Soul Saber: Act 3

[Cobra5]

((I feel like I should wait for Sho to go first ))

[Deimos]

((I know, I'm sorry- my bad guys))

*Not too soon after the brilliant dragon of flames had dove back into Sho's body, had he begun to spasm and cough. Then, he went silent again, only this time- his amulet glowed- not its usual soft azure...but a powerful crimson. And just as when he had fallen, it pulsated, sending out shock-waves of energy through the field. With each beating pulse, the amulet glowed brighter- it felt like the heartbeat of a dragon. Then, it shattered, the blood carried within it evaporated as quickly as its vial burst open. Out of the blood colored mist, came an ethereal form. It was the dragon that appeared before, a blood red dragon that appeared as if it was lit ablaze. But this was no ordinary ethereal spirit...as it took steps toward Sho...it shook the very earth beneath it. The dragon called forth the once fallen warrior's name in a deep and angered voice*

Red Dragon: "Sho! SHO! AWAKEN!!!"

*At this point, Sho opened his eyes, and gasped for breath before realizing what had happened. His clothes were still bloodstained...well what was left of it before the large dragon that loomed before him was set free, and the scar that led him to his death had also remained. However...it took him a few moments to realize that the dragon staring him down wasn't an illusion, and that he was in general...not dead anymore*

Sho: "erm...yo, you'll have to give me a bit, i'm not entirely used to coming back from the other side"

Red Dragon: "DON'T BELITTLE ME HUMAN, THAT NECROMANCER REVIVED MY SOUL- IT WAS I THAT GAVE YOU YOUR NEW LIFE, THOUGH I'M NOT YOUR ALLY, I'M HERE THROUGH THE ACTIONS OF YOUR PARENTS..."

Sho: "what, slow down- the actions of my pare- oooh...the amulet"

Red Dragon: "THOSE WHO SLAY MY KIND ARE REWARDED WITH OUR PROTECTION...NOT BY OUR CHOICE"

Sho: "yes, and yet here you are...you came back anyway, when you simply could've up and left"

Red Dragon: "DON'T MOCK ME YOU INSOLENT FOOL"

Sho: "yeah? and you'll what? you'll kill me? then as you nearly had to come to terms to...you'll die along with me"

Red Dragon: "..."

Sho: "As long as i'm alive...your spirit remains on this plain, meaning you get still technically get to be 'alive' in a sense. But seeing as I don't have my amulet anymore...that which keeps you bonded to me...is in fact broken"

Red Dragon: "THEN I AM FREE"

Sho: "Yes, yes you are...if you want to leave this realm that is-"

Red Dragon: "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING HUMAN?"

Sho: "If you cut your bond, your spirit will no longer be yours...and will become one with the universe from whence it came- and here I thought something as wise as you would know that"

Red Dragon: *roars very, VERY loudly*

Sho: "hey hey, calm down...i'll tell you what- I'll LET you inhabit my body to stay on this realm- of course, you'll be within me- but its better than nothing...HOWEVER- you must allow me access to your power without use of the amulet, do so, and you'll be here for a long time"

Red Dragon: "...ha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU'RE SOMETHING ELSE BOY...ARROGANT AND FOOLHARDY. BUT, CONSIDER IT DONE, KEEP SATIATING MY NEED FOR BLOODSHED AND I'LL GRANT YOU MY PROTECTION WITHOUT ANY NEED OF AN AMULET"

*At that, the Dragon unleashed a roar that could be heard in the heavens and for leagues around. After which, it burst into brilliant flames that swirled about before violently diving into Sho's chest where his amulet once lie...Sho was thrown back in the process, but after standing...he looked at his chest, and saw the emergence of a mark that appeared like the dragon's head...burned into it. He then stood up...shaked off the dust, smiles, and looked onto this allies*

Sho: "soooo...i'll tell ya what...death, it hurts like hell *he slowly walks over to them* speaking of which...Tass...no matter what my lifelong partner has to say- you're the only necromancer I know...so thanks- I quite literally owe you my life"

((I hope that was understandable...a giant dragon appeared in front of all of you, and basically empowered Sho))

[Cobra5]

((Well, I understood it just fine ))

*Will was entirely unsure of what just happened. Kal came from nowhere and seemingly unbound the universe around him, then Tassatul revived Sho with mist and magic coming from everywhere, then a dragon leaps forth and makes the earthquakes and fire around him seem normal and mundane.*

*Despite the seriousness of the situation, after a scene like that Will couldn't help but think, Easterners are a bunch of showoffs...*

[Tassatul]

admin said:

*Despite the seriousness of the situation, after a scene like that Will couldn't help but think, Easterners are a bunch of showoffs...*

((haha yes!))

