Soul Saber: Act 3

[Deimos]

((I PMed you about that Tass))

*Sho remained sitting by the tree that he landed into for a moment as part of the tengu group rushed Will...and the remaining few of the fifteen headed for the distanced thief and necromancer. The sight of his blood spilling from his abdomen gave him an immediate adrenaline rush that allowed him to overlook his condition. He wasn't quite in a berserker rage, but it was enough to turn him into something else. Sho leaped from his tree, and blew out a tremendous azure fireball that scorched some of the tengu that headed to Tass and Katt to near death. He didn't land properly however, and tumbled a bit; he got up and coughed more blood than he was spilling from his gut. He scoffed it off and laughed menacingly, and alternated between impaling and knocking over each tengu he burned through the chest and over the head respectively. He rolled back, but stumbled half-way through and fell to his face. Sho staggers back up, and simply smirks before screaming at the top of his lungs*

Sho: *cough* COME ON! *cough cough* BRING IT ON!!!

[Cobra5]

*Will, normally an offensive fighter, can't seem to get a good shot in.*

*When using his bastard sword, Will relys on single powerful strikes- He's brutal and goes straight for the weak spots. He may seem a bit slow about it at times, but he makes sure his hits count.*

*But with so many Tengu, he couldn't get enough time to draw for a proper strike. Especially since Sho has been knocked back, it seems- some more of the tengu had shifted their attention to Will. His blade and scale armor were, thankfully, heavy enough to at least keep him safe.*

*There came a point in the battle where all four of the tengu at Will's front attacked at once- with proper placement, he stopped them all with his sword. His bastard sword's entire length was deflecting all manner of weapons. The four of them pushed as hard as they could against Will's blade, and it took Will's full strength just to saty upright. He braced himself, and with the full exertion of his body (and a gasping battlecry) he pushed them all staggering backwards. They shuffled into the other Tengu standing behind, who were at the time, waiting for a chance to get in on the action. They all began triping on eachother.*

*Before they could regain their balence, Will set upon the foremost of the four them imediatly. He put his pommel strait to it's face- and, moments later, as the Tengu just barely began to clutch its face, WHAM! Will put his full upper body strength into a second pommel smash to the Tengu's already wounded head. The sheer force knocked it to the ground, and it didn't get back up.*

*The others watched, but now had their weapons ready. Will drew a dagger in his offhand, and took a defensive stance...*

[Tassatul]

*Some of the tengu decide that fighting the crazy warrior with the naginata and the other man with the big sword might not be a great idea, and move instead towards the easier targets of a female with a bow and a necromancer kneeling beside her*

"Looks like we got company, Katt. Get ready!"

*Tass focuses on a nearby corpse for a moment. Green mist seeps from its wounds and orifices and forms a large, transparent green shield, which floats over to Tass's outstretched hand*

"This should help us a bit" he says to Katt.

*He plants the ethereal shield in the ground, protecting a large section of the two's left side. From behind it, Katt fires off her arrows, and Tass uses his spells like projectiles, hitting tengu as they try to get close. As with any defence, it is not perfect, and a few manage to dodge the deadly arrows and magicka and get close*

"Watch out!" yells Tass, rolling to the right, barely escaping a tengu blade.

*Hands flashing green, he strikes the tengu square in the face. The bird-creature blinks, then continues his assault, probably amused at the necromancer's feeble attempt to stop him. Suddenly, he stumbles, for his vision has dimmed significantly. Two black blotches have grown over his eyes, impairing his eyesight. Seconds later, an arrow sprouts from his forehead*

"Thanks Katt!" he shouts, before dodging back to his position by the shield.

[Deimos]

*This time around, Will provided the distraction for Sho to act upon. And as much he'd like to help out Tass and Katt, Will was in his direct vicinity and not to mention...in his condition, he had to be a little cautious, as much he didn't want to admit it. That being, Sho ran toward Will while the Tengu he faced had their backs turned.*

In a duel...i'd never strike anyone like this...however...this isn't a duel...

