Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Date: 36th of Ymiden
Weapons: Scythe, Shield

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Praetorum stilled in concentration as he attempted to focus on everything at once; keeping an eye out for anything sneaking up on him, making sure his comrades were still holding their own, and trying to formulate a battle plan, all while attuning to the necromancer's frequency.

Edyn was flagging, that much was obvious. Even in a battle of defiance, where she was nearly as good as a mage could get without revealing, she was slowly but surely losing. The necromancer had pushed her on the defensive, and she could only occasionally get off a shot of her own. Even those were sloppy, lacking the precise control he was used to seeing from her.

<She's getting weaker.> Sap whispered in his mind. <Not much to take from her now. Tired.>

Neither Clarissa nor Selyin wore hone runes; most likely, Edyn hadn't had the time to draw them on the two fighters. Had they been fighting continuously this whole time, without even a moment to breath? It was clear that they were starting to flag too; Clarissa's shield had dipped lower than it should have, leaving a slight opening, and Selyin was, uncharacteristically, gripping her longsword with both hands.

The necromancer, on the other hand, looked to be in fighting form, pacing the edges of the battle as he rained stone and flame on the three yari. He seemed antsy, impatient, but by no means lacking in energy, as it seemed he left much of the fighting to his undead pets.

If that were the case, the best move Prae could make would be to force him into a close range battle; that would leave Edyn free to help the other two dispatch the wolves. As long as Prae could keep the man pinned...

There was a flash of movement, and then a cry of pain as the smell of blood filled the air. In that instant, an attunement note sang out, so clear and loud and devastatingly hungry that it made his mouth water, and the starved one sprang into action, charging towards the trio of mercenaries. Giving up on all pretense of stealth, Prae started sprinting towards the battle too, moving to cut off the necromancer who he could hear now was almost feral with hunger.

Edyn threw up wall after wall of stone to try and block the man from approaching, and he simply took to the air, leaping over them as he flew towards a fallen and bloodied Selyin.

Praetorum got there first, and, leaping into his path, drawing a shriek of rage and desperation from him as Prae slammed his shield into the man, sending him flying.

Snatching the well he'd found earlier, he tossed it hastily to Edyn. "Here, top up. I'll take the necromancer, you hold off the wolves." She wouldn't let them die.

He wouldn't let them die.

As if in agreement, the ring of runes on his arms flashed, and spun, then disappeared. There was a gasp from Clarissa as runes appeared on both her and Selyin, but Prae didn't have the time to acknowledge it. The necromancer was already back, his face twisted grotesquely as he charged.

<Sap, now!>

Date: 36th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Weapons: Scythe, Shield

Without hesitation, his constant companion sent out a tendril of itself, laying a trap right in front of his foe. Despite the gravity of the situation, Prae smiled grimly as the necromancer charged directly into it, not a note of realization in his song.

<Take his speed.> Prae instructed. Leaping into the air, he flew over the baying wolves, trusting that Edyn and Clarissa would keep them busy while he was fighting.

The noise that emerged from the starved one then did not seem like it had ever been human, and his whole body seemed to ripple as his frequency shifted. Prae had only a moment of alarm before his opponent warped into a bear, more grotesque than any Prae had ever seen before.

Unlike the undead thing Prae had fought earlier, this bear seemed alive, at least nominally. But its teeth and fangs were too long, too sharp, and seemed more like bone protrusions than anything else. It's fur was streaked through with dirt, and where its navel should have been was instead a drooling, snapping mouth, with those same bone teeth and a half rotted tongue.

Fates, but he hated fighting becomers. As the wind wrapped around his feet, Praetorum leaped out of the way of its charge, slashing at its neck as the creature charged. The cut it made was shallow, but at least it proved this thing could bleed, so his scythe would still work in this fight, unlike the last.

Wheeling around, the starved one rose up on its hind legs, and brought its front paws crashing down hard on the ground with a roar. And under Prae's feet, the earth screamed as it shattered apart, quaking and roiling violently. Again rage boiled up from inside of Praetorum. It was one thing to twist and shape the soft soil and surface boulders, but this starved one was ripping into the very roots of the earth beneath them. The ground was crying out in pain, and he knew the other defier could hear it. This was old ground, steady ground, and it had spent years in a shape most comfortable to itself, and now this bastard, this heartless, senseless monster of a mage was ripping it up, toppling trees and dragging up bedrock... and for what?

There was no plan in its mind, Prae could hear that clear enough in its frequency. There was nothing but rage at being denied, pain from the cut along its neck, and that ever present, unending hunger. Whoever this man had been before, however well it had been able to feign humanity earlier in the trial, it was little more than a mad, feral animal now. He could hear the note of its attention wavering, sometimes laced with danger, other times with hunger.

<Can't take his eyes off his next meal.> Prae growled mentally as he leaped into the air, trying to figure out his plan of attack.

<I know the feeling.> Sap commented. <It'll take a while for me to finish digesting this one.>

The bear bellowed at Prae, and two of the wolves turned around to leap at him. In a flash, one was dragged into the embrace of the earth and crushed, while the other lost its head to Clarissa's sword. A quick glance revealed that she wore his runes now (and deep inside, his hone spark growled in satisfaction. She was his to protect, his to save.)

The bear charged again, only this time, it copied Prae's tactic, wrapping itself in a cloak of wind to chase after him.

Smugness rang loud in its frequency, and Praetorum could immediately see why. The creature's frequent flayings had left it horrifically powerful, and there was just no getting around the fact that in the air, it was faster than him.

The creature was on him in an instant, surging up over Prae's head and then dropping down on him, paws raking over the pauldrons of his leather armor as it pinned him to the shattered ground. It had clearly expected to puncture right into them, and Prae heard a note of shock and disorientation when its claws skimmed right off of them, leaving only shallow scratches. Even so, Prae barely just managed to get his shield up in between it and himself, narrowly avoiding getting bitten by either mouth.

They were too close for Prae to use his scythe, so he dropped it with great reluctance, and used his free hand to slam the heel of his hand into the bear's snout. There was a blindingly bright burst of blue light, and a rune burst into existence between the bear's eyes. The creature let out a call of alarm as its vision sharpened to an almost painful degree, then screamed in agony as Prae called a bright burst of flame into existence between their faces, squeezing his own eyes shut to spare his own sight.

With his eyes still shut tight, Prae squirmed his tail up under his shield to activate the rune of endurance on his chest, dispersing it around his body. With his enemy still distracted above him, and a renewed burst of energy, Prae managed to hook his feet under his shield, and kicked up, just managing to throw the bear off of him with hone enhanced strength.

Prae scrambled to his feet, snatching his scythe up, and then immediately twisted around to stab at his opponent's throat. Its twisting and writhing in pain threw his aim off, and his scythe sank into the creatures shoulder instead, drawing another enraged bellow from the bear.

Yanking his scythe out, Prae prepared to strike again, however many times it took to kill this monster.

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