[Dr. Dan]

((Since people either seem to read THIS thread OR the discussion thread, I'll post it in both places -- the faster people post, the faster Tass and I can move on with the quest. And will that made me laugh haha, magic is strange stuff))

[BugHunter]

((wow, that was interesting... the tengu fight, not so much. Hey Al, no fair, my guy is suppost to have a dragon spirit inside of him!))

*Back inside the forest like, magic city of Kroy...*

*Tanyu has been slowly wandering inside the city this whole time. In his hungover state, he's having a hard time registering where he is*

Tanyu: "What kind of a place is this...? Is it just me or are all the buildings in here trees...? Or is it the trees are the buildings...? Although there are a lot of pretty lights around here... hehe, pretty lights...... Damn... maybe I shouldn't have drunken that last beer......"

*Although in his confusion he did manage to notice several mage guards ((its mage guards, right?)) going this way and that in a kinda hurried manner. Curious, he manages to stop and question one*

Tanyu: "hey buddy... Wuts with all the commotion...?"

Guard: "THERE'S A..."

Tanyu: "Oww, not so loud...." *Holds his head. Loud noises hurt people with hangovers*

Guard: "Sorry, a fight between Tengus and some new strangers is happening outside the city's gates" *Scurries along*

*Obviously this guard was referring to the fight involving the other Soul Saber heroes but Tanyu fails to make the correlation*

Tanyu: "hmm, interesting... But is there any place in the world where there is no fighting...? Whatever..."

*Tanyu continues his quest to find the ever helpful anti-hangover egg*

Tanyu: "Why is it so hard to find a watering hole in a place this big...?!"

[Dr. Dan]

((Umm...this is not quite what we had planned. We arent that close to the city. There is still one town in between us and the city (just so everybody else knows) But considering the intencsty of the fight, word could have reached the city. The thing is, the high mage council is worried, and although you were not supposed to find out they are worried till later, the commotion in the city kinda indicates that they are. So this works.

Bug hunter I have a good idea for your character, I'll pm you. ))

[BugHunter]

((hey, no one ever mentioned the town before. Ever. And i got your pm. Everything seems to be in order. And i just put the commotion in because, you know, a big fight between warriors and monsters right next to a town, somebody's got to have noticed. And this brings up another issue that no one answered for me -- were the people inside the city expecting the tengu attack or not? And if they were expecting it, why weren't any of their guards there to fight the tengus?))

[Dr. Dan]

((Tengus = mage haters, and the city generally lets them do whatever they want unless they pose a direct threat to the mage city (which they were not when they attacked the party) They are basically scavengers and play no part in this story whatsoever. Back to the game!))

[BugHunter]

*an hour later*

Tanyu: "...ugh... this place blows... still haven't found a single tavern... and am i going around in circles?"

*Tanyu is acknowledged by a stranger. He's a short stout fellow. He seems a bit aged, around 50-ish. He looks more like a mechanic if anything*

Stranger: "Looks like you could use a drink, my friend"

Tanyu: "Finally... someone speakin my language..."

Stranger: "Come on in and relax in my humble abode"

*Tanyu enters the stranger's small tree-building which looks a bit less maintained than those around it. Inside he finds what looks to resemble a small bar. There are walls filled with hundreds of bottles and potions*

Stranger: "You seem to not be around from here, or a mage at that. I dont really mind. Actually its refreshing to find folks that aren't magic users. Those mages actually annoy me. None of them ever come by my shop."

Tanyu: "Interesting... So you're not a mage?"

Stranger: "Aye. I guess you could say I'm like the local Brewmaster. I specialize in makin ales and several other drinks. I've also tinkered around with potions every now and then since thats the only thing these spell casters buy."

Tanyu: "So, wait... if you're the Brewmaster, then that would make this small place--"

Brewmaster: "Yep. The only real bar in town"

Tanyu: ( ) "Oy..."

Brewmaster: "Hey, it aint much but I do the best I can"

[Tassatul]

*Tass looked over at Sho, who had an odd expression on his face. He thought it looked like Sho wasn't sure whether to be gravely serious or to crack a joke to lighten the mood. Tass smiled slightly, and replied*

"Hey, it was no bi- unh. . "

*Tass dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by the series of events, and at the point of total exhaustion from his ressurection of Sho. His head was swimming, as was most of the landscape around him. From his knees, he slumped to a crouched position, the easiest way to stay at least partially upright. Almost as if from the viewpoint of another, he realized that several more scars like the self-inflicted one he had gotten earlier had patterned themselves across his body. Litterally patterned, these were obviously magical scars, not just random slashing. A vague, rubbing pain was the only way he could detect them, they were not visible through his robes, obviously. Random thoughts floated through his mind*

Man, I'm geting quite powerful. . . then why am I lying here on the ground. . . . a red dragon? I thought they were extinct. . . wonder if this will cause problems with Tanyu. . . my mind is particularly weak right now. . . an accomplished mysticist could penetrate my decisional cortex. . . right next to the preferential fraction. . . gosh im tired. . .

