Post by Kierkan Matthew Landers on Jul 13, 2011 0:34:01 GMT -5
Installment: Part 2
Location: The Ancient Forest, deeper into the forest.
Participates: Kierkan Matthews Landers ( magicalslaying ), Agnes Clayborn ( agnesclayborn ), Latisha Moonstorm ( LatishaM00nst0rm ), Jade Knight ( xxshad0wd3m0nxx ), and Danladi D'Ambri ( faytedwhispers )
[ Notes: I have listed the entire listing of everything that has happened. I hope you enjoy reading it. I also placed a short summery at the bottom that explains what has happened thus far.][/ul]
After a good night's rest, it was time for the group of explorers to journey deeper within the ancient forest to learn what lies beneath. Seekers of truth and knowledge would travel the depths of the forest to find the source of evil that hides itself. There are many dangers so they would come prepared for battle. A person could see how bleak the exterior of the forest was from a distance. Thunderhead clouds clapped with thunder malevolently above them. Invaded by feverish temperatures and harsh storms, the forest's pallid outlook would have given the environment an eerie glow. The light of day had drained from sight and a person could only see the pale, bluish light that cast down from the clouds above. The forest would appear darker and more terrifying than before as if possessing the knowledge of what the explorers were planning to do. Kierkan would arrive earlier than everyone else. He came from Lady Emmarie with a letter to read to the group. With these thoughts in mind, the group of familiar and unfamiliar people would start to gather at the entrance of the forest as they prepared themselves to travel into the unknown.
Agnes had already had a rough day, but she had promised to undertake this endeavor. The pack slung over her shoulder as she walked forward. The eyes glanced upward. Of course, it was going to rain soon. She sighed softly and moved further seeking out the others. It would not be long before the lone white wolf would journey through the forest toward Kierkan's location, picking up on his scent. Latisha was already there, having stayed the night in the forest. She always slept in the forest as it was what she was used too. She was heavily clad in her Paladin Armour. On the breast plate engraved, was her family crest and the insignia of her clan, the Knights of the White Wolf. On the backside, there was a fire phoenix engraved in painstaking detail. The body of which was in gold seemed to rise from the ashes surrounded by white gold flames. She carried with her a pouch, a pack, and a sword that was attached at her side. She also carried a bow strung on her back with a quiver full of arrows. She came ready for a fight. On her shoulder was her familiar Ixen a fire phoenix that was all along and resting quietly. She offered those that had already arrived a wolfish smile and low friendly growl in greeting.
Jade would appear in the midst of them all in a swirl of shadow, as they dissipated from her slender frame. She could be seen wearing her usual attire. A dark raven hued cloak, embroidered along the edges with gold and silver dragons. Her hood was down revealing those hauntingly beautiful elven features. Dark emerald hues looked around, as that dark tainted smile of hers was offered to all that were there. "Dark eve to you all." She would speak in that chilling voice she had mastered so well. She wore her pendant around her neck of two dragons intertwined with one another, one gold and one silver. Her pouch and pack were with her as well. Her sword at her side and daggers hidden on her persons. She also carried a bow with a quiver full of arrows strung to her backside. She was ready for anything.
Dani would make her appearance for this exploration of the forest. How could she not when asked by Kierkan whom she already began to think of as a friend. She arrived dressed simply within her black leather armor. The symbol wolf of her clan etched into it, setting into the center of the front leather guard. A pack hung awkwardly from her shoulder which carried her gear she might need. Twin dirks, her weapons of choice, lie sheathed against each hip. And her secondary weapon, the katana, nestled inside its bone casing rested vertically against her back. A nod of greeting was given to each individual while stepping forwards into the clearing. "Good Evening."
The seemingly rustic beauty of the warlock would beam upward toward the incoming explorers before him. Even though he was slightly startled by the low growl that had been given by the white wolf that stood before him, he would look to everyone with a bright smile planted on his face. It would make him so happy to see that so many people were interested in learning the truth as he would. "Hello all!" He would say loudly. He would stamp that trusty staff that he carried along with him wherever he went. Protection or walking, it would do the same. The white flowing robes that always catered his body were gone for the first time since he arrived in these new lands. He was trying to understand new fashions and such but people wore things that were entirely too complex for him to get. He was clad in leather vest and blue collared silk shirt with leather pants. Leather seemed to be poplar around these parts. He would reach into his bag and pull free the letter that Emmarie had given to him. "I hope everyone came prepared tonight because I have no idea what to expect honestly." He would give a tiny quiver as he was slightly scared of what was to come this eve.
Agnes gave a small nod to the others as they arrived or were already there. "We are as prepared as anything of this nature will allow us to be." She stated softly. The pack was shifted on her shoulder as she looked to the others. "We should likely get started with the storm impeding."
Latisha would offer them all a wolfish grin as she spoke in a low growl of a gruff voice. "Indeed" She looked to Kierkan as he retrieved the letter from his bag and canted her head to the side curiously swooshing her tail back and forth behind her. "What does it say? Did we get a map?"
