Locked The Chosen [IC / Not Accepting / PG-16]

[LordCowCow]

No matter the obstacle we must carry on

The Chosen. Nine warriors fated to save the world...or so they say. In reality the Chosen were nothing more than relatively common adventurers given a grave task. A task that several already were found unable to handle. Having lost three of their number before reaching the first Demon Gate, eldrich devices that connected to a demonic realm, to say the group was struggling would be an understatement.

Yet, somehow, despite their start, the group managed to reach a Demon Gate. Where they are now learning the true terror of their task. Though they are smaller in number each of them have a determination to defeat this grave foe.

And now...the story continues.

---

The shark heading for Gilly wasn't quite stopped by the sudden spear in its face. The creature seemed to lack any concept of self preservation as it merely whipped its head to the side to tear the spear out of Gilly's hands. Once it did this it burrowed its way underground like its companion had been.

Then, similarly, it launched itself out of the sand again and towards Gilly. This time its lower half remained embedded in the sand as the spine-like thing and the head of the shark remained above ground, snaking back and forth as it tried to get at Gilly.

Similarly the one fighting Ryia ended up in such a pose, with its lower half under the ground. It, however, instead of going directly for Ryia tried to snake around her to attack her from behind.

---

Lindow made it up in time to see Damien slicing across the part of spine on the Fire Elemental that was visible under the flames, which Keres had unveiled, and caused a large chip to fly off of the Elemental.

He would also see as the Fire Elemental twisted its body nearly 180 degrees in order to swipe a flaming arm at the swordsman. Damien ducked and rolled under it but then was almost caught by a blast of flames and only managed to get out of the way with the help of Keres's water whip pulling him to the side.

With a growl, seemingly not thinking much anymore, Damien merely went for the Elemental again, blade low, and heading for the center of mass.

The elemental raised the arm not attacked by Lindow. The flames extended upwards, growing thinner but longer, more focused, and almost took an edge to it. It seemed posed so that it would bring the flame down on Damien as the swordsman made his approach.

Keres shook her head but was unable to say anything. She knew that she had to do more but she only had a limited supply of water. And what would she do if this thing decided to turn its attention to her? The Demon Gate was already making her feel sick and now this doubt that was welling up doubled that feeling.

---

Gilly had done a rather insane, or perhaps Gilly-like is more fitting, action. Swinging her spear horizontally at the snapping jaws coming her way. The girl's strength wasn't quite enough to stop the creature but as the magical ice shattered against it the shark did seem to recoil.

Hob rammed the creature's spin, which was sticking from the ground, and there was a slight cracking noise. Though there wasn't much time to listen closer as the shark was now lowering its head to latch onto Gilly's small form from behind.

---

OOC

Spoiler

We back! Leaving right off from before. Reminder that Reinaan is now near the sharks. Meanwhile Keres seems to be struggling due to the gate and Damien is rushing at the boss.

Also, Nai, Anis could get back up at any moment if you so wish. New start and all that.

map

 

[Skaia]

Seeing the shark come around for yet another strike, Ryia braced herself as she had many times  before. As the shark head opened its maw to bite down on her, Ryia stepped to the side, smashing her shield into the side of its head and stepping back away from it. As this happened, though, the head started to circle around her, coiling the spine it was attached to around her feet. Already being trapped by this, the girl went to smash at the shark's spine, her mace giving a heavy thud against the bone as it chipped from her strike. However, with her feet all tangled up, the shark soon wrenched her up and forced her to fall onto the ground below. With a heavy thud the girl landed as the shark's head, maw open and ready to chop at her, came straight at her only for Ryia to interpose her shield between her torso and the literal jaws of death. 

With the shield placed vertically in its mouth, forcing it open, the girl could start to feel the weight of the shark pressuring her arm as she constantly had to press back against it. This was only made harder as the spine began to retract back towards its starting position, dragging the grappled girl with it. Tightening the grip around her mace, the girl swung with it around to the back of the shark's head, once more striking the cracked part of the spine and causing the crack to become larger. Before she could strike at it again, the spine had made its way back under ground, with the the girl now grappled with only the head moving towards her to chomp down.

Frustration evident on her face, the girl grunted as she continued to push her shield back against the monster's mouth. With the force of the shark's mouth beginning to clamp down, the shield began to give way to its strength as the metal began to bend. Needing to get out of this bind, with great strength the girl gave one final push with her shield before pulling back and smashing at the side of the shark's head with both her mace and shield. Shoving the face to the side, and the mouth away from her, the shark then uncoiled around her with great speed and launched her away. Smashing into the ground once more, the girl coughed as she tried to get the sand out of her face and stand back up. Seeing the shark trying to right itself once more, the girl merely backed away from it to wait for it to come to her. 

Once it seemed to regain its orientation, the shark launched its head towards the shield bearer once more, mouth open and ready to bite down on her once more. With ragged breath, the girl decided rather than dodge the problem, she would merely take it head on this time. As the head charged her, the girl bent down to be underneath it, shoving her shield up and uppercutting the shark's head. Stopping the force of the shark's charge and pushing it upward, the girl heard a resounding snapping noise come from her shield arm as she let out a roar of both anger and pain, shoving the shark's head away. With a clear target on the shark's spine, now right in her face, with one mighty swing the girl brought down her mace for one final time against the shark's spine, shattering the bone. With the rest of the trailing bone falling to the ground, the head simply fell and rolled across the sand, twitching a bit as it stopped. 

