant lance struck the archer on the right side of her torso.

Another lance made of brilliant light replaced it, and Jonas reconjured his shield, ready to attack.
___
On the west side of the field, Yvonne's attempt to cave his skull in resulted in the terrifying sound of clang, but the head didn't give in on the first try. Only by the second, it managed to crack, a red crystal jutted out from the wound in retaliation, but as the place suddenly engulfed in bright light, the crystal stopped growing. the enraged suddenly let go of his grip on Evan's coat and ceased to move, suddenly and abnormally as if the entire bask of light stunned him.

On Louise's side, the Squire tapped into her inner power, channeling wind magic toward the incoming enraged. A strong gust of wind manifested between her and the enemy and climaxed into a burst of air so strong it lifted and knocked the enraged some 10 meters away. Another shield made of air swirled around her, but what was the use if the enemy had been displaced that far?

On the east side of the field, both the warg and the enraged struggled to keep each other pinned. The enraged's hand violently clawed the warg's throat, trying to rip away anything he could grip. His other hand brought the warg's front leg closer to his mouth and, returned the favor by clamping it with his jaw.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

@Lewascan2
The room behind that bar looked more like an antechamber with one additional room to its right serving as a small barrack for Delving's hirelings. It has a large table in the middle with a lantern, some emptied tankards, and playing cards lying around on top. When Veronica opened the door, the door let out a rusty creaking when pushed in.

Luckily nobody was alerted. A very loud snoring could heard from the small barrack.

Beyond that room, they would find two corridors leading to two different places. The one to the right led to Stritzel's manor while the left led to the laboratory.

But suddenly they heard heavy footsteps coming from the right corridor. One of Delving Usuals addressed the guards stationed there and ordered them to gather at the manor.

"That's Lord Delving's order. Everyone is to be assembled in the Manor's Great room to await further instruction."

"Let's go then."

"Should we wake Oglef up?"

"Nah just let that lazy bum sleep. Let him deal with the quartermaster himself

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

It was supposed to be a simple task. Louise only needed to keep the thug locked and steer him so his back would face Jazdia's direction. However, to the elf's dismay, the squire picked the hardest method, and that was by letting go of her weapon and making a charge-and-retreat movement.

With a new weapon in hand, the enraged swung the sword by the edge and tried to bludgeon Louise with it. But the squire was quick to duck, stepped aside, and moved backward, more came and she evaded all.

Meanwhile, Jazdia watched their erratic dancing with frustration she had never experienced in a decade. What the hell was she doing? Anyone with half their brain would immediately understand that she needs a target that didn't move too much

Her fingers were already red from the bowstring's tension, and Louise wasted that precious window already. Jazdia shifted her attention back to the Delving again. There were so many things that happened at once there.

____

When the Delving patriarch pressed the attack to tear down the bulwark, he noticed the incoming danger coming from the top. He ceased his attack and raised his shield, hardening it as the spear propelled itself down. The ice spear bounced on the first attempt, but it persistently tried to pound the defense again, seeking any weak point. On the third attempt, Jonas lowered his shield a bit and timed his swing to swat the incoming spear with his glowing partisan. Severing whatever magical connection it had with its caster.

As the ice partisan landed some 30 meters away from him to the east, and before he could reposition his shield again, another purple arrow pierced him on his left stomach, punched through his polished mail like it was made of butter. The searing pain from the fresh wound stung him like never before, and it was the moment when Jonas almost lost his footing. His partisan was now a mere prop to keep his balance, and his shield lowered, presenting a perfect moment for his enemy to strike.

It was wise to not show your back to the enemy. When Evan was busy walking toward Yvonne, he was running. When Evan Noticed his heavy steps it was already too late. The third enraged closed the gap and slashed him on the back. His icy armor negated that reckless strike, but the enraged with his free hand grabbed him by the coat and prepared to wrestle him down.

The first warg tried to tackle, and this time it managed to pin down one of the enraged, but what was the use of their enemy was even more durable than before?
Yet that didn't discourage the beast from using its claw to try to rip open the enraged chest. And same as before it only managed to dig through skins and some flesh. The enraged grabbed the overpowering beast by its front leg and pulled it closer, and as its maw opened to retaliate, he stabbed his searing hand into the beast's throat.

The second warg managed to escape the flanking and was now on its way to attack the now-vulnerable Delving patriarch.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

When the wargs stopped to wait for the impending explosion, the enrageds they attacked before managed to catch up. Hell-bent on continuing the previous onslaught, one of the two swung his sword haphazardly at the beast, while his partner, moved to the side to flank them.

Things weren't looking very good for Evan. His ice failed to kill the abomination on the first try, and he decided to give up.
And so, he walked, forward, like a moth distracted by a bright lantern. Despite all the sizzling and cracking around him, he strode, vision tunnelled solely on the gilded figure of Jonas Delving.

The second enraged finally broke free from his ice prison. Louise reacted but did not say anything to the young man in a coat. She was immediately occupied with tackling the sizzling threat. And so she performed a similar move set, repeating a similar mistake as well.

Spinning to cut down ligament, her already blunted sword met with hard crystal this time rather than ice, and when she recovered to stab the enraged thug's heart, her blunder was clear: The enemy was not immobilized as the first one, and now had free rein to block her thrust and grip her blade.

It was at that moment she heard an arrow whiz in the air. It punctured deep into the enraged's torso, but he did not die. The shot missed just a few centimeters away from his glowing heart.

Still locked in a battle to take back her own weapon, the shagreen on her sword's handle started to burn, and she could feel the heat searing her gloved hand. Meanwhile, in the distance, a faint glow could be seen as Jazdia channeled magic into her arrow again, ready to shoot.
____

Evan's ice finally reached its breaking point. The third enraged who were imprisoned after receiving an uprooting blow from Yvonne finally broke free. With his sword in front of him, he rearmed himself and dashed toward the pale man.
____

Jonas could not remember the last time someone shattered his light, but today it happened. Part of him knew it was a reward of his hubris, another half of himself remained in denial, insisting that the blow was delivered dishonorably.

His ears were still ringing when he heard a taunt.

"...should've killed me when you got the chance, old man."

"How despicable!" he said brusquely before spatting blood from his injured gum. His glowing shield cracked, but only temporarily for he immediately channeled more energy into repairing it anew. The Delving patriarch was quick to regain his footing. His eyes searched for the two violet rings in the distance, but he could not find them.

And so his gaze fell on the Rosenving Daughter again, who now stood behind another female shieldbearer.

Well... well, look at that. He chuckled, not because of the familiarity, but rather because of how inferior her shield looked compared to his own. A filthy impostor, doing a disservice to themselves.

The spearhead of his partisan glows with a faint light, and to demonstrate his point, he took a flash dash forward and rammed his partisan on the magical bulwark. The strike penetrated easily and battered the physical shield behind it with full force. And as his opponent was left staggered by the recoil, he swung his partisan sideways, tearing down the rest of the bulwark.

"Very well. I will slay you like a disgraced mutt you are."