Jade would also be wearing her mithril armour beneath her cloak. Those dark emerald hues looked to everyone as she then looked up into the sky. Elven ears twitched at the thunderstorms collecting. She took in all the sights and sounds around them, as she then looked to Kierkan and awaited his answer to the white wolf's questions.
Bright cat-like hues trailed toward Agnes a moment before lifting skywards and then Dani's eyes would rest back on Agnes. "Aye, I agree...we should make a move here and soon." Noting the letter Kierkan now held, she would take a step closer to listen closely. "What does it say?" This question was stated not a moment after Latisha's. A grin formed against crescent tiers as she then awaited the answer.
Kierkan would quickly look at Agnes and Dani and would quickly agree with them both. It would seem that rain would be approaching and he did not wish to get swept away in it. He would quickly remove the fine parchment from his bag and would simply unroll the delicate paper and begin to read it off to the rest of the group. "Lady Emmarie writes: Greetings, Adventures. Master Kierkan has explained to me of the journey you are headed on. The Ancient Forest holds many dark secrets so please be careful on your mission of learning. I have given a map to Kierkan that will show you several parts of the forest unexplored. This map has been in my family since we arrived to these lands. Use it with care. There is a message inscribed on the map. Use it in order to find your way. The waterfall that Kierkan speaks of has been marked on the map and something inscribed on it. I hope you find this useful." Kierkan would clear his throat as his voice would have sounded winded from that long speech. He then looked down at the written message on the very corner of the dark parchment. He would read it aloud, "With this ancient map, you must find your own way. Don't heed the directions; they'll lead you astray. Backwards becomes forwards, forward becomes backwards. If you lack direction, can you go amiss? Perhaps you might wish to reflect upon this." Kierkan would simply scratch his head and look to the rest. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means the map is untrustworthy.. if we are smart..we will mark our path where we are now..that way we can find our way back." She stated softly as she looked to the others. Latisha would ponder the riddle for a moment as a clawed paw raised to scratch beneath her soft muzzle as she did so, tail swishing back and forth as she did this. She had a look of wisdom upon her as she spoke in that low growl. "I think we should do the opposite direction the map says to go. If it says go south, we should go north and so on and so forth..."
Jade would offer a dark tainted smile to the Agnes and the white wolf. "I agree. We could use some rope to trace our path or leave a
trail using markers or something. It would be a good idea." Her voice was eerie and haunting as she spoke.
Head tilted in contemplation to the words spoken. A riddle so it seemed. Dani ran it through her mind again and again. Did the others not see this? Looking to the map for a moment, she would pull her pack from her back and reach within its depths. "Backwards becomes forwards and forwards becomes backwards? Reflect." Pulling out her mirror, she walked over towards Kierkan and moved behind him. "This might work." With that said, she held the mirror against the map to show the others. Hopefully, she was right!
Kierkan would suddenly be startled by what he was witness right now. Dani would hold the mirror up to the map and suddenly within the glass that reflected the map, you could see small markings begin to form right before your eyes. About a dozen of them would slowly appear until finally they drew an X on a spot of the map. Dani was exactly right. The mirror was the key. "I have been around for 700 years. I SHOULD have know that." He would brightly smile toward the others. He would then look to them now."Agnes and Jade are right. I do believe that we should mark where we are now and then use rope to make sure we find our way back out of the forest in case it is dark when we come back. Jade, use the rope." He would then pass the map to Dani so she could hold it with the mirror to guide them to where to go. He would then make his way beside Agnes and journey along the path, listening to Dani's directions.
Agnes gave a nod to him though paused a moment to take a small knife out and actually marked the tree. Just in case, something decided to move the rope later. "Give us a direction Dani." She spoke up softly as she pocketed the knife once more.
Eyes widened in amazement at the trick with the mirror. Why didn't I think of that, Latisha thought to herself and offered the others that wolfish grin. "I have another way to mark where we have been." She went over to a nearby tree and rubbed her fur on it. It would leave behind her scent. Lycan's were good at marking their territories. Her tail swaying back and forth behind her as she rejoined the others after marking a tree with her scent.
Jade nodded as she pulled rope from her pack and tied it off to a tree branch on one of the trees, she would continue to do this as they made their way down the path. Her gaze turned on Dani as she spoke in that eerie voice of hers. "Where does it say we should go?" She arched a most curious brow.
A nod offered to Agnes as the map was taken from Kierkan. Standing within the center of the clearing, Dani held the map up toward the dimming light. Luckily for her dark sight, she was well able to see in the darkness. The mirror held before the parchment, Dani would study it for a long moment. It seemed there were several paths to take here. Some heading in a straight away direction towards the X and others moving farther away from it, yet eventually reaching that area. Making her choice here, she would lift a tousled blond head and look towards the others. "Let's head west. Aye." Lifting a hand, she pointed out in that general direction before stepping out after her group.