Walking over to it, Ryia lifted her mace up and with one final swing, struck at the head. With the fight finished the girl looked elsewhere. Her hair was a mess, both all over the  place and covered in sand. Her armor had a chunk of it missing with dents all over. Both her mace and shield had been bent, with her shield arm merely hanging limp at her side. Feeling fatigued from the whole ordeal thus far, Ryia simply wanted to sit down and rest. But, seeing the clear flaming entity atop the rock formation, and the shark still engaged with Gilly, she knew her job wasn't done yet. With her legs feeling as though they were a blaze and her breath heavy, the girl started making her way slowly to the halfling to assist her. 

[Doggo]

As Reinaan approached the final two Chosen still on the desert sands the sharks were already taking action. Both made use of their different weapons to fend off attacks. The strange forms the sharks had taken due to the demon gate's influence had their lower halves in the sand while their jaws launched out to attack. This exposed the spine and made it the most obvious place to attack if this was ever going to end. Ryia seemed to keenly aware of this fact but the halfling Giilly less so. Thankfully Hob was around and he always seemed to carry the more part of the common sense of the duo. The creature's charge was into the shark's spine and the Draken could have almost sworn in the midst of everything he heard the bone begin to crack. Such a small detail amidst this chaos had no real way of registering with him but he knew well enough what to do as the fish's mouth moved to bite at Gilly's back.

"Behind you!" he called out to the Ice Chosen as he readied his flaming claws. The boy leaped forward to bring the fiery extensions of his hand down onto the creature's spine, just below where Hob had impacted it so as to avoid skewering the sheep or its rider in the process. His free hand grabbed the spine higher up so that he could push the bone up while his claws dug down into them. He needed to at least sever the spinal cord if not outright split the creature in two. In the exertion he gave his best impression of a dragon's roar which caught Kloqah's attention on the steps to the gate for a brief moment.

[Hollow]

"What are you doing?!" Lindow's voice boomed across the battlefield as he watched Keres become paralyzed by the aura of the demon gate and the gravity of their situation. With Damien charging headlong towards his death, and their best chance of victory resting in the Water Chosen's trembling hands, Lindow forced himself to his feet with a growl before bursting into movement once more. "Do you plan on just standing there trembling whilst the others are fighting for their lives, little Keres?! If that's the case, then come here... I'll kill you myself and use whatever is left of your power to keep pushing forward!" His eyes were cold and focused as glared at the witch whilst quickly unstrapping his shield and pulling it off his arm. "We've long since given up the luxury of being bystanders." Taking a defiant step towards the Elemental, Lindow ripped his gaze away from Keres. "If you want live... then fight. It's that simple." 

Quickly lining up his shot, Lindow drew his stance back briefly before skillfully sending the Bandit's shield spinning through the air towards the Elemental's arm. The shield found it's mark mere seconds before the creature's flame came crashing down on Damien, allowing the young man the precious instant he needed to slip under and go in to slash at the Elemental's torso. 

Seeing this, Lindow quickly cocked back and tossed his chipped dagger towards the Elmental's face before moving towards Keres. He watched as the blade glanced off the monster's skull moments before Damien sliced at it's spine, suffering more burns in the process. "Tsk," At this rate, the other man would die before reinforcements could arrive, and even with his skills, Lindow was skeptical about his chances of slaying this creature on his own. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Hollow

[Strange Bird of the Moon]

"...It truly had been months this time?"

"I couldn't be sure, myself."

Waking up from a slumber that felt like an eternity, Anis took the time to recompose herself. She was reunited with Shirin and Ileca on her side, but she struggled to remember anything from recent events. Where was this place, what was with the sound of fighting, and what was even happening in general to her? Was it just her frail body finally breaking apart? Or was it something else, something more sinister being at play? Shirin and strangely Ileca couldn't answer. She had no idea how long had she woken up, but she had a hard time focusing herself anyway. Her sense was numb aside from the faint idea that battle was raging behind her. Did anyone die since the time she passed out? Were her bow and arrow still here? Had she managed to rearm herself. Not being able to know all that was frustrating.

But for now, all that she could do was to rest her head on Ileca as she struggled to grasp the situation.

[LordCowCow]

Reinaan's warning and attack didn't seem to do much for Gilly. The girl had been about to turn around but the shark seemed to move faster than anyone could have predicted. Its jaws clamped down on Gilly's back and sunk its teeth into her flesh. The creature began to lift her but as it did the damaged spine, struck by Reinaan, began to crack. Still the shark managed to fling Gilly across the sand before the spine snapped and the upper half of the shark landed on the ground and began flopping uselessly.

Gilly soared into the air and Hob, ever ready, rushed forward to try and catch his rider. Gilly landed on the loyal animal and knocked him to the ground. Both of them lay in the sand, unconscious. But the sharks were no more.

---

There was a fog in Damien's mind. Something bringing out a primitive and instinctive urge in him. He could tell that he was in danger. He could feel, somewhere through that fog, the flames spreading across his clothes, but it was as if he was simply listening to someone recount the feeling rather than experiencing it himself.

