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| The State of Nature [P][Complete]; [GRP] [Nkiruka] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:17 am (948 Views) | |
| Serelle | Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:17 am Post #1 |
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Creak, clip, clop, snap and shout. The sounds of a family expedition. Serelle glanced around the ornate carriage, before settling back on looking at her parents. Taras had been wrecked, and now it was a lovely tourist spot, according to them. Hundreds of experts in a variety of fields, all coming together for a great big artisan vacation. Her mother had brought her finest gowns, her father his finest pipes and hats. Serelle lacked the will to explain to them the why. It wouldn't get through, their daughter was obviously the least intelligent of them. Obviously. She leaned up against the window, moving aside one of the curtains. Ruins. Not too long ago they had been passing through the refugee camps, which her parents thought were adorable. The lower class could join in with the vacation! Grand! It was a great, egalitarian meeting and would be the talk of the Istani aristocracy. The ruins would no doubt be a grand dance stage, or something. The daughter had no urge to hear their wild dreams. Ruins gave way to flattened streets after an incline. Were they terracing Taras? Half built buildings, mostly of the same stones that had been destroyed, but some grand structures had obviously been built with freshly quarried stone. Serelle's eyes passed onto a moving woman, an Istani. "I'm going to ask for directions to the children's party. Bye." Serelle stated. She opened the carriage door and stepped out. Serelle snagged her little bag as she left, and slung it over her shoulder. "Be careful Serelle! Don't drink anything that isn't juice or water!" Her mother ordered. Serelle smiled, a her mind heady with the sudden liberation she realized she had. A whole ruined, nearly empty city all to herself. Her eyes traced up the skeletal structures, filled with people that were no larger than ants at this distance. She had read a book on construction, it was quite interesting. She glanced around and noted the woman ducking behind a building. Serelle picked up her pace and followed, curiosity getting the better of her. She pattered up the stonework, adjusting the shoulder straps of her slim dress. Her hand ran along the new, rough stone as she neared the corner and peeked around it. Her red eyes met the chest of the woman she'd followed. Strong arms gripped her, lifted her bodily and slammed her against the wall, pressing her slim little arms against her body with a murderous strength. Pain lanced through her as her head cracked against the wall and her bare upper back was rubbed against the poorly cut stone. Dark yellow eyes met bright red eyes, locks of white hair obstructing her vision. "Hello." Serelle whispered. |
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| Nkiruka | Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:43 am Post #2 |
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"Why are you following me." Even though it was a question, the intensity of Nkiruka's tone made it sound more like an agitated statement. She ground the albino girl deeper into the crudely cut stone of the building, pressing all of her weight into the arm that kept her tiny body lifted several inches off the ground. Their proximity allowed their faces to be almost nose-to-nose and Nkiruka's free hand to hold both of the girl's wrists in its crushing grip. Many things had caused her emotions to fray, culminating in this sudden bout of extreme paranoia. Taras had never been kind to the mercenary. Over half a year ago, just outside the refugee camps that bordered this place, Nkiruka was toiling in the cold, rain and darkness. There were monsters wrought from flesh and bone. It was almost as though their maker thought that the things that make us human were simple parts that could be assembled into innovative new machines. Nkiruka had spent a lot of time thinking about her experiences in that dying forest; she still considered her decisions there, mostly made out of curiosity and lust for power. After the ordeal, she never wanted to return to the scarred forest outside Taras. Not because it was unsafe, necessarily -- she just didn't want to be so physically close to painful memories of her first encounter with the constructs that now ruled her life. Time and time again, jobs opened up in or around Taras: easy ones that could feed Nkiruka for weeks. She'd refused them all. Instead of executing officers in a local gang, she'd escorted druids to the top of a vicious, unforgiving mountain for little pay. This sort of preference had kept her afloat for quite a while, but its effectiveness took a nosedive recently. After Nkiruka had cleared out a small but technically strenuous hive built into the core of a deeply religious village, neither the mayor nor the saved citizens compensated her. It was true that she didn't expect money -- all of her attacks on gribblies were done for free, as she used her mercenary work to fund such things. However, it was commonplace for liberated towns to offer her a small bit of help in the form of a free place to sleep for the night, some food, and complementary medical service if she was injured. The problem was that the people of that particular village had despised her. Nkiruka remembered walking through the streets and receiving looks of almost primal terror. Nobody knew what was going on, why people were disappearing and turning up mutilated in the streets, and why this strange person was able to deal with it. They must have thought