Zool

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

There was no time for MacKensie to show her gratitude to Fenna for dealing with the wraith that was on her. What came next was a horrifying parcel of time where the entire battle seemed to zone out - sight and sound - completely. Fenna was struck by another wraith and screamed. MacKensie's mouth was agape in helpless terror. Sil sqwauked as she hovered about. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. As Fenna was brought to her knees, MacKensie's half-stepped forward but froze. She couldn't touch the wraith! She had no magic with which to save her friend.

"Oh my god," she breathed frantically. The wraith raised it's sword, charging a powerful attack. And then MacKensie found her voice. "Somebody help!"

And that's when a steel blade flashed into place, right at the last second to block the wraith's glowing strike. The strange sound of the clash of ghost-blade on oiled steel whiffed through the air, bringing the entire battle around MacKensie back into her senses - sights and sounds - once more. As she tried to catch her breath, she looked along the steel blade until she saw the hands that wielded it.

"Barracker."

Finally able to move again, MacKensie jumped over Fenna and dealt with the skeleton she'd had in a chinlock earlier. Then she turned back around to see the Paladin pulling Fenna up to her feet. Both had taken some damage after that, but MacKensie was just glad that Fenna was alive. Barracker rushed off to help Adam and James with even more wraiths that had shown up on the back line, MacKensie choosing to keep Fenna covered until she'd oriented herself and was ready to jump back into the fighting. It didn't take long before the dutchwoman was off, leaving MacKensie count the number of targets that her mundane weaponry would be effective against.

But that wouldn't matter anymore.

"I beseech thee, Mother Iris, thou who are radiant and wise, ruler of the skies and bearer of the sun, Guide us with thy luminous light's gentle sway so that in thy name victory may be attained "

Both dagger and crossbow became engulfed in white-gold flames. Flames that touched her hands but did her no harm. It quickly made sense to her that this enchantment was the elemental damage she needed to not only do extra damage, but hit all and every enemy on the battlefield. After the torture she'd just been through; almost forced to watch helplessly while her friend was killed - this moment was extremely empowering.

She started by sheathing her dagger, grabbing a handful of bolts and aiming at the remaining wraiths Barracker had not yet dealt with, near Adam and James. Each bolt caught fire as it dropped into the firing mechanism of her crossbow and she shot one at a time, not as fast a Deadly Flurry attack, but working the bolt-action crossbow with lightning dexterity nonetheless. Four holy-fire bolts was all it took to destroy two wraiths. The joy was apparent on her face.

"Mac!" MacKensie's eyes locked onto James. "The phylactery should be a vessel!"

The phylactery! It was up to her. She nodded resolutely. "Oui!"

Barely thinking about it - barely even looking where she was aiming - she shot her grapplehook at the ceiling above the Greater Wraith, and flew off just as soon as it connected. Even as she closed in on the giant ghostly being, having to lift her legs to avoid touching it's head as she swung past it, she could hear James' voice above the sound of the Greater Wraith's charging spell.

"A locket, a skull, a fucking vase, as long as it is meant to contain something it can be the phylactery!"

Her grapplehook disconnected and sailed through the air the rest of the way. Her double-foot landing was cushioned by dropping into a roll, the rest of the momentum dying out by skidding a couple of yards once back on her feet. Immediately she was upon the cabinets, repeating James' description to herself as she opened each door and started rifling through the contents.

And then she found it: A small wooden box, about the size of her jewelry box as a teenager. It had to be it. Her gut told her it was. And so she dropped it on the floor and delivered a mighty stomp with all she could muster. The box smashed into pieces.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@TeyaoThis week, I may not be able to post until Friday or Saturday, but I was thinking that MacKensie would easily be able to zip over to the cabinets with her gauntlet and get the phylactery. So if you want to leave that part of the battle to me, I'll write it up at the end of the week. Also, if you want to use this info in your post somehow, like James tells her to go in place of Barracker, maybe shouts a description of the phylactery across the room or covers her as she flys over. Or something of your own invention, I can work with anything.

Or if you have other plans, or have an idea for James getting the phylactery, that's fine too xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'm on vacation today through Thursday, so I wanted to make a post in case things were too busy later. My original idea was to have Adam move the walking stick while James held onto it tightly to fly him out of danger. What I ended up going with seemed more practical though :P

Also, we have 500 IC posts now! It's been fun writing in this RP with you all.