Damien tore away at the clothing that was causing the issues, flinging them to the side just as the elemental raised one arm and brought it down on him. He was slammed to the ground and lost grip of his blade. As the elemental raised his arm for another strike the young man almost desperately reached out for his fallen weapon.

Keres half stumbled towards the side, moving closer to the fighting, as she thought about what Lindow said. She hated that he had to say that in the first place. Keres had intended this Chosen thing to be her chance to do something with her life and she was squandering it like this. If she was just going to fumble at this moment then why had she even left her home in the first place?

No more. He was right. There wasn't time for indecision. She had to fight.

Enter: The Water Chosen

"Flux." Keres said. The jellyfish spirit did a bit of a twirl. "About time!" He then entered Keres's body and she felt a swelling of power.

This creature was a dangerous magical entity. But no matter how powerful a flame it was. It was still a flame. "Your mistake...was relying on the strength of your flames." Keres said, as the remaining water she had stored away erupted into the air, a powerful spout of liquid. "And every flame can be extinguished..." Then the water started to glow and expand. A rushing column of water now was shooting up a dozen feet into the air. "with enough water." Keres raised her arm and started to direct the water, spinning it slowly, slowly, then faster. "And water is my strength!" She then flung her hand forward and the water rushed through the air and struck the elemental's chest.

The creature let out a shriek as the water pushed it backwards and away from Damien. Keres stepped forward to drive the water even more and the elemental couldn't so much as flail as the crushing pressure continued.

Then Keres let out a gasp and pulled the water, which seemed to be much depleted, back towards herself.

The elemental still stood. However the flames in the front of its body were extinguished. The flames on its back, however, were still going strong. And even as they watched they slowly started to creep forward, reigniting the creature's body. They could see now that the creature's skull seemed to not be connected to the rest of its body. And that it had no legs to speak of. Merely a spine that dragged along the ground. Despite looking much less impressive without the majority of its flames it still was clearly powerful. And, as it lunged towards Keres, she knew that those skeletal hands still contained much strength.

 

OOC

Spoiler

So the shark is basically dead, feel free to finish it off. The elemental won't stay unignited for long and Damien is stunned at the moment. For ease any of the group down below could reach the rock formation in their post. Also yes Gilly is down and out for the fight.

Map

 

[Skaia]

Beginning to stumble towards the final shark, Ryia's eyes widened as she saw the shark sinks its teeth into the halfling. "Gilly!" Try as she might to run over, the girl was slow to begin with and the fatigue that constantly getting into contests of strengths with the sharks had taken its toll on her. Wincing in pain, as her shield arm was not making the trek any easier, she could only watch as the halfling was tossed to the side and the shark was snapped in two. As she finally made her way over to her draken companion she called out, "Reinaan." Making her way closer to him, the girl looked around to see that the field was clear of the sharks now. Looking up, it was clear that the living flames was still alive and fighting atop the rock spire, and that their companions atop were likely still in trouble. 

"They - they still need our help. But, um," the girl looked to her arm, limp at her side before she moved to start taking the ring off of her finger. "Here," she presented it to the boy saying, "please um, please help them." Looking to Gilly she said, "I'll make sure they're fine." 

[Doggo]

The cracking of the shark's spine continued well until it had snapped roughly in half. However, Gilly had still taken a hit from the upper half. The fall was broken by her companion but the two seemed down for the count. Ryia was hurrying over to their location. The boy stabbed the helpless upper half of the creature through the skull to put it out of its misery before retracting the flame claws, the flames dancing along his arm until they returned to his core. Stray sparks resumed jumping off the Draken's body as the fire spirit's power returned without shape into the center of his being. Not long after Reinaan heard his name and turned to see Ryia who seemed fairly battered. The girl called attention to the fires atop the stone structure and given the heat the boy had felt while not even being directly there he took her words to be true. The Earth Chosen removed a ring from her finger and presented it to him before assuring him she'd look after Gilly and Hob.

"This resists fire doesn't it?" Reinaan pondered aloud as he accepted the gift from Ryia. He slid it over one of his claws, and after pushing a bit to get it onto his actual scales on the finger he felt for the first time he could almost shrug off the desert heat. Between this and what was left of the amulet he figured he had a pretty good shot at handling that crazy auron's flames. All of the sharks had fallen. For the time being it seemed safe to leave Ryia here. Still, as injured as she, never mind Gilly or Anis' conditions, the boy didn't feel right just taking off. But what could he do? He knew the Earth Chosen could take care of herself. She'd proven a capable warrior from their very first fight together at the Council's tower.

"I'll be back soon." he said simply as he took off running toward the stone structure again. For a moment, the thought of how long he was going to sleep after this crossed his mind. But he was fast to push it away as it would do nothing but call attention to his fatigue at this point.  The heat grew more intense as he finally began ascending the stone steps again and approached the raging fire at its summit. He returned to Kloqah's side. She hadn't moved much since first arriving on the stone. The irritation from earlier was still present, it was stronger even. The Draken had left all of his weapons on the mount while aiding Ryia and Gilly. Thinking of his next opponent's mastery over fire, he thought it unwise to use a magical fire weapon against him and so he began rummaging through his things when Kloqah snapped and actually caught the boy's hand between her teeth. The bite wasn't very hard but she was growling intently as if she'd meant to draw blood.

