Word Count: 675 (+1 exp)Level: 9 - Total EXP: 174/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis the Ace Cadet called back as Wonder Red appeared on the scene to join the battle.
As it turned out, ranged offense was not this team's strong point. It was as the Cadet expected, so since he actually had the means to deal consistent damage to the demon he put all the effort he could muster into his bow. Draw, shoot, draw, shoot, draw, shoot. With Artemis floating still in the air between bouts of movement it made an easier target than expected, but it was also tougher than it looked.
Gonna have to drag it down, he thought, leaping over the horizontal laser spread. If he was successful then once it crashed the melee fighters could move right in and pummel it, since at the moment they were reduced to throwing whatever they could at the thing. To that end the Cadet made to pop the paralysis arrow coatings in. Seeing as Artemis would rather block than dodge, it would make applying the status that much easier. Unfortunately while he was in the middle of getting the coatings set up, Artemis' body segments split off and started shooting. He dove out of the line of fire of one of the makeshift turrets, but the other caught him while he was mid roll. He let out a soft
oof as he fell the rest of the short way to the ground.
"Wasn't expecting that," he grumbled, jumping back up and into action. The shot was painful but not debilitating, even without his regular armor. He could probably afford to get a little reckless then. The Cadet grinned.
A few well placed great arrows took care of the 'turrets.' A few more peppered the demon's body until Band and Albedo made their move. At that point the Cadet pulled a device from his bag, and the metal pieces of his slinger popped out into their half-claw, half-anchor shape. He didn't need to rely on a chance for paralysis to take the demon down, he had a few other tricks up his sleeve.
He didn't get the chance to try them just yet. Artemis smashed through a walkway on its way to get to Band, then kept on going until there were two bridges destroyed. The Cadet sucked in a sharp breath, managing to keep steady while the floor shook and threatened to give way. This thing was
not playing fair.
After that Red stated his intention to evacuate the people trapped up there with them.
"Got it!" the Cadet called back to him. His eyes flickered over to Frisk and her shield, then to where Albedo had been flung and where Big Band was buried. He didn't know the former at all, and though he hardly knew the latter much more he did know the detective was made of tougher stuff, so he wouldn't be out of the fight just yet.
"I think I'm starting to get a read on it anyway. Let's see if we can bring it down to earth!"Of course right after he'd said that, Artemis unleashed a new attack. This laser looked stronger than the others, so the Cadet steered well clear of it. The clutch claw was already primed, so when it swept close to him he fired the grappling hook above to one of the few remaining chandeliers, taking him above the danger. While he dangled there, he chucked the device he'd withdrawn earlier in the demon's direction.
"Flash bomb!" he called out, giving the others a heads up about what was about to happen. He didn't know if the eyes on Artemis' wings were actually functional, but it had to see somehow - maybe if they were lucky it would blind the demon, or at least take out a chunk of its sight. The bomb went off in a flash of light.
The Cadet dropped back to the floor, already preparing to get his clutch claw into Artemis itself if that didn't bring it down - or its own laser courtesy of Wonder Red didn't do the job.
Word Count: 1787 (+3 exp)
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 107/80
Location: The Under - Ruinsπ±πΏ β
ββββPrimrose was glad to see that the shaman was indeed as friendly as he'd appeared to be.
Perhaps 'appeared' isn't the right word, she thought to herself, given his scarce attire seemed to be made of insectoid skulls, or maybe masks resembling skulls. It was hard to tell. Either way, he was chatty and answered her questions with no qualms, which she appreciated.
It turned out that he hadn't seen the other group come by. That didn't mean that they hadn't taken this route, but it was looking a lot less likely. Primrose figured that there would have been
some trace of them by now. A clue deliberately left, the coincidental signs of a scuffle, or even foot prints in the dirt. But there was nothing, and no witnesses.
How odd, the dancer mused.
Have we missed something? I doubt that map maker would try fooling us, but then again...After a moment the shaman spoke up again, informing her of a secret passageway. Honestly, she doubted that if their friends came by this way that they would have found and taken such a route, but it was something.
Primrose smiled at the shaman.
"Is that so? Thank you for the heads up." On the topic of the food that the Confessor wanted, the helpful stranger suggested she venture further. His description was the exact opposite of what Jiji had said, but seeing as she didn't have any leads on that subject either she figured she could give it a look. Maybe something 'putrid' is what she should be looking for, if Jiji was the kind of bug that fed on that type of thing.
As the shaman himself had said, a friendly face was rare. Primrose was grateful to run into him, and she thanked him again before turning to leave. As she did, the diminutive stranger caught her eye. It seemed he had one last thing to impart to her. She raised a brow at his words.
Intuitive fellow. The magic he held out to her she regarded curiously.
"I have nothing to give you in return," she told the shaman honestly. He didn't mind at all, and it didn't take much more prompting for Primrose to accept the offer. She reached out to take hold of the spell.
When she touched it, she got a sense of the kind of magic it was. It felt almost as though it was a kindred spirit, an avenger of some sort. She smiled, small and dark. Then the magic seeped into her, overwhelming her. She stumbled, shadows filling her vision as she felt her consciousness go. She was halfway to sinking to the ground when she caught herself, shaking her head and standing upright.
"Potent," she said, bringing a hand to her forehead. The Snail Shaman chuckled, though he seemed pleased.
