Kenia, Darius,
Bowyn, Vaeril
&
Elthrael
Kenia kept up a steady, yet quick pace as she led the group through the streets of Roshmi. She did her best sticking more to the shadows and streets that seemed less populated as the last thing they needed was to be stopped by dark elf guards and questioned. She let the others talk behind her, occasionally glancing back just to make sure everyone was keeping up. It was obvious, however, that she wasn’t quite in the mood for discussing things yet as she was more focused on getting them to the inn safely and then out of the city. There were a couple times that she motioned for everyone to stop and quiet down for a moment as guards passed them, before continuing on.
Kenia almost thought she would have some trouble keeping Darius quiet due to how much he was speaking to both Vaeril and Bowyn. He had scolded Vaeril at any given chance, seemingly knowing the elven male. With Bowyn, Darius had gone on about the so-called viking and how a prominent group of them were from Minnesota. He claimed they had four special rings due to their legendary prowess against other groups.
Finally Kenia stopped the group and turned to face them.
”Okay the inn is right around the corner. I should only be a couple minutes and then I’ve mapped out a route out from here earlier. Obviously I had no idea things were going to go to hell like they have, but I do like to be prepared if it ends up that way and I’m glad I was.” She informed them all and then turned, going around the corner. The sight she was met with caused her to freeze and her blood went ice cold. There, outside the inn, stood eight dark elf guards talking and laughing amongst each other. Within the center of them was a body, someone Kenia was very familiar with.
”Rei…” She breathed out in shock, despair also evident in the one word. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but then something took a hold of her. A deadly rage filled her as her expression turned to something lethal, especially when she saw one of the elves holding up Rei’s silver ring necklace.
”Stay here.” She told the others, a dangerous tone to her voice as she retrieved a dagger that she had hidden on her leg. She began heading towards the guards with deadly intent.
Darius' hand moved to reach her, but Kenia was already set before he realized what may have been going through her head.
Shit… Is that him on the ground?! What is she going to do?!Vaeril however had decided to follow Kenia up to the dark elves.
“Don’t worry I can keep up and I have chosen to help you deal with this issue.” he told Kenia, walking shortly behind her.
“We shall dispatch them together.” he said quietly.
Bowyn saw the sharp hint of moonlight reflect off the dagger as Kenia retrieved it. It was clear what she aimed to do, and Bowyn thought it was reckless and impulsive. The group had not yet been seen by the dark elves, they could still slip away unnoticed but he also knew from the way Kenia had said the name ‘Rei’ that the now dead human was a friend of hers. Bowyn didn’t have to wonder what he would do if his own human friends suffered a similar fate, he too would want vengeance. Bowyn glanced over at Darius and responded in a whisper,
”I believe that she is going to end those who ended her friend.” Bowyn followed Kenia just after Vaeril did.
“In this, elf, I have your back.” Bowyn whispered, resolved that if he was going to be a part of this rebellion, then the time for his inaction had certainly come to an end. Kenia’s reaction to the death of a human was enough for Bowyn to know which side she was on, and the sound of grief in her voice was enough to decide that action was necessary.
”They’re mine. They’ve killed my family and now they’re going to pay.” Kenia hissed at Vaeril and that drew the attention of one of the dark elf guards.
“Halt! Any closer and we’ll be forced to attack!” The man said to the group and this merely made Kenia grin sadistically at him before she moved swiftly, closing the distance. The guard swung his sword towards her, but Kenia dropped down and slid under the attack all while using her light magic to disappear from sight. As she reappeared she was throwing a dagger of light at a different confused guard, embedding it in his throat as she slit the throat of the guard that had spoken. Without skipping a beat she grabbed the sword and spun on another guard, blocking his attack with both dagger and sword. She vanished again as she spun around this one before impaling him on her sword. Kenia was now at the man who was holding the necklace, shock evident on his face at how quickly three of his companions fell. She used this moment to fling a scythe of light magic at him, severing his hand that gripped the necklace before she tackled him to the ground. She began viciously stabbing him over and over until he moved no more. She grabbed the necklace and turned to look at the others, blood now covering her.
”Who’s next?”Vaeril watched Kenia slaughter four of the guards with relative ease. He found himself impressed.
“Very well done, but don’t take all the fun for yourself. I guess it’s my turn!” He said before raising his hand into the air and quickly slashing down, causing a small door of light magic to appear in front of himself. Vaeril then took one step and shifted in between the four remaining guards.