"Don't do this girl. I'll stop what's bothering you soon." the boy said and stared with deadly seriousness into the mount's eyes. She released his hand as he found his trusty spear from home. It was comforting to hold it again after attempting to use Kha's great sword earlier to little effect. He thought for a moment if he ought to release Ziiyol or not but decided against it as the process often took his stamina and adrenaline highs with it; neither of which he could part with safely at the moment. Looking at his ways up and recalling the way the mage had attacked them before, he figured he'd run right into the line of sight of their enemy if he charged straight up. What this needed was an element of surprise. And so the boy took to working his way around to the monument's north side while also ascending. Once his eyes peeked over the edge the image before him nearly made him lose his grip. Gone was the auron and its place a half-flaming skeleton. Keres, Lindow and Damien all seemed to be okay for the moment. The demon gate was close by and the sense of dread seemed to be mounting within the boy at this close proximity. Still, the hunter had a target and that was enough to help him focus.

"Now!" he thought to himself as he saw it lunge forward at Keres. The Draken charged and jumped into the creature's flaming back, looking to slam it down into the ground before it could hurt the girl.

[Hollow]

Though Reinaan's weight wasn't enough to bring the creature to ground, the boy's dive did manage to halt the Elemental's movement, making it unable to grab Keres. Seeing the creature hunched over with the front of it's body exposed, Lindow quickly dashed forward whilst drawing both his Bandit Cleaver and the Third Blade.

"You sure took your time..." 

Cyan lighting crackled in the air as the man used his speed to quickly close the distance and slash at the Elemental's extended arm with his blades of magic and steel. Just like before, once the limb was severed, the flames around where the bone had been began to flail erratically as if desperately looking for a way to keep form. Smiling at this development, Lindow made his way to the Elemental's front, readying himself for his next attack.

However, before he could strike, a jet of flame shot forward from the monster's back, passing the ribs in an attempt to scorch the Thunder Chosen. Forced into a roll to  avoid being burned, Lindow landed on his knees with the Third Blade's lighting still chirping in his palm. Roaring with effort, Lindow reached up to the sky, commanding the blade of thunder magic to extend to it's full length before swinging it back down towards the Elemental with all his might.

The fire's of the Elemental quickly flared around the skull to block the attack. Leaving Lindow struggling to maintain the Third Blade's form as he tried to push against the creature's defenses. He could already feel his energy draining, meaning he couldn't keep this up for much longer...

 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Hollow

[LordCowCow]

The elemental's flames pushed back against Lindow's Thunder blade. The two magics clashed and it would soon be clear that the elemental's was stronger. The blade was unable to pierce the flames that erupted around the elemental's head and would eventually drain Lindow entirely.

Reinaan wasn't entirely safe either. The fire on its back suddenly grew more intense as a column of flames erupted upwards and surrounded the Draken. Even with his natural resistances it was obvious that without the magic items he held onto he'd have been burnt to a crisp. With them he still would feel the flames licking at him. Feel the heat start to overwhelm the item's magic.

To make it worse the elemental's flames, which had been parted earlier, surrounded its body once again.

The creature seemed to grow bolder with this and pushed its way upright once more, forcing Reinaan to have to hold on to keep his place else he would fall off the elemental's back.

Even without arms it was clearly a threat and Keres knew that she had to hit it again. Though the connection was Flux was starting to shake, having used strong magic to enhance her water attack, she pulled from his power again and shot a blast of water at the creature again. Striking around its torso and blasting away the flames that were protecting it. However she had to keep pushing as the moment that she broke concentration the flames would re-envelope the small opening she was able to make.

The elemental seemed simply enraged by this act. It looked towards Lindow and, opening its mouth in a crackling roar, shot a gout of flames at him from its skeletal mouth.

[Skaia]

As Reinaan made his way up to the spire of rock and the demon gate, the girl began making her way towards the halfling. With her arm limp at her side, as she saw the bite mark on the small girl's body, Ryia grimaced, but wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. She was neither a doctor nor was she sure what kind of medical supplies they had on them. As such, the only thing that Ryia could really do was make sure that they were safe from any other dangers. Practically collapsing as she sat down next to the unconscious halfling and ram, the girl attempted catching her breath as she started to feel the heat press on her far more than before. Looking to the spire of rocks, the girl bit down on her lip in frustration as she looked up. 

An uneasy feeling washing over Ryia as she looked at the black sphere atop the spire, she knew that it was what they were here to stop. She knew that they were so close to fulfilling their first mission to stop the demons. And yet, all she could now was sit and wait. She was slow, injured, in metal and exhausted. As she looked at the mass of flames darting from place to place atop the rocks, she knew that she would do nothing but get in the way. That she had to leave it to the others. Yet, it was still frustrating. 

[Hollow]

Even with all the Witch Hunter's might behind it, the Third Blade appeared to be no match for the magical flame. Feeling his energy draining from the prolonged use of Lily's power, Lindow reluctantly allowed the blade of lighting to vanish in a sudden flurry of bright blue particles that begun to drift over the smoking battlefield. As he took moment to catch his breath, Lindow watched in annoyance as the elemental's flames washed over the rest of it's body once more, leaving them all back to square one... 