Kierkan's eyes would trail toward the Lycan as she was rubbing herself against trees as they walked. Kierkan just found this disturbing but whatever would help them out of the forest, he really had no objection too. Those brown hues of oak wood would gaze backward toward Dani as she was following the rear. He would listen closer to her directions as they were led toward the place that they needed to go. After about an hour of pushing through overgrown limbs from trees that were covered with slim and walking along the dirt path, they would finally come to where they needed to be. Kierkan's head would slightly cant to the left as he gazed at this astonishing sight.
They were now in a completely new area. The area was completely different from all the other areas in the forest. The darkness that looms over the sickly trees and slim covered branches did not reach this place. Strangely enough, it was a beautiful area with crystal blue waters cascading down from the rocks above that fell into a pool of bright glistening waters. The pool is not very big and the waters drain into a raging river near by. Beautiful exotic plants were flourishing with life all around this area. It was quite a breathe taking sight.
Agnes looked around them and paused in mid-step. The brows lifted slowly as she glanced to Kierkan. "Look familiar?" She asked softly as she canted her head. Latisha would do the same but she was a little busy at the moment. She would continue to mark the trees with her scent as they went along. The slime not able to stick to her fur cause of the special oils on it. How else do you think the snow white wolf kept her pure white winter coat so absolutely spotless? She would stare in wonder as she took in the sight of the falls. It was, indeed, beautiful. Her tail swished back
and forth behind her, as she was glad Ixen was with her. He came in handy if she was caught in the dark.
Jade would tie a piece of rope to trees as they went. She stared as they made their way along the path to the waterfalls. She offered a smirk to the white wolf as she watched her mark trees with her scent. She only offered that dark tainted smile of hers, for it reminded her of the crystal waterfalls that the knights of Latisha's clan protected and guarded with their lives. She spoke in a chilling voice now. "If this is like the falls of the wolf clan, there could possibly be a cave near by..."
Nostrils flared slightly as Dani took in the scent of Latisha's, and storing it within her memory. If anything, she as well would be able to find it herself. Though Dani also added her own marks, by taking out a piece of chalk from her pack and marking the larger stones that set every dozen feet or so next to their current path. As they finally came out of those dreaded woods, she gave a breath of relief. "Finally." A quiet murmur while her gaze traveled the length of the river.
This was it!! Kierkan would scream his mind. Those bright orbs would gaze with wonder as he could not believe it. It really existed. He had not made it up in his mind. It truly existed. Kierkan would grab Agnes' hand and jump up and down for a moment. "I knew it!" Suddenly, he would realize that was completely out of character and quickly clear his throat pretending as though that he had not done that. Kierkan was normally very stoic but honestly after having night after night of dreams of this place, it was such a relief to know that he wasn't losing his mind. He would slowly walk about the place and look around very closely at everything. He turned his gaze toward Jade and looked her with question. "Cave? Near here?" He would question with sparked curiosity. She could very well be correct. Although all he saw just a waterfall and that strange dark figure would appear in the corner of his eye. Jumping suddenly, "Did anyone see that?!" He would call out but he looked at the rest of them and no one would looked alarmed. His mind must have slipped into the back of his mind that possessed that horrible ability. Suddenly, something would catch his eye though. "What is that over there?" He would state as he pointed toward the wooden post that was standing off to the side of the falls.
Next to the waterfall, not far in distance, sat a wooden post with a sign attached to it. The words were carved into the wood and read: "I am water...with a gift, you cannot see...I hide from you, charmed I am...try and break down my walls, done incorrectly...beware the cometh of the fall. Those who are brave...enter these falls.[/b]"
Agnes just stared at Kierkan jumping up and down. "I wouldn't be so excited..." She stated well with all things considering! She looked and shifted a bit before heading toward the sign. She really hated, and I mean HATED riddles. She frowned slightly.
Latisha would offer a grin as she watched Kierken do what he did, and her ears would flick at this. She heard Jade's words about the cave and knowing of the knight's falls. She had been to the falls of the knights and knew well what secrets they held. Her gaze was drawn to the sign as she read it carefully and pondered on the riddle. "Maybe there is a rock around here that triggers an opening to a cave or something?" She spoke in a low gruff growl of a voice and would look around for something of the sort. Although she would find nothing other than the falls and that blasted sign
Brows rose somewhat as Dani watched the young mage express his excitement. "Hmm." She commented beneath her breath before looking this way and that in an attempt to locate the object of Kierkan's outburst. Seeing not a thing though, she would then step after Agnes toward the sign. Eyes narrowed as she read the etched words upon it. "Another riddle?" Sigh. Now what was the group in store for this time?