@Zapdos

Enjoy your vacation!

The big five double-o! It's been an enjoyable ride everyone xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

“Here, hold this?”

"Of course."

After taking the bag of medical supplies from Barracker, MacKensie helped herself to some stretches of bandage and a couple of antiseptic pads. James had offered her first refusal, and she had stoically declined, not wanting to hold everyone up, but now that Barracker and Zell were taking the time to patch themselves up, she thought that she might aswell.

"You are right," she said to the party leader. "There is no sense in not being on top of our game for the final battle."

She hoped that the next battle would indeed be the final one. Second Chance had endured two already, and injuries were beginning to mount up. Staying next to James in case he needed some help standing, she carefully unstuck her clothing from her lacerations then rolled up her sleeve to pad and bandage her first wound. After that, she lifted her tunic and undershirt a little so she might pad and wrap her waist with the rest of the bandage roll. Once everyone was finished, she helped James hook his bag onto his person and they were off to the next room.

As everyone grouped up behind Adam while he found the right book to open the hidden door, there was a small interval of silent tension. MacKensie looked to her right to see the face of Fenna and whether the woman looked back or not, the frenchwoman pursed her lips in a solemn and determined smile. They could do this. Gold mission or not, the power of their bonds would see them through. Warrior bonds. Friendship. Strangers brought to an even stranger world. She had to believe there was a deeper reason for all of this. She had to believe that Fenna would hold her little boy and girl again. This belief she held fast so that she would not drown in the sea of anxiety that was constant danger.

The atmosphere changed as they passed from the relatively cozy and colourful library to the dark and dreary ritual chamber. Before she'd even laid eyes on the cultist and the Greater Wraith, she'd drawn her crossbow and dropped a bolt into it. Just the oppressive and foreboding air, in this room, alone was enough to make her ready herself. But even with the heavy weight of anxiety on her shoulders... even with the fear in her heart of potentially losing one of her comrades to an unthinkably powerful foe... even with the gravity of the situation before them, she couldn't help but smile - almost laugh, even - at the verbal exchange between the robed man, Zell and Barracker. She felt much lighter for it. It annoyed her - pained her, in fact - to say it yet again but, Thank God for macho dummies.

Aloud, she said, "Oh dear. Now there are two of them," as she looked from Zell to Barracker. She took a few steps to take a position on the flank, drawing her dagger with her free hand. "Would you two kindly take this seriously?"

When the fight started, she managed to let fly two bolts before requiring her dagger. The two bolts in question hit the same target, the first cracking the bridge between the eyes of a skeleton, before the second punched the exact same spot right through, creating a giant hole in the skull of an enemy that collapsed to the ground. Another rapid reload of a bolt that sat between the fingers of her dagger-hand's grip, then she cocked back and instantly switched from 'southpaw' to parry a sword that swung her way.

Her speed, agility and reflexes were far more than a match for the single skeleton in front of her, but what was more concerning was a Lesser Wraith drifting around to her flank. Even more concerning was the cultist and Greater wraith who were out of reach.

She dodged two follow up swings until the skeleton tried a high arcing downward strike, then caught the blade on her dagger and pulled it to one side, throwing the skeleton off balance and into her grasp. Seizing the bony enemy in a chinlock, her forearm under it's chin, she found time to aim over it's shoulder, right through the crowd and at the Leader Cultist, then fired.

Before she could see if her shot hit the mark, the Lesser Wraith attacked and she was forced to let go and hop out of reach of the ghost blade.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'll post tomorrow too!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie stepped back in relief as Barracker dealt with the wraith. It was actually quite stunning to see that; while she and the others from Earth had such unbelievable abilities and magic, there were still clearly higher levels of power that could be reached, and Barracker exemplified this.

She returned the warriors handshake, her grip firm and the look in her eye filled with fire and gratitude. “How serious are your wounds?”

MacKensie suppressed a sigh and shook her head. "I should be fine." She flinched when the fiery explosion of Fenna's finishing blow went off. Seeing that Fenna herself was okay, she continued on to the Paladin. "Thank you for your assistance."

“Are you able to fight on?”