"Tsk," He begun to formulate a new plan, but before his thoughts could bare fruit, Keres was in the offensive again. Seeing a small hole torn in the creature's fiery defenses, Lindow made a move towards Water Chosen only to be forced into another dive to avoid a blast of flame from the elemental's jaws. Committed to staying in motion, Lindow tumbled to his feet before dashing forward to close the gap between him and their foe once again.

Roaring with effort, the man swung the Bandit Cleaver into the opening Keres had provided, damaging the beast further, but also prompting it to rain down another blast of flames from its mouth. Letting his battle instincts take hold, Lindow quickly ducked under Kere's jet of water mere moments before the torrent of fire crashed down on where he had just been standing. Without wasting an instant, Lindow lashed out again with his blade, managing to crack the elemental's chest before the flames started to grow in intensity. 

"Your persistence is beginning to lose it's novelty..." The heat was steadily rising, forcing Lindow to back off to avoid being singed. Painfully aware that this was an indication that Keres's strength was dwindling, the Thunder Chosen looked towards the last legs of the girl's attack and was struck with an idea. "Reinaan, get off him now!" He called out to the young Draken whilst raising his hand towards Kere's jet of water. As the words left his lips, sparks danced madly across Lindw's fingertips, before leaping forward in arcs of cyan lighting with the intention of electrifying the current as it crashed into the elemental's weakened chest. "Discharge..."

Edited February 17, 2019 by Hollow

[Doggo]

The Fire Chosen held on despite the growing flames and the exertions of the creature he clung to. He could tell this wasn't sustainable as the ring and amulet were the only things preserving his life. But still he clung to it as he wrapped his hands around the closest bones. Reinaan pulled and struggled amidst the flames, attempting to dislodge whatever bone he could but to little effect. The spear he held would likely fair no better in this effort. But still if he could impair the thing's movements at all and give the others the opening they needed he'd do it.  Keres took action first and doused the torso of the creature with her water magic. Lindow went in for a strike to the exposed portion of the bone. The Draken more felt the man's words than heard them as he realized the attack that was incoming. Right as Lindow closed the gap, Reinaan kicked off the creature's back and away from it to avoid the coming surge of electricity. His landing was less than graceful but it was better than the alternative. His inability to injure the thing directly frustrated him and so he readied himself for when the area was clear of Lindow's discharge. Whether by spear or claw he intended to run the monster through if it survived the Thunder Chosen's attack.

[LordCowCow]

Keres pulled the water back. She was breathing heavier. Her vision starting to fade. She could feel her body struggling to keep the spirit housed inside of her. It wasn't over yet however and she was certain she'd need its power yet. So she grit her teeth and concentrated.

The fire surrounding the elemental flared to life once again and Reinaan just barely avoided being tossed off by the monster's thrashing. Lindow's magic hit the creature and the cracks that he had formed with his swings finally gave way. The elemental's chest shattered and the creature's rib-cage simply fell apart. Still the thing continued even though all that remained was a spine, which seemed to trail along the ground, and a skull.

It twisted downward and let out another stream of flames towards Lindow.

Keres realized if this went on for too long eventually the fire would wear them down. She gathered up her remaining water and raised it in the air, forming essentially a hammer of the liquid.

However the elemental was now swaying back and forth, moving in a winding pattern, and Keres feared that if she attacked it now she'd miss and her water would be wasted.

She needed them to slow it down. To keep it in one spot. Then perhaps they could finally end this.

 

OOC

Spoiler

Small post but hopefully it's enough to go off of. Hopefully the boys can figure out what needs to be done. Might have to work together.

 

[Doggo]

Lindow's magic had further reduced the flaming skeleton's form. And yet it still moved to attack the Thunder Chosen despite only being a spine and skull. Reinaan used the moment to examine what he could. Water was going to be their best bet and Keres seemed just as aware of that as she prepared an attack. Yet she didn't immediately unleash her attack, making the boy think she lacked confidence in it hitting as things stood. He'd need to stop it from moving in some way. As he examined the spine of the thing he noticed amidst the flames a chip missing in the bone that unknown to the Draken Damien had made earlier. Would cracking the spine further halt its movement? That much he didn't know. But maybe he could do more than crack it. He could feel the time he'd spent combined with Ziiyol straining him.  But this strain gave him an idea. He looked at his left hand for a moment before extending the flame claws off of his fingers.

"I need everything you got Ziiyol..." he thought as he turned to the elemental again. Maybe fire couldn't directly injure this thing but the boy doubted it would hold up well under an explosion. Reinaan charged the elemental from behind, his only goal to thrust the flaming claws into the chipped section of the spine. He'd push every ounce of Ziiyol's power out that he could. He'd make the backfire explosion happen. He'd take the injury to his hand so long as it shattered this annoying monster to pieces.

"Lindow! Keres! Get ready!" he called out as even now he could sense instability in the spirit's magic running through his body.

[Hollow]

"Lindow! Keres! Get ready!"  

Lindow didn't need the boy's call to action. Already in motion yet again to dodge the Elemental's flame breath, the Thunder Chosen glanced towards Reinaan just in time to see the large explosion suddenly erupt from his claws. Having witness this happen once before, it took only seconds for him to realize that this was the effect of the boy overcharging his magic... a risky move, but possibly exactly what they needed. 