Jade would ponder the riddle but her brain just wasn't working for riddles on this night as she pondered it trying to find what the answer was. "Anyone have any ideas on what the riddle means?" After reading the sign, Kierkan would only hear the part about the brave being able to enter. Kierkan was brave . . .he thought most of the time. Finally he would head toward the waterfall now as he intend to walk through it. It may be just a illusion that you could simply walk through. But it was terrible wrong. The surface beneath him begins to rumble. Violently shaking him about and making it hard to stand his ground. The ground beneath him begins to crumble away before he was able to get close enough to the waterfall. Below the earth is a raging river. It would seem that he were fast enough to save himself and he moved before the earth crumbled away beneath his feet. He quickly leapt free and watched the rock fall into the raging river. Suddenly, it reforms as if nothing even transpired. Kierkan would fall on his face due to the abrupt landing Who knew that was there? Kierkan thought as he looked down at the raging river below. He would breath heavily. "That was not pleasant at all."
Agnes lifted a brow and shook her head as she drew in a deep breath. The eyes narrowed upon the passage there behind the falls. She whispered softly as she focused her attention upon it. The hand lifted as she released the spell. Placing her hands within same self positions, she would use her magical abilities to call upon her powers to shine through. "I command this magic to dispel!"
Latisha would watch as he nearly fell into a raging river below and she would ponder what to do as waiting to see if Agnes' spell had worked before making her move. It had, indeed, worked. The enchantment that was placed on the waterfall would now slowly start to diminish. The once beautiful lively plants that flourished with life slowly decay and died right before their very eyes. The waterfall would fade away and a lightless cave would be revealed to them as a person could see nothing inside of it but darkness. The waters below would become murky and green with slim and moss that collected at the surface. The magicks that were placed upon this area were now gone and the evil that ravaged these lands now show their true face.
Dani quickly moved toward Kierkan as he fell upon the ground. Taking the small mage by the arm, she pulled him back up gently and set him upright. "Holy hell, that was close." With that said, she finally would see the spell be cast and the magic dispel. She would be truly relieved some when it accomplished what it was set out to do. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as the forest and lake around them finally showed its true colors. "Ech..." She followed the others within the cave and waited for the rest to join. Looking first from one cave opening then to the other. Which one would they choose? Latisha would look to the others to see what they would choose.
Jade was very acrobatic but she really didn't want to get wet. Then the spell was cast and the caves appeared. The dark souled woman would make her way slowly into the caverns as her night vision would active and she would see everything in perfect vision. She noticed the three different caves that could be ventured into, but she decided to look to the others and ask first. "I think we should go with cave on our left. What do you guys think?" Latisha would look to Jade. "Doesn't matter to me if everyone else wants to explore the cave to the left then lets do that. I'm smart enough to know to stick with the group then go exploring dark caves on my own."
"I have no preference." Agnes stated quietly as she looked at Kierkan. "Just remember which caves we choose." She stated quietly. She was in an odd mood. People would have to overlook her.
Kierkan was still taken aback by the entire passing of prior events. He had not expected to almost plunge to his doom honestly. He thought he could simply just walk through the water. He never expected the ground beneath him to fall away. Shaking his head free from all of the blood that had rushed to his head, Kierkan would place a hand upon Dani's shoulder and walk with her now as she had helped him to his feet. "Thank you. I guess I got a little too confident back there. I should have used my head." Kierkan would wonder instead the dark cave. The cave was dark. He would look over to Latisha now. "You mind shedding some light for us?" He would state with a gentle smile but still a little rattled. Dani was still trailing from behind as she patted Kierkan's softly as they talked while walking. "Its okay, never know where the hazards lie until they jump up and nip you in the ass." A wry grin would followed.
Latisha nodded to Kierkan as she gave Ixen a pat on the head. Latisha would let out a howl, signaling for the fire phoenix to rise up and shed its light upon the darkness. He flew up into the air. His body burst into flames as he flew at her command. He was her familiar so it would obey her commands. The brightness of his flames would light up the whole cave for them so they could all see. He would light the way for them. The group seemed to have decided to go to the cave on the left. Jade would offer them all that dark tainted smile of hers as her eyes would adjust to that bright light that would invade her sight. The group would make their way into the cave now as this room would strike them as strange. There were jagged rocks that lined the walls and the floor was like walking upon granite. In the center of the room, there was a strange pool of water. It glowed and lit the room with a magical aquamarine hue as this was the first room that was illuminated since they had entered. Upon inspection of the pool of water, treasures could be seen at the bottom of the sparkling lake. You cannot see any other paths other than pool in the room.
Agnes canted her head and slipped the pack off to rest on the edge of the waters. She didn't need to draw a breath as she slipped into the water to go for the gold that glittered at the bottom. It was fortunately that she could breathe underwater. The white wolf would cant her head to the side curiously as Latisha looked at the gleaming treasure in the water being an elemental wolf with the powers of fire and ice. She could indeed breath underwater so she would take her chances in the water a she followed Agnes in and swam to get as much treasure. Oh no! TRAP! Once Agnes and Latisha had touched the bottom of the pool's floor, sharp iron bars begin to come from either side of the opening of the pool. Slowly moving across the waters, they intended to trap both females within the water below. It was fortunate that both could breathe underwater or they would start to lose consciousness now. The bottom was extremely deep.