*Sho threw his naginata into the backs of one of the tengu, and before the surrounding ones could react, he leaped onto it and pulled out his weapon. He back flipped off and did a low sweep to knock down two more and finally drop the element of surprise. The back line of tengu then realized that they were caught between a man with large sword who push them all back and another who was bleeding like crazy, while brandishing a large naginata. He knew he didn't have Will's strength...but he did have good speed and something else. Within a matter of seconds...Sho's naginata was covered in a blue flame...so hot that it burned the very grass around it*

Sho: "HEY! WILL! how good are you at playing the counting game eh?"

*The tengu that had their attention on Sho decided to strike first. Sho quickly parried their sword swings, while warping their blades with the heat of his own. He then rolled back, and leapt straight into the sky leaving azure vapor trails...and came down with a thundering crack as the flames from his naginata erupted. At the clearing of the smoke...two of four were knocked out cold and the others were ash piles at the bottom of his naginata*

Sho: "i'll call that four"

*He then cracks a smirk while taking a battle stance after recovering from the jump. The remaining half of the tengu that were focused on Sho simply stood around him in a semi-circular formation...swords drawn in defense...with looks of partial horror upon the ashen remains of two of their brethren. Unfortunately for Sho...that particular move was desperate...leaping great heights has always taken put stress on his legs...but in his current condition...the effect was tenfold. And it was going to hit him sooner than he'd realize*

((just thought i'd add a touch of LoTR there...and also, if it's overdoing it- tell me please?))

[copyKatt]

*from behind the protection of the sheild, Katt starts launching arrows as fast as she could manage. the group of tengus that were charging towards the off party were getting pegged, but between armor and their agility, the arrows were only doing so much damage. Everytime an arrow did hit, you could tell they had an extra impact. the Tengu would recoil back like it got a hard hit from a brass knuckle *

* A tengu managed to get into close quarters with Tass and Katt. She didnt have the time to switch her bow with any of her melee weapons, so luckily Tass had the problem under control. After he had impaired the Tengu, Katt saw a perfect oppotunity for a head shot. in a split second, the tengu fell to the ground.*

"Thanks Katt!" Tass shouts. he dodges back behind the barrier with her.

*Katt just winked turned her attention back to the battle. Everytime an arrow was launched from her bow, a trail of green mist followed it from Tass's enchantment. one streaked across the battle field and took out a tengu that was distracted by an eruption of blue flame from another part of the fight. *

"i dont know tass, im not sure how long we can hold off these tengu at range, we need some brute force over here and the other two are occupied"

*Katt launches off another green streaked missile. It hit a tengu in the arm and knocked it back, but it just kept coming*

"I can delay them for a little longer but... heh, cover your eyes Tass"

*Katt pulls up her goggles and whips out a potion from her belt. she shakes it violently and rolls out from behind the barrier. the bright purple bottle gets lobbed into the middle of the group of on coming tengus. They watch the obnoxious bottle fly through the air and try to avoid getting hit. it hits the ground and does nothing. The bewildered tengus recoil for a second, staring at the bright bottle, and BAM! a flash seemingly as bright as the sun erupts fromt he bomb. The blinded tengus clutch their eyes and fall to their knees.*

"i love flash bombs.. dont worry the other fighters wont be effected-"

*Katt whips out her bow again, and begins picking off the stunted tengus*

"-it only really gets you if your looking at it."