Watching as bits of the spine shattered and lodged themselves into the boy's as the young draken was sent flying back, Lindow steeled his gaze and shifted his direction so that he was running straight towards the elemental, which was swaying back and forth on it's damaged spine. It was his turn to take a risk now. "Fall..." Lindow hissed whilst gripping his blade with two hands. Reaching the flaming monster in moments, he grit his teeth and swung the Bandit Cleaver through the fire and into what remained of the Elemental's spine, shattering it completely as he passed. 

Even with his monstrous tolerance for punishment, Lindow could do nothing hide his pained expression as he glanced down at the burns he suffered from passing through the magical inferno. Nonetheless, he continued to push forward, only bringing himself to a sliding halt when he had reached Reinaan who's wounds were much worse then his own...

"I hope you didn't plan on dying back there..." He hunched by the the young warrior and offered him his shoulder whilst peering down the ruined scales on the Fire Chosen's arm for just a moment. "Suicide attacks are such a tired cliché." Briefly he wondered if even the Light Spirit's magic would be able to mend such an injury, but Lindow quickly pushed the idea out of mind as he turned to face their foe once more. It was up to Keres to finish the job now...

[LordCowCow]

Reinaan, one arm burnt up to the elbow, with several shards of bones in his body, would find it difficult to do much more. Even as the spirit was forced out of his body and thus put less strain on him.

Which left Keres and, to a lesser extent, Lindow as the last fully functional Chosen up here. And Keres was finally ready to attack. She raised up the aquatic hammer and slammed it down on the elemental, who had fallen to the ground after the attacks, and the water completely smothered the flames coming from the creature. There was an otherworldly hiss and a cloud of steam as the water made contact with the flames.

Keres grit her teeth as the flames bit at the water, fighting back despite the natural weakness, but she held true and, when the water splashed across the rocks and faded, the flames had all but died out.

The remains of the elemental was now simple five feet of spine attached to a large skull. Its eyes flashed and its teeth clacked together as it snaked its way into the air. The creature was weak and yet...there was a dark energy still inside of it. It wanted to kill them. And it would still attempt to. With disturbing swiftness given its state of being it moved towards Reinaan with the obvious intent to take the boy between its skeletal jaw and crunching down on him.

"Someone...f-finish...it, quick." Keres called out, coughing as Flux moved its way out of her body.

"What a gross beastie. It doesn't even have arms." Flux said.

"But, you..." Keres didn't finish the thought. Flux's lack of self-awareness wasn't exactly the most important thing here.

[Hollow]

Lindow heard Kere's warning only seconds before the remains of the skeletal monster came into view. Watching the creature snake it's way towards him and Reinaan with frightening speed, Lindow took a step to the side as if he were leaving the Fire Chosen for dead, only to suddenly spring forth again once the creature opened it's mouth to bite down on the boy. 

Snarling between breaths, the Thunder Chosen stepped forward and swung his blade into the Elemental's open jaws just before they could close around Reinaan. A metallic clang rung out as the monster responded by slamming its mouth shut, before beginning to thrash around in an attempt to pull the blade from Lindow's hands.

With very little time to think, Lindow tightened his grip on the Bandit Cleaver. Pitting his remaining strength against that of the Elemental's, Lindow growled with effort whilst doing his best to force set of skeletal jaws away from Reinaan. It was tough, but with each push found himself able to take yet another step forward, forcing the creature back on it's spine. Satisfied with the distance he had gained, the Thunder Chosen called upon his spirit's magic once more, causing arcs of electricity to briefly dance in the air around him in a violent burst.

Though it lacked the strength to do any real damage, the stunning effect of Lindow's weakened Discharge was just potent enough to let him rip his blade free from the Elemental's grip. As the last traces of magic flickered from his eye, Lindow stepped forward to strike at the creatures' nape, only to be forced to shift and pivot backwards to avoid a swing from the Elemental's tail-like spine. Unwilling to fall, Lindow skillfully shifted the direction of his attack so that the Bandit Cleaver would hack at the spine. 

 

[Doggo]

Ziiyol had begen reforming in the air above where her Draken companion lay. She would normally be laughing but she felt as though their connection had been forced apart rather than Reinaan simply releasing her power. What could have caused that she could only wonder. It took her a moment but eventually here eyes caught her partner. He was sitting up but then that was only because there had been a wall in his way when the explosion of the claws had sent him flying back. There were several deep wounds were parts of the shattered elemental had pierced through his scales, all of them slowly leaking blood down the boy's body and onto the ground. Something seemed off with his left arm in particular. It was still black in color yet it didn't seem to be scaled. And towards the elbow actual pink flesh was visible. His scales started again just above the elbow. It wasn't taking the spirit long to realize what the boy must have done with her power. But what was there for her to do about it?

"Reiny!" she called in alarm as she hovered near. She reached a hand out toward him but hesitated to actually do so. Reinaan meanwhile coughed some, sending jolts of pain through his body from the various puncture wounds. Lindow's words brought some form of sense back to him. The boy was honestly surprised to still be here and wondered why his left arm wasn't hurting. But it only took a glance to realize it was because his scales had been blasted away and the flesh of arm was covered almost entirely in third degree burns. The claws on that hand had been torn apart as well, several now streaming blood into a puddle on the ground as the quick had been breached. He didn't dare try to move the limb but did use his still decent right arm to accept Lindow's shoulder.