Jade would follow suite, as she tapped into the powers of a water dragon. The pendant around her neck glowed faintly as she did so, and she could easily breath under water so she swam to the bottom of the lake and aid them with the treasure to the surface.
Kierkan and Dani were still trailing behind but it wouldn't take them long before they would get caught up to speed. As they came to the bed of water that lie below, Dani glared against the bright treasures. "Well that looks dangerous." Giving a step back, she watched anxiously as the bars were slowly closing on top of the two females. She would hold her own breath while this took place, hoping the other would get the treasure and make it out safely. Terrified eyes would gaze toward the women that had so heroically jumped into that pool of water. Kierkan would quickly make his way to the edge of the pool and fall down on his stomach. Jolting his hand within the pool as the iron bars were slowly coming close upon the entrance, he would scream out, "Hurry, Agnes! Latisha! Take my hand!"
Everyone would make it out safely. Anges took Kierkan's hand and pulled herself free from the water's depths. She held out a handful of gold. Sneaky little thief she was. She would comment that it wasn't much of a pift even though she almost was trapped. Jade and Latisha both would have climbed their way out before the bars slammed shut behind them. That was entirely too close for Kierkan's taste. He would look to Agnes and shake his head slowly. "Honestly, I wish you would be more careful!" He would state with a smile across his face as he was just happy to see that she and everyone else was okay. He would stand up and look at the treasures that she collected with the help of the others. "And you made it back with gold too! You should put that in your bag of holding. It would be safe there." Anges chuckled as she spoke, "As Agrylax and everyone else tells me..to life.." She stated softly as she gave him a wet hug and off to tuck the coins away. She tugged out a piece or chalk and wrote TRAP up on the wall nearby.
"Good find there." Dani congratulated Agnes. "And good swimming as well. That was yet another close one." Making sure Latisha and Shadow made their way safely out, she would gaze around the outskirts of the cavern and stand close to them. "Where to now?" Just as the question would have been spoken, there was a soft whistling wind that could be hear in the distance coming behind a strange rock that they had not noticed before. It means there is a room behind it.
Latisha would shake her fur dry but as she did so, her ears twitched back and forth. They caught a sound in the distance. She would look around for a rock that was out of place placing her heavy clawed paws on it. She tried to move it out of place to see what was behind it. Hopefully, her Lycan strength would enable her to move it with ease. It would, indeed, seem as though she was strong enough to push the boulder from the path. Unfortunately, something lurked within. Suddenly, winged creatures would violently storm free jolting through the room with unyielding force. The explorers who did not manage to push the boulders free would have been standing in front of it and would be knocked back hard. These were no ordinary bats. They were vampire bats and they were out for blood. They quickly flooded the ceiling and would stay out of reach but they could easily come down and attack. They would have to battle the fearsome bats before they drained their blood completely from their bodies.
The bats would swarm down toward Agnes in attempt to bite and claw at her. Agnes yelled and swatted at the nasty little buggers as she grabbed at one and slammed it into the wall. The bats would shriek at the pain that was caused by Agnes and would quickly retreat back. Dani would finally scramble back to her feet and watch the scene unfold. To far up for her to reach with her weapons, Dani leaned down and grabbed a heavy stone. Drawing back her arm back, she aimed at one of those vicious creatures and let it fly. "Die, blood sucker!"
Anger billowed freely amongst the angry vampire bats. There eyes would set upon Dani as the Lycan would not be friend of the vampires in the least. A swarm of bats would fly down and bit and scratch at Dani's face before returning back up to the ceiling. It would seem they would bring her pain.
Jade would be the next one to stand and get back to her feet. She was surprised by the abrupt attack of her kind. She was able to hear the sound as her hearing was not what it once was from that curse she recieved on her last quest. She watched as the vampire bats came in after Latisha had moved the rock and with that dark smile on those black lips, she simply stared into their eyes as she made sure to look into them deeply. She spoke her command. "Attack each other, not us you fools!" Her smile grew dark and twisted as she watched them turn on each other. The vampire bats would then attack themselves now as they flew wildly about the room biting and scratching at each other.
Latisha was a holy paladin. She feared not evil creatures but was slightly impressed to see Jade turn them on one another. She would look to see if there were any other creatures around before moving forward using ixen to expose the darkness. Each bat would retreat away from that light as even though it was not sunlight, they knew that the flames could harm them. Suddenly, a dark figure would fall from the ranks of the vampire bats. It would descend down and slam against the rock floor. He was about seven feet tall and would glare down upon them. Once transforming out of his bat form, the vampire leader would pull at his dark cloak wrapped tightly around himself, he glared toward the rest of the group. Slowly, it would pull in an unneaded breath within its lungs and would scream angrily. Sound waves would travel to their ears and bring harm to their ear drums.