[Cobra5]

*The Tengu's numbers were begining to thin. Slowly but surely, they were being worn down.*

*Will fought with his dagger and sword in spinning patterns. By spining his whole body, it allow him to put more force behind his Bastard sword, a bit to heavy to get a good hit in with just one hand otherwise. After landing a blow or having it parried, he would turn a bit more to bring his dagger to bare- usually to block, and only occasionally to attack. During this action, he would bring his bastard sword back to its ready postion, preparing for another spin of attacks*

*This allowed him to combat multiple enemies more efficiantly, as he always had a weapon in front and to his sides. He was still spending more mind to defense then offense, however.*

*With a heavy blow to the head, he knocks another Tengu to the ground, more through brute force then a sharp blade. He keeps the sword going, and blocks an attack to his side with it. He prepares his dagger...*

"That's only three." *He slices with his dagger, but its deflected* "...But I'll catch up!"

[Deimos]

Sho: "not bad! -let me try this"

*Sho, threw his naginata into the tengu that was a few feet in front of him. He then focused the energy coursing within and around his feet, which were soon enough, both covered in their own azure flames. And before the tengu could strke, he was on his hands performing a spinning fire kick maneuver that took out two more tengu around him, and burned a few others in their upper body areas. WHen he got to the one impaled with his naginata- he spun onto his legs and pulled his weapon out. He then jumped up and kicked the tengu out of the way*

Sho: "Heh...guess that only netted me three as well"

*Their numbers were quickly dissipating- but it was still going to be hell to finish the battle. The tengu proved themselves more than an ample opponent for Sho, who's condition has since worsened after his spinning handstand kick trick. But it didn't stop him from going on the offensive, the game was still on after all. He took out a few more with some tricky swings masked the flowing movements of his bandanna.*

Sho: "there's another two!"

[Dr. Dan]

*Kaluth, invisible to the world of men, stood behind the barrier his apprentice had created, intrigued by the magics Sho has power over. He had seen magics similar to his once before, a Magnificat fighter who was the personal bodyguard of a king. Feared by many for his short temper and agility with multiple weapons at the same time.*

*Kal looked at his apprentice, and smiled. Tassatul was doing very well. He would be ready for the trials...*

*A Tengu crept up behind Katt, Tass, and Kal. Only Kal was aware of his presence, and so only Kal bothered to take care of him.*

*A seething rage overtook the mage. It has been too long since his last spellcasting. The Tengu, the lone noble warrior who thought he had an edge in the encounter, found himself face to face with Kaluth. Draped the robes as black as a demon wizard, and adorned with small golden symbols of power the Tengu had no idea was even possible. Kaluth was quite visible now, dismissing the invisibility, and staring from under his black hood at the now-fearful Tengu. The Tengu stabbed out, and felt the blade sink deep through the black robes into the flesh of the mage beneath it. Succsess! He then smiled and twisted the blade. This mage was nothing!*

*Only then, when the Tengu realized that his opponent was not recoiling, not falling, not responding, did he look up into the eyes of his opponent. Kaluths eyes were glowing brightly, and the Tengu realized he had made a mistake attacking this one.*

*The illusion infront of the Tengu dissapeared, his sword was freed and, to his horror, bloodless. Kaluth, standing 5 feet behind his attacker, released the magic locked away in his hands. The Tengu found himself being lifted from the ground by a glowing hand that had somehow materialized around his neck. He dropped his sword, and tried to release the hand from his neck. The hand rose with the Tengu 10 feet from the ground and then turned him effortlessly to face Kaluth, who was floating 10 feet behind him. Kaluth, coursing with black whisps of energy, flicked his wrist, and laughed a laugh so evil it made the Tengu’s hair stand up on the back of his neck. With that flick, he conjured a long flaming whip from his hand that grew longer and longer. The mage was in his glory, and the Tengu knew this was his end.*

“Your only mistake,” Kal began, “Was attacking the wrong person...”