"It looks like there is no need," she answered, giving a small nod as she looked around the library. No enemies were left standing. Her brow furrowed momentarily when she saw Zell relaxing on a sofa, but thought better of inquiring further. Zell was Zell. That was an explanation enough. A more thorough view of the room confirmed that everyone was alive. James looked the most worse for wear, but he'd patched himself up and was at least able to walk. Whether he could he continue the mission was another story. Still: Victory. "Thank goodness. Good job, my friend," she smiled at Barracker squeezed his shoulder.

“Is everyone alright?”

"All good over here," she replied to Adam, giving him a thumbs up and a smile when he looked. Then she turned back to the Barracker. "That was quite the surprise, was it not? We thought that we were the ambushers but turned out to be the ambushed. This enemy is clever indeed." She was late to notice that he was wounded also, his dark, leather armour hiding the injury. "You are hurt. How bad is it?"

After inquiring about Barracker's wounds and checking to see if he needed anything, MacKensie saw Adam approaching, his red gaze showing his intent to speak with the Paladin, so she left them to converse, giving Adam a nod and pat on the shoulder as they crossed paths.

"Good job, James," she said as she approached the Cleric, a touch of his arm as she came to stand next to him. "How are you holding up?"

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie's blue cloak whirled as she twirled with her parries, ducks and dodges, giving ground with every attack from the wraith and cultist. The speed and agility on display may have looked pretty, but her face was frozen in wide-eyed fear, he breathing erratic as she tried to follow the steel/ghost blades of her enemies. How long she could keep this up was unknown, but she was not optimistic.

After catching the cultist's overhand strike on her dagger, the ghost sword slashed her waist causing her to cry out and crumble under the weight of the cultist sword, which in turn slashed her dagger-arm as she was forced to retreat with her wounds. Back-pedalling frantically in pain, she watched her enemies chase her down. Her back hit the flat wood of a bookshelf's end, then she ducked just in time to avoid being beheaded.

The whole time she'd been holding her crossbow in one hand - the chamber empty - no time to reload. She just couldn't get away from her foes for long enough. And then things went from bad to worse. She spotted the bright flames of conjured fire in the corner of her eye, and looked to see yet another wizard about to point his wand her way. Suddenly the pain of her lacerations was the least of her worries, all but ignored as she sprinted for cover, baseball sliding under a table and flipping it to use the tabletop as a shield. The stream of fire hit the table and MacKensie could feel the heat from the other side, even seeing the flames dancing as the fire stream continued to blast against the table like water from a hose, spreading into a wall of flames that she could see above her.

He is going to smoke me out of hiding!

She had to do something.

And she did.

Without thinking, she ignited flames of her own. Source magic flowed through her arms, little flames dancing down her hands as she activated her Deadly Flurry. Then she got up and jumped over the table, through the wall of flames to take her enemies by surprise, a fist full of bolts in one hand, held over her crossbow.

Jai vous!

She fired off all the bolts like a machine gun. Before MacKensie had even landed, the cultist with the sword was hit a bunch of times, and her crossbow sights swept left to try and take some revenge on the fire mage too before her attack ended...

She landed and drew her dagger once more, ready to press any advantage she might have from her suicidal counter-attack, but she only saw the wraith, who had carefully avoided the fire and now moved towards her. And there was also...

"Wha-?" MacKensie dove to one side to avoid a pair of crackling black thunderbolts came zooming at her. Flowing into a roll to smoothly get back to her feet, she looked over her shoulder to see the two bolts hit the wall and explode. She had no idea where they'd come from, but tried to remain alert as she turned her attention back to the approaching wraith. Blood stained her torn tunic at the waist and on her sleeve, pain glowing beneath. But her determination glowed brighter.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

It had taken some grit to go through with the cut-throat assassination of the cultist: Putting the knife in the flesh of the neck, the blade had gone in and sliced across so easily - too easily. Weirdly, she found herself, in that moment, missing her mother more than ever. Perhaps it was because she didn't like what she'd become - someone who could kill with such mastery. But there wasn't much time to contemplate her new status and lot in life, for the piercing screech of a dying wraith erupted right next to her, threatening to burst her eardrum.