Pain would abusively attack those poor ear drums as not only had he been knocked of his feet but now Kierkan could barely hear what was going on. Although, he was sure that it was a battle. Scared senseless at the moment, he would slowly put himself together and stand now to look upon the creatures before him. Eyes would narrow with determination as he would aim his powers toward the angry bats that hovered above them. "Jade, do not get caught in this spell!" He would warn in advance as he knew it was a weakness of hers. He would now call upon his magical mind to
cast his Holy spell that would target them. More screams could be heard and as soon as the spell was complete another vampire leader would drop from the roof and land upon the ground exposed. He wanted Kierkan for his damning spell but Agnes would wind up in his path. He then exposed those sharp vampire fangs and sunk his teeth into her pink flesh.
The little mage screamed at that as Agnes shoved her hands into its face to release the burst of sunlight into its face. HATE UNDEAD hate them hate them, she would mouth to herself and was seriously beginning not to like vampires anymore. Well, Jade not included of course. Her spell would active and a small globe of searing radiance would appear before the creature. Then, with no warning given to vampires, light would explode silently from the globe, expelling outward. Fortunately, Jade was only half vampire so she would not be harmed by this powerful attack.
After slapping away the bats that attacked her, Dani unsheathed her dirks. She eyed the vampire leader before rushing towards him. She would give a hard thrust with both her weapons hoping to make a hit. Although the vampires would quickly see her attack coming and they would quickly retort by returning to the ceiling in bat form. Those bats were starting to get pretty angry with them. So far they had thrown rocks and brought about sunlight being something they hated the most. Each vampire bat would hiss toward that magical woman who would created that sunlight with magicks. They descended deftly down from the ceiling once more. They would move and strike her to send her message to stop attacking them. Cuts were formed on Agnes' face from the vampire bats.
Meanwhile, Jade had heeded Kierkan's warning as she did so hate holy magic. She would on his words find shadows and hide in them so she didn't get affected by the spell cast. She stepped from the shadows once the spell had passed. Of course, that trademark dark and twisty smile would appear right back on her face toward those vampires. Suddenly, she would witness one of the vampire leaders dropping down from the ceiling and he had no idea that she was standing behind him. Without any warning given, she would sing her own exposed fangs into the next that pale flesh and drew blood immediatelly on contact. Latisha would join in Jade's effort. She would unsheathe her sword and she let out a fierce howl as she made her attack slashing freely at that vampire leader. A terrible scream would leave his throat when the vampire's fangs would dip into his own bloodline. Violently spinning around, he would plant a kick into her stomach to push her away. Although soon afterwards, he would feel that cold steel slice at the pale flesh of his back. It would have not pained him at all but that was no normal blade. Her sword had been laced by holy magicks. That powerful female Lycan was very smart indeed to use that blade. He would growl with much hateful intent toward her. Another slash was given by Latisha but this time the vampire would scream a painful shriek. Those eyes would narrow as they glowed a sparkle of blood red toward the group. If one scream wouldn't have done it, he would scream yet again. Those magical cries would find its way to the ears of the group with such malice intent. Everyone but Kierkan would fall upon one knee from the painful cries. Kierkan was able to shield himself with his telekinetic powers. Kierkan could see not believe yet again he was being attacked by these evil creature before him.
Kierkan would glare out toward the vampire that was standing directly before him. He would then prepare himself to strike out with his magical mind. He would raise his hands and send a mighty thrust toward the ceiling. With a powerful strike, he would use his telekinetic mind to attack the bats that hovered above and send the vampire leader a few inches back. The second Vampire leader was off to the side. He would head straight away for Dani as he was going to take her down with all his might. The smell of wolf make him sick and he would not expose his fangs, uninterested in tasting the blood of a filthy animal in his eyes. he wanted to bring her pain. He would powerfully strike the female known to draw blood. Falling back to the shriek and then getting knocked the floor by the vampire's strike. Rolling away from the vampire, she slipped back to her feet and kicked out toward the one who had attacked her. She would indeed send him flying back up to his bat friends.
Agnes, that little mage had had enough of these damned creatures as her two hands balled themselves together. She would now call upon her inate spell and release it into the room. Different swirls of colors began to form and burst of prismatic hues that arched toward one of the vampire leaders. Suddenly the magicks began to work and would quickly begin to wrap around the length of the vampire. The Vampire Leader cried out in pain. Magical balls of light would circle around him as he was completely confused what this magic user was doing at the moment. Speaking out rashly, "What are you doing to me?!" He would scream out in horror as he would be ripped from this world and sent to completely different plane than the one he currently was in. The Vampire Leader would look over at his friend and see what had just happened and would glare out with red eyes toward that
mage. "You will pay with your life for that." Anges would shake her head as empty threats scared her not.
Bleeding from several bites and scratches, Dani watched as one vampire disappeared completely. Blinking some, she spun to face the remaining leader.