*The whip lashed out, not once, but a thousand times at once, for it split it self a thousand times before it struck the helpless Tengu with a thousand loud cracks of flame. The Tengu’s scream turned the blood of all who heard it cold.*

* What pleased Kal most, was that the Tengu was not dead. The bloody and burnt body was beyond recognition. His head lolled backwards, and his hands dangled to his sides. His body was a mass of shredded flesh, suspended in the air, helpless. The hand around his neck then threw the victim like a ragdoll into the center of the fray, for all the other Tengu to see.*

*Even after the fall, he was still alive...*

*Kal, still floating in the air, descended slowly. The magical whip had extinguished, and the magical whisps of energy had subsided.*

*Kal was satisfied for now, but he still had a thirst for blood...*

[Tassatul]

*Tass stared with a mixture of admiration and fear. The admiration came from the obvious display of power Kal had shown. He had been invisible, then created a mirage of himself, and then proceeded to absolutely mutilate the tengu. The fear came from the expression on Kaluth's face. Tass was sure no one else had noticed it, only because the Master Mage was a very unreadable character, unless, like Tass, one had spent many years with him. Kaluth had enjoyed torturing that tengu, and that worried Tass*

*Not many tengu remained, but all of them had seen Kaluth tear the lone tengu apart. Even their deep hatred of magi could not overcome the sudden great fear of this Master Mage. Abruptly, the battle ended, the remaining tengu dissapearing into the forest, leaving only the unlikely group standing amidst the corpses of the slain. No one had the energy to persue them, least of all Sho, who seemed on the verge of collapse*

"Master Kaluth! You're here!"

((do your thing Al ))

[Deimos]

((no prob ))

*Sho paused as he took notice of the sheer power displayed by mysterious hooded figure. Thankfully, everyone else was doing the same. It was then, that Sho recognized the power wielded by the mage*

Sho: "...that energy...that raw magic force...that was the same signature as the fiery ...thing...that I came across during the charge upon Lordsmith...HA...now it makes se-*cough cough*"

*At that point, Sho dropped his fighting stance and looked upon in bemusement as the tengu quickly headed to the dark wood from whence they came. Afterward, there was something of an odd silence...Sho smirked his usual, before suddenly coughing up handfuls of blood. He looked down, and realized then that his red clothes had covered the mass amount of blood loss he incurred. It was then when he let out a small chuckle and fell flat to the ground with a light thud.*

Sho: "................heh"

*For Sho, collapsing wasn't anything new...he's taken more hits to the face than most rams...but this wasn't one he was getting up from. His heartbeat faded away, his amulet of dragon blood pulsated before it was gone*

[Tassatul]

*Tassatul spun around to look at Sho, as suprized at himself as the others seemed to be. He wasn't sure if the sound from his body hitting the ground had alerted him, or if it was the twinge within him, signaling the release of quite of bit of death energy. Whatever the cause, he saw Sho hit the ground*

Perhaps I'll do that thing again, like when I brought back Will. . .

*But the feeling wasn't the same. While Tass was a great deal more powerful than he was when he ressurected Will in the dungeon, what seemed like ages ago, he just wasn't feeling the same. There was no powerful upsurging, no rejection of the death of Sho like there was for Will*

But I don't hate him! Maybe its because I don't know him well enough. ..

*Tass could feel the energies of the tengu corpses slowly dissapating. It seemed wrong to let it all go to waste, although he wasn't sure what he could do with it. Ressurection was certainly no easy feat, even for accomplished mages*

*The corpses of the surrounding tengu started to grow with a green mist. Over each of the broken bodies, a thickening layer of green floated. After a few moments, it seemed to reach its max. Tassatul, instead of converting the energy into shades, decided to call it all unto him. The mist darted over to Tass's figure, where he stood with his arms held up and slightly bent, controlling the death energy through his mind and hands*

*The mist began swirling around him, circling him, remenicent of Kaluth's own performance moments before to everyone who watched. He was lifted up by the fog, and it carried him over to Sho*

This is amazing! Its not a limit break, but I've never felt more powerful! Maybe. . .