*Tass lay on the ground, eyes rolled back, lips moving slightly

[Deimos]

*Sho tried to catch the seemingly exhausted necromancer to no avail*

Sho: "whoa there, don't you go fallin' too!"

*By the time Tass went into what seemed to him like a trance state, Sho knelt down to take a closer look. As he got close enough feel his energy, he stumbled back a bit. There was an aura about him, that wasn't there before, but just as he felt it...it faded away*

Sho: "...crap, too late...I think i've seen this before though...if it's anything like temporary magic induced shock, I can start repaying you my debt now..."

now if I remember correctly, if it really is what I think it is that's bother him...a basic chakra should be able to relieve this, here goes nothing

*Sho immediately thrusts his naginata into the ground and started to move his hands in the circular motions needed to perform the chakra maneuver...his hands began to glow a bright azure...stronger than it was originally, and once the light was at it's strongest; he 'pushed' the light into Tass. Unfortunately, the light wasn't absorbed by his body as it did in Lordsmith's keep...this time, the light simply faded out. Sho's face for once turned slightly grim*

Sho: "damn...that didn't work...*turns to his allies* but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that he just needs some rest...unless someone else here knows what happened? *makes a passing glance at Kal* otherwise...I'm gonna carry him into town- I could do that much at least"

[Dr. Dan]

Kal walks over to Tass, who is still bumbling around on the ground like a child, and says only one thing, which reverberates thoughout the trees with a low, magical boom.

"....Get up."

Far too quickly for the state he is currently in, Tassatul rose, and stood erect next to his master.

"It is time." Kaluth muttered to himself, loud enough only for Sho to catch.

Tassatul, walking briskly behind his master, followed him into the winding maze of the forest trees.

The group hardly had time to react, as most of them were exahusted after the battle. Sho was the first, being the closest to Kal and Tass, to go after them. With a passing glance over his shoulder at the group, and a look of concern on his face, he dashed off after them.

There was something wrong though, the speed of the two mages was too fast. A magical wind carried them deeper into the forest, faster than the old Kaluth and the injured Tassatul should have been able to walk. Sho could barely keep up with them, and the rest of the group was having trouble keeping an eye on Sho. There was random shouts behind him, commands to "slow down!" but Sho knew that now of all times was not one to lose sight of Tassatul.

Kaluth scanned through the thick trees, and looked for a space that would be suitable...There. The clearing of trees shaped a near perfect circle, just enough.

He stopped at the entrance to the clearing, and took a quick glance behind to see if the goup had infact kept up with them...and sure enough they did not dissapoint.

Kal tread carefully, gathering magic as he walked, preparing to release a wave of magical energy once more. Each slow, measured step took Kal in a circle around the center of the grove. His eyes never wavered from the very center of the circle of trees. Tass walked into the grove and stopped very abruptly when he felt the sheer immensity of magic surrounding the high mage draped in black.

Kals’ long black robes trailed with swirling whisps of black power, and his fingertips left pure lines of black energy in their wake, that hovered in the air and then slowly dissipated into nothingness.

When Kal had nearly completed one entire revolution around the grove, he spoke the spidery language of magic, and stopped at the exact spot he began. The syllables of the spell could be heard by everybody, and came from everywhere at once. Kal quickly snapped both of his wrists together, and a stream of power flowed forth from his hands, coursing as though it were an extension of the mages body, towards the center of the grove. A blast of wind shook the trees, and pushed Kals robes away in protest. The stream stopped in the middle, and a ball of the energy began to form, swirling in a beautifully macabre way, before Kal began to spread his hands apart and widen the stream of magic. The ball followed the progression of its creators hands, and began to warp into an ovular shape, which was still being fed by the now two streams of energy coursing forth from eachs of kaluths separate hands. When he was satisfied with the results, Kal ceased to power the portal, and turned to Tassatul.

“Go.” Was all the mage said, and lifted his hand to point at the portal, which was flickering with lightning and swirling with the dark energies Kaluth had expertly manipulated into creation.

Tassatul walked into the portal, but he did not really know why. He felt no fear, no anxiety…nothing.