“And now you shall perish!” he said to the guards now, surrounding him. Vaeril grabbed one of the guards by the throat and used light magic to surround the hand holding the elf, burning through his throat, then he turned quickly to block an attack from a dark elf's sword with the body. He then dropped the body and grabbed the dark elf who tried to attack him, kneeing him in the stomach causing the guard to bend over.
“An attack from behind how dirty, but such a foolish attempt!” He said before creating a spear that instantly went through his body as it was created. Vaeril then turned to the last remaining guards raising his hands towards them and shot two bolts made of light into their heads.
“I think that is all of them outside, check the area and the inn” He told the others.
"Uhh… Sure…" Darius had watched both Vaeril and Kenia dispatch the dark elf soldiers, but his primary focus was on the body of the young man on the ground. The image burned into Darius' mind while the demon within tugged at him to take action. The poor guy didn't even know what to do. For now, he would hang in the rear to support using his magic if need be.
Meanwhile, Bowyn left Kenia and Vaeril to deal with the dark elves outside, slipping past them as they began the fight and into the inn to check for more. Two more dark elves stood guard on either side of the door, and he spun towards the first one. As the guard lunged at him Boreas flew from his shoulder with a loud screech. The merlin flew towards the attacking guard, raking his talons against the dark elf’s eyes before moving swiftly out of the way. Bowyn used that second of surprise to grab the guard, grappling with him until the guard was positioned in front of him, shielding him from any strikes from the second dark elf as he too moved to attack.
Bowyn’s left hand gripped the neck of the dark elf, his right gripped the dark elf’s wrist as he moved to draw his sword. The cold that Bowyn exuded prevented the dark elf from overpowering him, as frost began etching itself in the dark elf’s skin. His magic flowed from his fingers into the dark elf, freezing every bit of moisture the elf's body contained. Bowyn could feel his own magic inside every frozen crystal of the elf as he began to crack and expand with the sudden freezing. In a swift motion he pulled his hands away from the elf keeping control of the frozen bits of flesh and willing them to be pulled and reformed from what remained of the elf’s body into a collection of shrapnel. Bowyn flung the shrapnel at the second elf, slicing through skin and with one shard slitting the dark elf’s throat. The second elf bled out in a matter of seconds. Bowyn grabbed the sword from the wreckage of what now remained of the first dark elf, and scanned the inside of the inn, ready for the possibility of more.
Outside, Jack squatted with his scythe over his shoulder on the roof of the inn, looking down upon the group left outside. He lifted the head of Rei over the ledge and watched as blood dropped down onto Kenia's face. Initially Kenia thought the drips on her face were from the rain that seemed to be threatening to fall as lightning lit up the sky and thunder rolled. Soon, however, she realized the feeling of the liquid wasn't the same as rain as she went to wipe at it. The blood mingled with the blood already on her hands, however, and so she looked up.
"Y-y-y-you must be looking for this bloke? He is up here, lass! He isn’t screaming as much anymore though." Jack laughed chaotically before dropping the head down beside her.
"N-N-N-NOW WE HAVE THE FINALE THAT IS YOUR D-D-D-DEATH!!!" Jack yelled as he tilted his head cracking his neck, He then stood up and readied his scythe, ready to not only combat but kill those down below. Unbeknownst to him, his yell had carried off to quite the peculiar fellow...
Elthrael had gotten further away from his attacker and where he had departed from Risa, his first choice of action had been to heal his wings and hearing, as soon as he had reassured he wasn't being observed. As his hearing had returned from the effects of his healing magic, the first thing he was met with was a distant yell which made his aching ears perk up. The moth fairy darted away mid-air towards the direction of the sound and upon reaching it, landing on a nearby roof which had a chimney. The fairy was met with the scene of a bloodbath outside of an inn.
'My my, such a mess... but what do we have here?' He thought as his eyes set on the individuals about, watching them from his vantage point. To the moth fairy it seemed like there was some kind of struggle still underway below, between a group and a man standing on what seemed to be the roof of the nearby inn.
A soft smile began to decorate his lips as he considered the next course of action, still occasionally looking about to make certain he wasn't snuck up on. Just who were these people? The scattered dead ones were most certainly dark elves, yet he couldn't pick out a dark elf amongst those remaining. What he would soon know and witness for sure, was a meeting between violence and madness. An unraveling...