she was a demon. When Nkiruka emerged from the giant hole in the city center, almost unconscious from the severity of her injuries, no one helped her. She'd spent the night huddled in an alleyway, passing in and out of consciousness from blood loss. Costs began accumulating while her budget quickly ran out. The job market was dwindling. Cutting back to one meal a day to save money, Nkiruka was steadily wasting away. Every night spent at a seedy inn with poor sanitation or curled up on a park bench made the idea of going back to Taras much, much more appealing. So, she started flying. The mercenary had made it about halfway to Taras before she was too weak to continue. Having lost most of her natural strength and athletic ability, Nkiruka was relying on her grafts of strong animals, yet even then her endurance was finite. She eventually resorted to threatening a trader at knifepoint to let her ride on the back of his goods wagon. Hunger, fatigue and dread made her toss and turn at night. She slept rarely; when she did pass into unconsciousness, her mind was assaulted by bizarrely disturbing nightmares. When the wagon finally entered Taras' walls, Nki was sluggish. She looked sickly, with dark and baggy circles under her eyes. Her hands shook; she fidgeted to comfort herself. And now, making her way through the city to find her contact, someone was following her. "Why are you following me?!" Nkiruka reiterated, her voice more frantic this time. "Who are you? I- I could kill you with my bare hands if I need to, if you think you can get anything from me. You don't want to mess with me. Really." |
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| Serelle | Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:18 am Post #3 |
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Serelle's mind came to a halt as she stared back at the girl. The sun beat down on them, not a cloud to protect her. "Because I was curious about you." Serelle murmured. What else could she say? Serelle struggled, but found even the starving woman's grasp too much for her. A little fear seeped in, but the woman seemed to be more afraid of Serelle than anything else. "I suppose you could kill me! But I'll scream. I'll scream really loud. So don't kill me, please!" Serelle pleaded. She struggled a little more, her feet dangling uselessly. Another angle had to be attempted. "I'll feed you. Just put me down." Serelle suggested. Nkiruka's eyes roved elsewhere, and she gently put Serelle down. Serelle immediately tore through her bag until her hands struck something that was hard. The albino drew out a small tin case, an image of a garden imprinted on the front. She popped it open, and sitting within were perfect brownies with a marbling of cream cheese to them. Serelle slid down the wall and placed the brownies on her lap. She plucked one out and handed it to Nkiruka daintily, and began to eat herself. "I'm Serelle Hosker. Who are you? Why are you here?" Serelle asked quite rapidly. Her wide eyes settled on her, a slight smile on her lips. The girl didn't seem bad. |
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| Nkiruka | Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:40 am Post #4 |
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After pausing for a brief time, Nkiruka set the girl down. This person was totally harmless. Avoiding eye contact, the mercenary was more embarrassed at her own poor judgment than anything. She turned her whole body away from the albino, running her fingers through her hair. "I wasn't going to kill you," she explained, frustrated. "Just don't tell anyone about this, okay?" She glanced back at her. Having slid down into a sitting position, she'd taken a brownie out of that tin of hers and was holding it up. Nkiruka took it from her hand, taking a few moments to stare dumbly at the outrageously decadent little thing. Internally, Nki wanted to break down into a fit of sobbing in sheer gratitude. Avoiding such dramatic displays, the woman simply folded her wings and sat down next to the girl a few feet away. While Nki savored every bite, Serelle introduced herself and asked her why she was there. "I'm Nkiruka," she begrudgingly answered. "I'm a mercenary. I came here for work." There was a long silence while both of them continued eating. Despite the woman intentionally pacing herself, the brownie disappeared from her hands much too quickly. Nkiruka already missed it. She licked her fingers and regarded the albino again, her voice more unsure of itself. "Don't be confused. I didn't put you down because you said you'd feed me. That's a ridiculous bribe- that's barely even a bribe. I just realized that you were harmless and weak." She looked down at her hands, shaking as they rested on her lap. To calm them, Nki clasped her fingers tightly together. "You should go back to wherever you came from." |
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| Serelle | Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:24 am Post #5 |
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Serelle handed Nkiruka the rest of the cookie tin, and nodded. "Why don't I help you? I'm well rested, fed, and hydrated. I'm also competent, sorta." Serelle said. She grabbed one of Nkiruka's arms by the wrist and dangled it, looking mock-severe. "We can't just have you charging about, right? Take me to where your job is, then I'll help you." Serelle continued. She nabbed a brownie out of the tin and ate it quickly. The albino paced back and forth in front of the girl before coming to a halt, and spinning around to look at Nkiruka. "Trust me, I'm really helpful!" Serelle finished. Edited by Serelle, Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:25 am.