"I highly doubt that. Die, blood sucker!" She grated low toward him. Dirks still unsheathed, she made her way forward and thrust them both into both eye sockets of the creature. Feeling those blades removing his sight and causing rotted blood to pool around the wounds, a terrible scream would leave his mouth and he would claw and scratch at the female in return for her attack. With one final attempt, he exposed his fangs and bite deeply into her flesh. Although there was nothing left to save him as his body would melt to ash. The vampire bats that lingered on the ceiling would watch as their leaders had been defeated. It would seem that they were no match for this group, and they would have to fight again another day. They would quickly fly down amongst the others and whip by them quickly as they made their way toward the exit of the cave, leaving them alone since their leaders were dead now.
Latisha would watch in amazement as Agnes sent one of the vampires to another plane of existence all together while the other died by Dani's hands. She gave both the females a proud smile on that wolfish muzzle, as she watched the other vampire bats retreat she would note how they exit the cave. She would follow them as they disappeared into the darkness. Agnes huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "It shouldn't have bitten me!" She stated bluntly as she lifted a hand where it had bit her and pressed a hand there. Dani fell to her knees as that last attack came. Dirks were sheathed now and her hands lifted against the bite against her neck. "Bastard..." She spoke in a mumble. At least the creatures were dead though, thanks to the team!
Kierkan would look toward Agnes with a little bit fear as that was a fearsome spell that she pulled off. To have that much power to send another being to another realm, was rather frightening for the age-old warlock. Kierkan could not even do that and he had been practicing for ages. It would be strange but he would understand that she must work very hard to obtain this type of magic. He would nod toward her. "Very impressive, Agnes. It will know now never bite you again." He would say with a gleeful smile even though everything was so troublesome since they had entered the cave. He would look to Dani as well. "You, ma'am, are a good fighter. Are you okay?"
Eyes widened with wonder as Jade witnessed Agnes' power to banish one to another realm that was indeed a bad ass spell if Jade did say
so herself. The fight seemed over now as she let out a disappointed sigh as she was just starting to have some fun. She would offer a playful pout on those black lips of hers. "Aww. They all left. I wasn't done playing with them..."
Slipping back to her feet, she dusted the debris from her knees. "Thank you Kierkan. I'm fine. Good job, everyone." She gave a bit of a grin as her gaze moved from one to the other. Another smile would appear across Kierkan's sinful tiers now as he look around to everyone quickly changing to a serious look quite suddenly. "I am very happy that everyone is safe. I wish no harm to any of the people here. Please heal yourself so you do not fall victim to death. I could not witness a sight such as that." The little mage didn't really even think about it as she reacted belated to the shock of Jade and Kierkan to her power. She gave a small nod as she kept pressure on the wound against her neck. Well there was only so much she could take before getting irritated. And well being bitten really ticked her off. At that time, each member of the party would use different means of healing themselves. Some with spells, some with magical items, or magical creatures. The dynamic of this crew was very unique if you paid close attention. It would finally be time to move on to the next area.
They would now enter through the cave that had recently opened that was filled with vampires. After the grueling battle that just took place, the weary group would make their way further into the caverns now. As they journeyed further into the caves, they would come across a cave entrance. Upon entering the cave, there were only four items in the room. It would seem the room looked like it had been ransacked as chairs and empty bookshelves were turned over into the rock floors. There were four items in the room. There were two books, a gold sword, and a gold key. Which should they take?
That dark tainted smile would linger on her face as Jade followed the others into the new cave. She would pick up one of the books that was laid on the floor. She would quickly begin skimming the pages and started reading some very interesting things. The title states, "Creatures of the Temporal Planes." She would actually read some of the items in the book. "These time aberrations resemble various creatures, but because of effects of paradox as it appears in our world. They are twisted and terrifying. They may be made up of various creatures, crafting itself into a horrifying amalgamation. These creatures very touch ages a creature by years. It is difficult to look upon chronovoires without feeling nauseated; they are so abhorrent. They also have clawed hands and places curses upon creatures, objects, and areas.[/b]" Jade would simply close the book and hold onto it tightly now.
The mage made her way into the room and looked around. Agnes' brows would quirk. She avoid the shiny objects and move toward the remaining book that littered the rock floor. Agnes would look to the title of the book that stated, "Book of Ancient Curses." It would seem it was book filled with ways to enact curses on anything you wished. She would begin skimming the pages to read more about the subject it depicted. "These curses can be cast on an creature, object, or place. It brings harm to others and in order to sustain life or rather undead life, these creatures feed upon living flesh to stay alive.[/b]" Agnes would simply close the book afterwards and think a little on this.