*Tass picked up Sho, almost unable to, but with the help of the green mists, he got him off the ground. He held Sho behind the knees and back, and lifted the body up where it could get the most contact with the green cloud around Tassatul. It seemed the right thing to do*

((more later, but i wanted everyone to put up their reactions to everything thats happened))

[Dr. Dan]

*Kal stood, impressed not by the display of energy, for it was truly unremarkable compared to the power he harnessed himself, but by the fact that his apprentice was in fact gaining power. It had been so long since the two of them set out from Kroy. The maggot had become a fly...*

*Bored, he watched and waited for the spectacle to end...*

[Cobra5]

*Will watched as the Tengu did, although more in curiosity and amazment then fear. It was quite a display, and a feeling of hostility washed over Will. He felt... threatened by Kal's display of power, and was actually preparing himself to fight against him.*

*Though, Will shook himself of it. Will had never seen magic before, and he figured such a large display would overwhelm anyone as inexperienced as him.*

*Kal tossed the Tengu's mangled corpse, and it landed very near Will. just at his feet. As the other tengu fled, he noticed the wounded one was still alive, although barely. With a pained expession on his face, Will raised hios sword...*


*Just as he had released the Tengu from his torment, a think green mist began to spill from it... it traced a trail leading to Tassatul, and Will only noticed then that Sho had collapsed.*

[copyKatt]

*Katt watched the two mages display their powers, completly enthralled. She hadnt seen spells and magic even near to this back home. Her limited exposure to this realm made the event more interesting then fearsome, even though that was not a healty reaction to what Kaluth had just done to the Tengu.*

*In a more remote part of the battle feild, a valient warrior of the party fell to the ground with hardly a groan. It wasnt until Tassatul hovered over to Sho that, it seemed, anyone even realized what had happened to him. Kaluth's gruesome spectacle seemed to draw everyones attention away from whatever else was going on. Now, Sho's body hung suspended in the air by Tass's magic. Katt held her breath as she waited to see whether Tass could bring back an ally from the other side yet again. *

[Tassatul]

*Things were very confusing for Tassatul. Holding Sho's lifeless body up in the cloud of green mist, he was unsure of what to do. He had based his actions so far upon his knowledge of wizardry and also on what seemed 'right.' Now he had run out of ideas. This time, he didn't have the blind rage and driving instinct of a limit break to ressurect the dead warrior. Tass grew worried as he looked at the group starting at him. They all seemed so expectant, so willing to believe he could do this thing, this great feat of magic. Will and Katt had barely any knowledge of magic other than Western myths, Tass knew, so they couldn't grasp the immesity of the situation. Kal of course knew, but he didn't seem to be offering any help, merely looking bored with the whole process. Sho might've had a hold on what was going on, but then, here he was, dead in Tassatul's arms.

And what if I fail?

*Tass was worried about the likely posssibility that this whole show would be for nothing, or worse, that he was about to desecrate Sho's body with some form of necromancy unknown to him yet. Would the group be able to accept that? Would they turn on him? If they did, would Kal even protect him, as just see it as another 'challenge'? Tass didn't think he could fight these people who had been his friends through many months of battles*

*While distracted with his own thoughts, Tassatul failed to realize what was happening to the mist around him. As the swriling mist came in contact with Sho's upheld body, it was slowly changing from the dark green of necromancy. It was growing lighter, and hints of orange and red began to appear. After just a few moments, it had turned completely bright red and orange. The form was changing as well. Instead of the misty clouds, it began to flicker and flare, as a fire would. The flickerings became more rapid, and became more solid and moved together. With a flash, the energy powered upward into the sky, forming a great serpentine fire dragon. It curled around in the sky a bit, and then swooped back down to Tassatul's position. He was definitely aware of what was going on now*

A dragon of fire! Sho's magic! This could be it!

*The dragon did not hesitate, but dove directly into Sho's chest. Suddenly, the field was quiet. No sign up wizardry could be seen, only a few warriors, a high mage, and a necromancer barely able to hold up his quarry. All was still*

*Sho spasmed, then coughed*