Horror filled Kenia as she watched Rei's head fall to the ground. For a moment the head morphed into that of her son and then back into Rei. She vaguely heard the words of the human above her as she stared for a long moment and the dead boy she'd begun thinking of as her son. Then she began to laugh. It started as a small giggle, but soon morphed into a belly laugh before she looked up at Jack.
"Oh I'm going to have so much fun with you!" She said as she gave him the smile of a mad woman. She flung a chain of light right at the handle of his scythe, yet at the same time she did this she also made a small slash of light right at the back of one of his heels, attempting to slice right through his achilles tendon. She then yanked the light chain forward, attempting to pull him down to her level.
Jack had allowed the chain to attach to his scythe and jumped into the air to dodge the slash at his feet. Before touching the ground, he created a small tornado running down the chain. He then propelled himself through the wind tunnel of the small tornado towards Kenia at full speed. At the last second before impact, he moved to the side while grabbing the chain to swing it and cause Kenia to stumble from the force before slashing the chain to cut himself loose
"N-N-N-NICE TRY DARLING BUT YOU WILL NEED TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!" Jack yelled to Kenia.
From inside the inn Bowyn heard the crack of thunder and shouting from back outside, with the inn appearing to be clear of any more dark elves. He turned his attention to those outside and from the entrance to the inn Bowyn saw the severed head that lay at Kenia’s feet, and he saw the blood soaked elf laughing with madness in her eyes. He gave Boreas a look that told the bird to stay inside but as he moved to leave he saw the bird move to take off and follow him. As Bowyn quickly left the inn he shut the door behind him, ensuring that Boreas could not follow, Boreas would be mad but he would be alive. Outside he saw the fight already in progress between two equally mad opponents, and while Kenia’s state was understandable to him, the human, Jack, was clearly nothing like the humans he had met before, he was not only insane but a force of pure evil as well.
Darius slowly shook his head, visibly disturbed at this point at both Kenia and Jack. To him they were both mad. He glanced over to Vaeril who appeared unbothered. A neutral bystander. Darius did not want to be that. Not again.
The clouds soon darkened and rain drizzled down upon the scene. Then a thick fog started to coat the area around them.
"J-J-J-Just like London." Jack now in a more quiet unsettling tone before jumping back into the fog. He then sent slashes of wind towards Kenia with his scythe, but the attacks were met with a wall of water hastily generated by Darius. The wind sliced through but the attacks were dulled considerably. Kenia had been ready, however, as soon as Jack disappeared into the fog as she threw up a light shield. She hadn't been expecting the wall of water as an extra layer of protection, though.
"Just take the loss and run! It's just you now and you'll die if you keep fighting!" Darius tried to bring some kind of reasoning into this insanity. The sound of his voice managed to shake something loose in Kenia as she remembered there were others here with her. Others she needed to protect, to get out of the city. Some of the madness left her and she was thinking a bit more clear, however she couldn't just let Jack go.
"I can't just let him go and run. If I do that then we're all in trouble. Do you really think he'll let us go? I've already lost a family member and loved one here, I won't lose new allies and friends." As she spoke she searched a couple of the bodies near her until she found a couple more daggers. She also discarded her shoes, feeling much more stable and allowed her to move more silently. Then she moved, making next to no noise as she circled around where she'd last seen Jack. As she did this she sent an illusion of herself running towards where she assumed he was and silently waited.
Jack jumped into the air allowing who he thought was Kenia to run under him. He quickly realized something was off when it continued on a straight path.
"Ah... Well interesting, a fake." He said, using the wind to keep himself in the air.
"A-A-A-AN UNFAIR FIGHT! I BLOODY WILL RUIN YOU ALL!!!" Jack screamed as his eyes began to glow a pure white. He stretched himself out and the clouds in the area began to spin faster and faster as wind speeds increased.
"I-I-I AM THE GOD DAMN WIND!!!" He screamed louder while losing himself in the overwhelming magic flowing through his body. The hurricane Jack started now beginning to shatter the glass of buildings and threw debris everywhere. Jack, now the source of immense power stood stationary floating in the air as all the magic he could release flowed out of him. This was the true potential of human power on display as Jack lost control of himself, unable to move from his spot.
Vaeril looked at Kenia,
"He is not going to let anyone go; be careful and prepare yourselves." He called out. Vaeril grabbed onto a solid object, bracing himself. Seeing Jack lose control of himself reminded him of past situations where others had lost themselves. Though wind magic was bad, he had seen worse from fire and earth users.