As tassatul neared the portal, it reached out, bent and warped, anxious to accept this mortal into the grasp of its energy. And Tass was gone. In his wake the portal wavered like water, but rippled from the spot of his entry were all of the colors of Tassatuls robe. The colors melted towards the rim of the portal, dimming as they mixed with the black energies that created it, eventually turning to nothing.

Kaluth began to follow, but turned to the group before his entry, which was standing around the rim of the grove, unsure of what to do.

“This portal will only accept who I allow it to accept. Follow if you dare…but this portal will destroy you.”

His words were lost in the low rumble the portal created when he stepped through. Arc’s of lightning rippled from the spot Kaluth entered, and then there was nothing left except the portal, which strangely seemed to be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next person.


(((Read the discussion board before you reply to this))))

[Deimos]

*After finally managing to catch up with the mysterious mages, Sho took a gander at the portal that was conjured and couldn't help but feel as if he was looking at his Master before Satios, the Elder Monk Kesaid. The sheer power Kal wielded was just as great as that of the Land's End master...only this power...seemd a bit more malicious. After standing in awe for the moment, he glanced again at the portal which the mages just went through...*

Sho: "well...Tass doesn't seemed to have recovered fully...although...it also doesn't look like he needs assistance. And of course, I've already died once...what's another one to my death check...banzai!"

*Sho took a quick breath and swung his naginata around to his back, and ran holleriong into the portal...*

((seeing as I don't know what's supposed to happen...I'll leave it at that))

[Dr. Dan]

(((I'll wait for a bit on the portal to see if anybody else decides to do the same, if not, I'll post what happens after you enter tomorrow)))

*Meanwhile in the Mage City Kroy*

Brov ran towards the gate, screaming as he went, “ASSMBLE THE GUARD! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY! ASSEMBLE THE GUARD!”

Brov was a huge burley man, and one would never guess him to be a mage. His huge muscles and low voice made him seem more like a brick wall than a fail magic manipulator, but he was in fact a head mage himself, and leader of the city scouts.

The city, although it was teeming with mages, did have a rather powerful city guard, which was full clad in magic-dampening armor and highly enchanted weapons. They were mage hunters, the most elite in the world, which is why the mages would rather them as allies then enemies. They were trained by mages, to kill mages.

As Brov neared the gates, he knew that today was not a good day for an emergency, for about 3/4ths of the guard were away training in the deep forest, about 50 miles away, and there was no way to send word to them on this short a notice. He looked around, and knew that any warriors even ones not part of the guard, could help. He took a deep breath and bellowed:

“ANY AND ALL FIGHTERS ARE HEREBY SUMMOND TO HELP DEFEND THE CITY OF KROY. WE WILL COMPENSATE YOU FOR YOUR SERVICES, JUST GET YER ASSES OVER HERE!”

About 20 men were waiting near the gate when Brov arrived, and many civilians had circled them to see what was going on. A few of them were clad in armor, and carried swords of their own, not issued by the city, as Brov could tell.

Brov began: “Thank you all for your quick respose. I must start by saying this: I have feard this day for a long time, and it is finally upon us. Word is being sent to the away-guard right now, and they should be back soon. We must move to the town as fast as possible, it will take about five minutes of hard running. As soon as…” Brov stopped, as he picked out a figure in the croud.

“Gwen! My friend! You are not supposed to be here!” Brov used his mass to move people out of his way and reach Gwen, “We need your help now Gwen, this is not good.” Brov said with a stern look of worry on his face. “I’d owe you Gwen…”

Gwen, clad not in armor, but only in simple peasants work clothes, looked up at the massive man, and said “Brov, you owe me already my friend. But I am no longer a hunter, you know that…”

Brov frowned, and turned his words back to the crowd, “If anybody is willing to help us with this threat, we will compensate you for your assistance. We will also supply you with standard armor and weaponry, if you do not already have some of your own.” He glanced at Gwen, “For those of you who do you are more than welcome to use your own. We leave in 10 minutes! Help defend your City!! Help defend Kroy!!”

A quesion came from the crowd, a scared soldiger, who said, "What is going on? You have not told us the problem!"

Brov looked around, and took in the silence from the concerned people as a way to build the tension. He knew he wanted to make this dramatic, because he was not sure if everybody knew this name....

"Kaluth has returned....with evil intent.... "

Brov’s loud voice echoed throughout the crowd, which was quite large by now, and many people left with anxious looks on their faces, to retrieve armor and weaponry of their own. This is, Brov noticed, when he lost sight of Gwen.

A smile came to face.

The two would fight side by side once more…