"Heh... This? Kill me? It's gonna tak-" the boy struggled to speak. And in fact he didn't have long as Lindow soon left his side entirely. The sudden movement left the Draken unbalanced and his legs gave out on him as he stumbled backward into a sitting position on the ground. Even after Keres' attack the elemental lived and looked to continue its assault. The Thunder Chosen interrupted and began struggling to push it away from Reinaan. The boy wanted to help, but his body and injuries disagreed with the idea. He looked around for his spear. He'd been holding it in his good hand. He caught sight of it near the rock formation's edge. Definitely out of reach. Despite his condition the boy attempted to crawl with his one good arm and his legs towards his trusted weapon. What he thought he could do with it once he had it he didn't think about. He just couldn't leave his own defense entirely to his friends who were each tiring quickly as the battle dragged on.

[LordCowCow]

Keres let out a sigh of relief as she saw Lindow dodge the elemental's attack. She could see from her position that it was basically over now. The creature had tried to rear up once more but Lindow's attack landed on part of its spine before it could really make a move. The bone shattered and the upper half of the elemental detached entirely. Which left its skull to land on the ground with a hard thud.

There was a flashing in the creature's eye sockets yet but it was dimming by the moment and, soon after, the skull burst into flames. Unlike the fire from before though this didn't seem to be aiding the creature that used to be a mage. Before their eyes the skull cracked and splintered, exploding in some kind of dark energy, and a definitive stillness followed soon after.

Keres waited a few moments until she was sure it was clear and then pushed herself forward. They were all injured as it was and she had to do what she could to stabilize everyone.

As she started forward her eyes caught the Demon Gate and she hesitated. They weren't fully done here yet. Despite the major threat being destroyed the gate still remained. And she could still feel its evil.

From where the elemental's remains lay a glowing orb, similar to that which they had encountered against the Lamia, but larger, formed.

Spoiler

Not much but uh...yeah, that's the finish of the fight. I'd like everyone, including Nai and Skaia, to post.

 

[Skaia]

Having eventually stabilized Gilly's wounds and making sure they were fine, Ryia was felt with a small sense of relief. This was only made to be a greater one as she saw that the fire atop the rock spire suddenly vanish. While she was unsure of what the truth was, she waited for a moment to see if it would relight, only to think that all was good now that it had stopped. Looking to Anis, the girl said, "we should...check on them too. Could you um...help with..." She gestured to Gilly and Hob. Regardless of her response, Ryia would put the halfling atop the the mule and with great effort and one arm attempt to move Hob over to the base of the rock platform. Once they were there, the girl would begin to climb up the rock spire, slowly and with each step causing a burning sensation to move through her legs until she had finally made it to the top. 

Her eyes were naturally drawn to the black sphere, the dread and unease coming from it only made plenty more apparent by the proximity she now observed it from. Looking instead to the battered and beaten, yet living team members of hers, she let out a huge sigh of relief. Concern crossing her expression next, she asked, "have we....did you guys defeat him?"

[Doggo]

For all his efforts Reinaan had done little more than leave a trail of his own blood smeared out across the rock. But he had managed to drag himself to his spear which he now needed to use to prop himself up to even just sit to see what was happening. As he turned about he saw Lindow conclude his bout with the elemental. There was nothing left but the skull lying on the ground which alarmingly burst into flames before it burst apart. The Draken boy could hear nothing for a moment but his own ragged breathing as he stared at what was left behind. It was another object like what the snake woman and bandit boss had left. Each had sent a surge of strength into the boy and this one seemed bigger than either.

While the sense of imminent danger was gone, the looming dread still sat heavily in the lizard's heart. The demon gate was still here. And if left alone it was probably going to mutate Kloqah into a horrific monster within the hour if the sharks were anything to go off of. Reinaan thought to call the mount to him but decided against bringing her any closer to its influence. His mind had thought of his salve but no quantity of it was going to stop his bleeding or save the non-existent scales of his left arm. It was all the boy could do to just keep still where he was sitting near the platform's edge. Movement only shifted the bone splinters in his wounds drawing out fresh pain and more blood. Ziiyol hovered about him in clear distress but then Reinaan being hurt was the only thing to elicit such responses from her usual carefree self. He simply focused on his breathing. Every breath meant he was still alive. That was the focus. This continued for a moment until a voice caught his attention. Ryia had ascended the stony steps to see the end results of the fight.

"Pretty sure... it's dead..." Reinaan gasped out between heavy breaths in response to her question. Attempting to talk proved more draining than he'd thought and so he stopped straining to support himself with his spear before slumping down onto the floor face-down.

[Hollow]

"He certainly made us work or it, that one...." Lindow breathed in deeply. Slowly returning the Bandit Cleaver to it's scabbard, he took a moment reach out and absorb his portion of the energy from the Boss Soul, before finally turning to study the new arrivals. "It was tough. But it looks like we won..." His breathing was rugged, and his hands felt raw and tender from the their brushes with the flame. "Tough" was quite the understatement...