After bidding him farewell, Primrose continued on into the deeper parts of the Ancestral Mound that he'd indicated. It would, hopefully, be only a quick detour. Then she could return to the Troop and Rubick with news of a safe shortcut. As she ventured on, the dim tunnels did not become anymore welcoming. The sounds of scuttling and wings buzzing echoing told her that there were insects ahead, but she wouldn't have been surprised to find them either way. There were a few flies with long mandibles that looked a lot more dangerous than they actually were, which she dispatched with a flick of her wrist and a burst of flame. Smaller, more harmless bugs crawled along the walls and the floor, though they left Primrose alone and were easily side stepped otherwise.
Soon enough she dropped down into a slightly more spacious
area. There was a distinct odor, coming from somewhere still further ahead that Primrose guessed would be the creature the shaman told her about. In her way was a large creature with chitin like plate armor and a mean look in its eye. It stood as tall as a human, at the only other exit to the room than the one above her.
The dancer did not immediately assume that this bug was hostile, though she remained wary nonetheless. Would it be too much to hope for two friendly strangers in the Ancestral Mound? She called out to the Elder Baldur,
"I don't suppose you would let me pass?"The reply came as a spray of poison. The Baldur reared back and then spit up globs of amber liquid, which Primrose was quick to get out of the way of. They splashed against the ground, bubbling ominously.
I suppose that answers my question, she thought. She raised her hand, conjuring a flame orb and throwing it back at her attacker. The Baldur curled up tight, becoming an armored ball. The flames struck it and exploded, but besides a slight singe to its chitin shell it appeared no worse for wear.
Primrose hummed, rethinking her strategy. Perhaps the weakened pyromancy wasn't enough, and she should Boost it? Or maybe swap spells altogether. If her magic didn't get through the shell, her dagger wouldn't either - and from there she could see no gaps in the plating to exploit.
As she thought about it, the Baldur uncurled itself and began another poison assault. It stubbornly refused to move from its post, so the dancer weaved her way forward while dodging the blobs it spit at her. When she got close, the Elder Baldur did not swipe or bite at her as she expected it might. Instead, it curled into a ball again. It was confident in its armor, and still large enough to block the passage like this. Even after a few seconds of awaiting a sneak attack, the Baldur didn't budge.
Really? Primrose sighed. Maybe it was less confident, and more cowardly. Even up close she saw no openings for a blade to capitalize on, so she'd stick to her magic. Sooner or later she'd get through the shell, and she hoped it would be sooner. While it wasn't doing anything, this would be a perfect opportunity to test the gift the shaman had given her.
After a brief moment spent focusing, she called the spell to her hand. It looked much the same as it did when the shaman had held it out to her, distinctly different from the way the pyromancy or her native dark magic looked. Primrose thrust her hand forward towards the Baldur, conjuring a
spirit that shot forward. It passed completely through the monster, and if the muffled noises of pain were anything to go by it had damaged the Baldur as it went. If the poor thing didn't move it would die just like this, but it only curled up tighter. The dancer decided not to waste any more time and conjuring the vengeful spirit once more, Boosting it's power. This time when it burned through the Baldur it wreaked havoc, destroying it from the inside of its shell. When it crumbled away Primrose picked up its spirit and moved on.
There wasn't much more to the Ancestral Mound's depths. However, if there had been a labyrinth awaiting her Primrose was fairly certain she could have found her way to the center by following her nose alone. The closer she got to whatever it was, the strong the smell grew. It was definitely the stench of carrion, so not 'nice' at all - she only continued because she'd come this far anyway.
The source of the smell was not a corpse as might be expected, but a strange cluster that subtly undulated. It did nothing as Primrose approached, an arm curled over her face in a futile effort to lessen the odor. This must be the 'putrid yet placid
creature.'
Well whatever these are, they are round... Gingerly, Primrose poked one of the sacs.
And they are soft. They seem to be filled with something, so they must burst too. But the smell... I'm close to gagging. Could this really be what she wants?There was no harm in taking it even if it wasn't. Besides the smell, which she hoped to find a solution for eventually. She reached out and took hold of one of the fluid sacs, trying to gently pull it from the creature. It remained firmly lodged in its host, even after she put more force into it. So the comment about carving it was literal.
Primrose withdrew her dagger. She raised it up, but hesitated a moment and cast her gaze at the blade. The Azelhart family motto stared back at her. She felt a little guilty about dirtying the blade like
this, digging out some monster's guts... but it would be worth it if Jiji was the real deal.
When she plunged the dagger into the Bluggsac's flesh, it shivered and spit something out from the top of it. Then to the dancer's surprise it simply died, deflating until it rested completely the cave floor and disintegrated. Primrose turned her attention to the thing it spit up, taking it in her hands. It looked like one of the sacs on its body, but more egg-shaped a little denser. Still rounded, still soft, and a bit squishy.
Hopefully this egg would do. Primrose set her pack in front of her and dug through it, withdrawing the water resistant robe she'd gotten at that temple oasis in the desert. She wiped the dagger clean with it and then wrapped the egg up tightly, half for protection and half to try and staunch its stink. With her little side quest done, it was time to be getting back. On her way out Primrose decided to take the spirit of the strange sac creature, hoping that if it
was this egg that the Confessor wanted in return for her service, perhaps she could get a second one by crushing its spirit.
Primrose picked her way back through the tunnels, ending up back at the shaman's shack. He was no where to be seen, no longer standing on its steps, so Primrose moved on. She made her way back to the fork, and then back to the wide cavern's entrance. She caught the very tail end of some commotion and figured that more bugs had wandered too close to them, or them to the bugs. Either way it appeared to be handled. Primrose walked over to the other Seekers, giving a nod of greeting to the little furry warrior Teemo.
"I have some news," she said to group at large.
"Not about the others, but a safer passageway through this area."And while she went over her meeting with the Snail Shaman and the secret path he'd told her about, they could fill her in on what she'd missed.
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