Regaining her wind, she felt a little better from healing herself. The stings of the myriad bites and scratches against her flesh faded and she moved into the cave with the rest. Eyeing its contents for a moment, she would make her way toward that gold key that looked useful and not just valuable. This would be her choice of items. Picking it up, she examined it closely and awaited the others to join them in the room. Lifting the golden key from atop the wooden broken down desk and held it within your grasp, the inscription across it stated, "Cave of Despair." She would wriggle her nose at this as she had no clue where that was. Although something horrible would happen before she could even think about what the inscription meant. Chains would slither their way out of the key magically appearing and would latch painfully into the Lycan's flesh. Blood would begin to pool around the entry points. Horror stricken features gazed out as chains emitted from the key and moved against the flesh of her arm. For a second, she did attempt to pull against one strand only to fall to one knee and yelp in pain. The damn things burrowed further into her flesh with each tug. Agnes would alarmingly look toward Dani as she saw her lift the key and noticed that something had happened but was unsure what. "Are you alright?" She would simply state from a distance. Dani's hand gripped the key as she looked to Agnes and shook her head in pain.
Latisha was finally one to enter the room now. She was unaware of what the rest were doing and was not paying attention as her eyes were fixated on that shiny gold sword that was off in the corner of the room. She would extend a heavy clawed paw to pick up the sword as she looked it over carefully with much curiosity in her eyes. Her tail wagged excitedly behind her, although what was come was nothing exciting in a measure of cheerful. Suddenly, something flashes upon the gold sword and it turns black within the wolf's grasp. The item had been cursed. The dark mist that spud out of it, manages to fog across her furry face, entering her system. A blood vengeance spell had transmitted from the blade to the Lycan. Blood began to pour from her nose and eyes. It would slowly work its way further into her system until the vengeance spell has taken her life. Latisha would let out a loud fearsome howl as the sword she picked up was heavy but she held onto it well enough after all. She was a Lycan, but that howl wasn't because it was a heavy sword. No, it was because the blade was cursed. Her eyes grew wide as blood poured from each one like tears. A low deep fearsome growl emitted from her muzzle as her tail thrashed back and froth behind her. She was one very unhappy Lycan, as she bared her teeth and glared at that sword grasping it now with both clawed paws.
Horror would appear across Kierkan's face as he could not believe such a horrible dark spell had be placed upon this item such as this. This fearsome magic was not normal in the least. He would rush to Latisha as he knew Dani was hurt but Latisha was in much greater pain. Agnes looked at both and sighed softly. "Move closer together." She whispered quietly as she drew upon the depleting core. The young lady began to delve once more into her core as she tugged the silver thread to the forefront of her mind. She would speak her words and command the curse to be lifted. Kierkan would look to Agnes who had used her magicks to cure the Lycan from this dark disease that was festering within her body. He would watch as the blood evaporated from her face and you could see the spell had finally been broken. Although the chains were held tightly upon Dani's flesh as it seemed that it was not retracting in the least. He would look to Agnes with such soft features and state, "Thank you." She would at least help one of their friends. He would then look down into the face of Latisha. "Are you okay?" His facial features licking with concern. Agnes gave a small nod as she turned away from the rest of them. Latisha would feel the curse lift from her body as the blood stopped seeping from her and she let out a low growl in relief and offered Agnes a wolfish smile. "Boy, am i glad you can do that. Thanks!" Latisha would offer him the same smile as well as he respond to his question about being okay. "I think so, thanks to Agnes." Jade would just watch from the background with an amused look on her face. The curse had come and gone but the effect was comical and dark in Jade's mind. Tt was all rather amusing to her. "It would seem you have to use that key before it will release you." Dark emerald hues would scan back and forth between them all as she stated her peace.
The chains in Dani's arm remained, desisting in the tugging motion against them as it only made it worse. She would grab up a cloth shirt from her pack and carefully wrap it around her arm. She gritted her teeth and lifted herself back to her feet. Dani looked to Latisha noting that she was now perfectly okay. Thank goodness! Pulling her arm against her chest and holding it there with her other, she moved slowly around the room. The pain bothered her though she managed to keep the snarls from emitting past her lips. Kierkan would walk to Dani now as he examined her arm. "That looks extremely painful. I am so sorry." He would examine the key that was on it. "This must go to one of the caves within the caverns. Although we cannot explore any further into the cave. The magic that broke the enchantment upon this place is soon spent and nightfall has come upon us. Let us return back to the keep and read through our findings together. We must journey our way back out of this place. Fortunately, Latisha, I hope you have been marking our way." He would say with a playful smile upon his face as he hoped she could lead them out of this place. -.-
Latisha would smile to him, of course, she could lead them out. She had been marking the trail they used all along with her scent and she could pick it up easily enough muzzle rose into the air as it wrinkled some. She sniffed it and followed her scent now. She would lead the others on the path to go home. Agnes looked to the others and gave them a nod. "You all first. I'll bring up the rear." She spoke softly as she drew in a deep breath. Jade would reluctantly follow the white wolf. They were after all opposing forces but it was easier then to follow the rope she had used to mark the trail and off she headed home with the others. Dani's teeth ground together at Kierkan's words. She wanted this thing off, NOW! Hunching over some, beads of sweat formed against her brow as she made her way out following Latisha. Dani was not a happy Ailuran, that was for sure. Everyone would divide once at the Ancient Forest entrance, making their own paths to head to their own homes.