A dim glow could be seen shining from between Lindow's palms as he begun using Light's magic mend his burns. "To be honest, I was certain that killing mage would put a stop to the gate as well..." As he healed, the man's gaze lingered on the Demon Gate, and it's horrific aura. It was their final hurtle, and the first glimpse at what the rest of their journey would hold. "Any idea where the off button is, little Keres?" 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Hollow

[LordCowCow]

Keres was staring at Ryia as everyone spoke up. Specifically her arm. "Are you in pain?" She asked, offering to help ease said pain with her magic.

Then came Lindow, "Any idea where the off button is, little Keres?" 

The girl cast him a sideways glance, letting loose a sigh of frustration. Her face remained expressionless but she didn't stop the verbal sign of annoyance from slipping out. Nonetheless she moved towards the gate. Truthfully she wasn't sure how this all worked but thankfully Flux was more than willing to explain.

"We gotta activate it." At Keres's look he quickly continued. "Only for a moment, it's fine, it's fine. See, how it works is I go in there and turn it on, then I go in you and we break that orb. Normally it's indestructible so this is the only way to make it....destructible. Any spirit can do it, and any Chosen, providing they mix with their Spirit." Keres glanced briefly over at Lindow but then nodded.

"Go." She said to the spirit, who then flew directly into the strange orb.

There was a silence and then the orb began to shine brightly. And spin, faster, faster, and faster still. The area in between the pillars, under the orb, started to move. First it merely looked like blurred space but then it started to form shapes. Twisting, full of dark colors, with vague faces and limbs occasionally popping up and disappearing.

Everyone would feel a strong sense of wrongness coming from the gate. A sickening feeling. A terror. Lindow would be affected most, hearing voices in his head, and feeling torn between running away and diving right into the gate itself.

Flux then left the orb and, seemingly in a rush, directly into Keres. Who gasped out as she felt a swelling of power. Her body trembled as she raised her hand and brought forth a spout of water. It slammed into the orb and wrapped around it, as though trying to crush it.

Keres trembled more, sweat pouring down her face, and she began to breath heavily. There were screams coming from the gate and spectral figures came out of it and passed through Keres's body. Every time that they did she shook, gasped in pain, and nearly collapsed. Yet she stayed standing. Kept on the pressure.

And then the orb cracked, and shattered, and the phantoms faded away.

The screaming silenced.

The wrongness slowly faded.

And then the pillars collapsed in on themselves.

Keres fell to her knees, breathing heavily, eyes blurred and vision swimming before her.

But the gate was destroyed.

As the group reacted to what just occurred and rest up someone would eventually find a trapdoor that led into a small living area inside of the rock formation. Various scrolls covered most of the area. With somewhat hard to read and rambling writing all over it. But that wasn't the only things in it. Gold, and various magical items as well.

And at the far end of the room, near what seemed to be a bed, was an orb. Orange and yellow in color. With a soft glow and warmth coming off from it.

 

OOC

Spoiler

The items are as follows:

2000 Gold
Small shield with enchantment that allows it to block any non magic projectiles that the holder sees coming automatically.
Cloak that allows the wearer to muffle noises they make and any smell they have. However it causes the wearer to get more physically tired the longer they wear it.
Boots that allow wearer to walk on surface as though it were solid ground, including liquid, as long as they held their breath.

 

[Skaia]

Standing there, Ryia looked to Keres as she asked about her pain. The girl merely nodded, though was reluctant to receive any help at first due to the state everyone else was in. However, before the group could truly rest, they first needed to deal with the gate in front of them. As Keres moved to demonstrate how they were destroyed, Ryia became equal parts worried, horrified, terrified and nauseated. She could only imagine the feelings that Keres herself was feeling as the person interacting with it, but only stood still as the woman continued to push against it. Eventually, the orb shattered and all the feelings that were welling around her seemed to fade. What came next was a sense of worry as she made her way over to the water witch asking, "are - are you alright?" Ryia had no idea what she would even do for the girl were she not, yet she still kept close to make sure that she was able to move on her own and that there was nothing wrong with her. All that was clear to her now was what exactly they were up against, and why it needed to be stopped.

Afterwards, the girl simply sat down and kept to herself for the time being, insisting that the others have their wounds treated first before her, seeing the varying burns and other wounds that they had sustained. Though Ryia could still barely move her arm, and doing so continued to bring her great pain, she figured it was still the far more manageable of the wounds. While resting around, though, the girl eventually noticed something off about the platform they were on. Walking over to it, the girl bent down and examined it further, seeing that it was some kind of opening pane in the rock. Placing her hand on it, the girl managed to pull it up, revealing it to actually be a trapdoor that lead further into the rocks. "Um, guys...I found something." 

Once she was sure everyone was good to go, and that it was advisable to actually go down there, Ryia took point in moving down the trap door. Once in there, the girl began to briefly examine the surroundings, seeing a few articles of clothing and a shield that stuck out to her, alongside the myriad of scrolls that littered the room. The last thing that stood out in the room was literally glowing. Staring at the glowing stone, Ryia pointed to it saying, "I...I think we found um..." The girl didn't really remember what to call it, but made her way over to it to pick it up all the same. 

The stone itself was warm to the touch and the light it shone was bright enough to light the room. Looking at it, she could feel her eyes begin to sting and water as she stared at it for too long, as if she had stared directly at sun in the sky. The stone itself also was comfortably warm, but she could slowly feel it heating up and knew that if she kept onto it for too long that comfort would give way to less pleasant feelings. All the same, she said, "we should return it."