"Grab onto something if the wind becomes too strong!" He yelled out to everyone now. The wind was making everything harder to hear. He watched as Jack lost himself, now stationary floating in the air.
"WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING AND FAST!" Vaeril yelled as loud as he could, hoping someone would hear him over the sounds of debris hitting things and glass shattering.
Bowyn gave off the hint of a grin as a heavy fog rolled in, the added moisture in the air was exactly the sort of boost he could use. As Kenia sped off into the thick fog he moved near Darius and Vaeril, pulling the fog away from Jack and forming it into a dome-like shield of ice around them just as the wind picked up. It took most of his focus to keep the ice from shattering as debris from the quickly forming hurricane pounded against it. Bowyn knew that for the sake of closure, Kenia had to be the one who ended Jack, and helping protect the others while she did so would allow her to maintain a singular focus. From both the rain and the water Darius had used to shield against Jack’s slashes, Bowyn sent a handful of large spikes towards Jack. Spikes made of solid ice propelled up from the ground in his vicinity. He had no way to fully control the accuracy of the spikes with the intensity of the hurricane, but managed to keep them away from Kenia who Bowyn could see more clearly than he could Jack. Bowyn’s moments of split focus on creating the spikes and holding up the ice shield were enough for bits of debris to shatter through. He hoped he’d done enough to at least give Kenia a distraction to finish off Jack because he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold the shield much longer. At least not without some help.
The moisture that had been frozen and pulled from the fog, suddenly began gathering around the ice dome. Darius was raising both his hands up with a look of determination.
"Just worry about keeping the dome cold. I'll gather the moisture from the fog." Darius felt he could at least do something like this. It was just like how he had pulled together the residual steam from his shower to form spheres of water. This was just on a larger scale. The water would gather and then freeze on contact with the dome, repairing and fortifying it from the flying debris.
”Oh hush you! I’m already working on it!” Kenia yelled at Vaeril as she formed a protective barrier around herself, trying to lessen the push of the wind and block from debris. She was glad to see both Bowyn and Darius working together to protect the small group from the destruction. Then she saw the ice spears flying towards Jack and grinned as she now knew her plan. Swiftly she sent another light chain at Jack, this time with a spear-like end to it, and impaled it right through his chest. Then, with as much strength she could muster, she yanked him hard down toward the incoming ice spikes, impaling him on a few of those as well. He hit the ground hard, impaling him even further. The wind storm began to die down and she moved towards the pin cushion now on the ground. She watched the life quickly fading from Jack’s eyes and just smirked at him.
”How was that for a finale?” She asked as she stepped on the light spear in his chest and slowly drove it in further until all signs of life were gone. She then continued on, stepping on his chest and then over his body as she walked towards the inn without a word, disappearing inside.
When Kenia finally emerged again from the inn she carried four bags, three of which had the clinking sound of glass bottles in them. She also dragged behind her a slightly panicking demi-human man who’s panic only seemed to worsen as he saw the dead bodies.
”Enough sniveling, you worthless rat. Now it’s obvious someone informed the guards of potential humans here and I’m willing to bet it was you. Am I wrong?” She pointed a dagger at his throat and he immediately began nodding.
”I thought so. While every fiber of my being wants to kill you, I’m going to resist. Instead you have a task. You will take this boy's body, head and all, to the Sun Elf Village. There you will find a tomb for the Biralei family. You will lay his body to rest there with them. I will be checking if this is done and if it isn’t I will hunt you and your family down. You can run, but I’m very good at finding people. Do I make myself clear?” The man nodded frantically and she nodded in satisfaction as she let him go and then turned back to the group.
”Anyone care to help me carry some alcohol?” She asked as she held up the three bags.
Vaeril listened to her threaten the demi-human with secret amusement. He remained expressionless on the outside and turned to Kenia with a nod,
"Alright. Good job taking care of that human, I'll help carry some." He moved over to take one bag, leaving one hand open for combat if need be and waited for the others to make their moves, not interested in sticking out or asserting himself as a leader.
"I'll need a drink, so I'll carry a bag." Darius seemed irritated as he walked over to retrieve a bag from. Kenia.
"This is all just fucked up. Shit like this is why the DROMs were a mistake." Darius grumbled more so to himself. He did not plan to voice his feelings with this group, but he couldn't help it.