With a gasp, she looked to see the last of the flames disappear where the Counter-spelled wraith had once been. Then she took in the instantly chaotic panorama and rose up, drawing her crossbow. First she aimed at the wraith attacking Fenna near her, before remembering that her bolts would do nothing to these ethereal monsters. After that she hesitated a few seconds, then shot at one of the living enemies. The bolt, aimed down the aisle where Zell was, passed straight through the wraith and was on target to hit the fleeing cultist in the back of the head, but the woman managed to disappear around the corner just in time to avoid getting hit.

MacKensie didn't waste time lamenting her missed shot. She couldn't even if she wanted to, for as she aimed at the wizard cultist with the wand, Barracker's wraith came after her, forcing her to dodge away from it. With no method to counter the wraith, she was forced to stay on the defensive, evading attacks while repeatedly checking behind her to see where she was going. Carefully she navigated the furniture and ghosts while the wraith pursued her. It wasn't too difficult to avoid the ghost sword, but it was frustrating to be doing but being a distraction for a single wraith. She smoothly dove and rolled over a tabletop, back on her balls of her feet with some distance between herself and the wraith. Once again she sighted the woman who'd ran off down the aisle. She was back again, now with a sword, so MacKensie headed her way.

She started out, on the approach, by stopping the cultist dead in her tracks with a pre-emptive shot in the arm, then rushed in with her dagger and reeled off a twirling combination of strikes that the woman struggled to fend off. With just a few more seconds, MacKensie would have, no doubt, broke her opponents guard and finished her, but the pursuing wraith on the frenchwoman's tail had quickly caught up and joined the fight.

Now MacKensie was back on the defensive again, parries for the physical enemy and dodges for the ghostly one.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'll try to get something down tonight too xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna's suggestion on how to deal with Hardul, made MacKensie feel much better about situation. Not only was it for the dwarf's own good that they hold him as something of a hostage, but MacKensie was confident that Adam would handle the matter with the utmost care. MacKensie bent over a little and squeezed Hardul's shoulder as she smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry. You'll be safe this way," she told him. "We'll come back for you, just as soon as we are done. I promise."

She watched Adam take Hardul away and do his work, creating a suitable camouflage around the restrained dwarf. When he returned, James informed them all of the intel he and Barracker had managed to extract from George, which coincided well with a stealth mission. "You know the formation," Second Chance's leader said, refreshing the memory of Zell's tactical briefing that first night, aswell as the modification James had made for this mission. She nodded and they were off.

But she did not make it more than half a dozen steps when she paused suddenly, the others leaving her behind as she wondered for a moment, then looked up at the tree where their prisoners were hanging. Her blue gaze washed over them all and she dared to ask...

"Steven?" her tone dripping with uncertainty.

One of them perked up and looked at her, a few moments of silence before finally answering. "What?" MacKensie couldn't supress a small smile. The old beekeeper who she'd questioned in Cherrad would get her son back in one piece. If they could only complete their mission. Thank the lord for small mercies. "You know me?"

MacKensie shook her head. "No. I do not," was all she said, then hurried away to catch up with her friends.

Fortunately, they would manage to get a good way into the temple without coming into contact with any cultists. The eerie atmosphere was very un-churchlike, but every bit expected of the lair of a dark cult. MacKensie, near the front of the pack, saw Barracker make a hand-gesture of respect to the painting of Hades, and she thought to herself that she would find time in the future to ask the Paladin about his diety. Not only would it be a chance to get know more about Barracker, but the world of Mytheria also.

When they found themselves sneaking through the library towards the sound of voices, MacKensie pulse was picking up pace. Zell drew up a quick plan with nothing more than a nod of the head and two points of the finger - that was all that was needed - and James gave the final command with a nod of his own. MacKensie was ready.

This moment was the first time she'd ever noticed that her footsteps made no noise. Without any effort to do so, she moved in complete silence. It must be a Ranger ability, she thought. It certainly made sneaking up to her target much easier. Dagger slowly drawn and held invertedly, she moved towards the giant of a man who was sat in the arrangement of sofas, crouching low and moving quickly to get right up to him, ducked behind the back of the sofa. She waited to attack in tandem with the others.

The man was big and broad-shouldered. There was no way she could risk a non-lethal grapple attempt, and so her attack attempt would be a swift movement that saw her dagger slit his throat.