Bowyn relaxed and with a sigh of relief he allowed the dome shaped shield of ice to fall, the ice turning into snow as it fell around them. While Kenia went into the inn he enjoyed the few moments of silence, the sight of snow, and the slightest chill that remained in the air. He let out a sharp whistle and seconds later Boreas flew through one of the shattered windows of the inn. It wasn’t a long wait, Kenia soon returned from the inn carrying a few bags and dragging a demi-human along with her. He remained silent as she made burial arrangements for Rei, and it wasn’t long before it was time to go. Bowyn grabbed the final bag of alcohol and glanced towards Darius and nodded with agreement.
“A mistake, well I guess that’s the nice way to put it.” Bowyn said softly, far too tired to elaborate any further.
The various displays of magical powers made the moth fairy curious, these magics were far from the usual kind he was used to. To bend the very wind and water to one's bidding was certainly a powerful tool. And as far as he knew, the only ones to be able to do such a feat were humans. And in some very rare cases special kinds of demons.
Why had there been two humans fighting each other? What possible gain were there in eliminating one of their own? Judging by the dead dark elves, he assumed the lone human were in fact an ally of Aklenroth. And those which served the lich king, human or not would have to be subdued or destroyed. The aeromancer had ultimately seemingly lost control, as it had summoned a fierce and chaotic whirlwind of death.
Upon having first seen it, the moth fairy had closed his wings and then used his chlorokinesis to attach himself to the building he was located upon, which was a distance away from the gathering. He also gathered a few thicker vines to provide him cover from any stray attack from the front. Then as the wind had finally settled and the human was now dead, Elthrael had spent some moment to summarize what had just occurred.
'God of the wind hm? How ironic that the air that you should have focused on was the one you were breathing. But now you've ran out of both place and time, what a shame indeed. But this is the fate of all those who crave the power and lack the control. This is your fate too, Elsea. Power which you cannot control is not power at all but a weakness which shall destroy you and judging by the mess... possibly those around you.’ Elthrael mused to himself as he loosened his grip of his vines and took a soft breath himself.
Whilst the human male had not impressed him, despite the unrelenting barrage of wind magic and the fierce force behind it, he had been impressed by the teamwork done by at least three of the four he was fighting. The moth fairy began to softly hover towards the group, landing on the roof of a building far closer to them. Then he began to softly clap his hands as he took a few steps even closer along the roof of the building.
"Well done, well done. Such fine display of unity, amidst such forceful winds. It seems your foe didn't quite realize he would be the one to... " Elthrael took a slight moment to chuckle at what he was about to say.
"...wind up dead. Ahh, and we meet again, oh fairy of the cold lands." The moth fairy said in a softer tone of voice as he set his eyes on Bowyn and his bird.
"But where are the two missuses? I take it the dance didn't quite spin the way they thought it would, but what could one expect from entering such an obvious trap." He shook his head softly, his mouth showing a soft upturn at the corners of his lips.
"Yet you have found new company far more interesting, an elven woman with the chain of command in brimming light, a human male aquamancer who seems to be able to control his gift and..." He said in a ponderous manner, looking over to Vaeril.
"...someone to carry the baggage. Or in this case... wine by the looks of it. Surely there's more pressing matter than drowning oneself in such sweet poisons." He chuckled softly, looking between those gathered.
"Such as finding the girl... Risa Millinia and those which follow her in this uprising, whilst it certainly be a bold move of hers to declare so openly her resistance to the undead king. Those who are guided overly much by emotions tend to fall because of them, as was the case of this here man... and the other male human which once were in her company but perished. On the other hand, it is a lack of emotion in the king which has left people to join this... rebellion. For he has forgotten whom he is and what he sought for. To not understand others is one thing, to not understand yourself is another." He softly mused, looking between the four and a half gathered.
"But I am certain you have places to go, people to see. Allow me to join you on this little venture won't you? In return I shall offer the human here what others have casted away. Advice that is." Elthrael softly chuckled as he flew over to land atop a wooden post.
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Elthrael." He said with his corner teeth visible as he made a slight bow from where he stood. Kenia just listened to him go on and on about things that didn’t seem too important at the moment as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Where this newcomer had appeared from she wasn’t sure, but she’d keep an eye on him. For now, however, they needed to get out.
”Follow if you wish, fairy, I don’t care. If you prove to be a problem I’ll just deal with you later.” Kenia said with a sigh as she fastned Rei’s necklace around her neck. She then motioned all to follow as she led them out of the city through the path she’d mapped out earlier that day and into the forest where they could hopefully find a place to rest for the night.
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