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| Nkiruka | Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:29 am Post #6 |
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Nkiruka wrenched her arm out of Serelle's grip, scowling. "And what makes you think I'm not?" She was as furious as her tired state could allow. "Hell, what makes you think it's even relevant? I can actually tolerate the occasional rough patch, unlike delicate little girls." Her goldish eyes leveled on the girl, never wavering while she continued speaking. Serelle was trying to convince Nki that it was a good idea for her to tag along on her job. Staring a bit longer, the merc eventually just pushed herself to her feet -- wavering just barely under weak knees -- and walked off without a word. She knew full well that this behavior was the highest sign of disrespect given in her old culture. Nkiruka even made a point of asserting that her silence was not an invitation to continue following her; just before turning the corner into the street, she tossed Serelle a withering glare. It was only a ten- or fifteen-minute walk from that point to the small building that her contact reportedly resided. It was a streamlined, very new-looking little shop nestled between a mason and a half-finished general goods store. Nkiruka folded her wings and opened the door, disappearing into the building. "I bet it's my little mercenary friend!" a voice called from behind the counter, though its source was not visible. "Even from this distance, I can smell the blood and greed." Nkiruka rolled her eyes. Looking around, the place seemed to form the beginnings of an exotic weapons dealership. Her eyes immediately drifted to a masterwork, jewel-encrusted khopesh lying in one of the glass display cases; it reminded her of a good friend. A man popped up at the counter towards the back wall, having apparently bent down to retrieve something. He was several inches shorter than Nkiruka and looked overworked but generally upbeat. Giving a tired smile, he continued in his sort of annoying, sing-songy tone. "Definitely the merc I wanted. Nkiruka, right?" She cringed as he butchered the pronunciation of her given name. "Look, I know a guy, okay? He wants some guards stationed in the catacombs. Says there's 'enemies' there or some drivel. I told him he was crazy as a fox, that the guard was overextended already! They couldn't waste their time clearing out some old bones! He broke my arm and told me I needed to get someone down there." The man gave a sheepish smile and held up his braced, heavily bandaged limb that was held stable in a sling. "Where can I get into the Taras Catacombs?" Nki asked, coming to a stop. "There's an entrance out back. I'll give you the key. Really, I don't expect anything to be down there whatsoever. All I want is for you to go down there, look through it for a decent amount of time, and try to find some proof that you killed some 'enemies.' 'Kay?" Nki shrugged. "Doesn't seem bad for the pay." Her contact chuckled. "You look like you could use any copper you can get your hands on!" She didn't respond to that. How did people notice so easily? Edited by Nkiruka, Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:32 am.
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| Serelle | Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:06 am Post #7 |
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The woman walked off and left without a formal goodbye. Serelle, of course, followed. They hadn't said goodbye yet! She followed the mercenary, observing the sights, and inadvertently missing the woman's glare as she did so. Skeletal structures rose, bone white near the top but splashed with vibrant color towards the bottom. Men worked endlessly, hammers striking chisel and saw cutting wood. Mortar was splashed between stones of rising walls, craftsmen working quickly and precisely to raise a city in such a short time. It was inspiring for the sheltered girl to see so many working in such bright sun. Serelle blinked a few times and promptly stepped closer to the wall of buildings, hiding in the shade. They took a few more twists and turns before Nkiruka brought her to a small store. The girl wandered around, looking at some Istani cultural relics, weapons too heavy for her to use properly. Very shiny, of course. Her eyes bounced across a lovely set of daggers, before settling on the proprietor. She looked closely at the broken arm, curious as to how his limb had received such damage. Was he not a shop keeper? The merchant's story rolled off his tongue, his voice bearing an indiscernible foreign accent. Nkiruka began walking to the back door after his short story before he brought his eyes to Serelle. "Ah! Such a delicate creature, are you going to assist? Nkiruka-dearest will keep you safe and sound. I'll even give you a few coppers, you could even buy your parents something nice!" The salesman suggested. Serelle nodded quickly, musing on the fact she had easily thirty times as much secreted in her coin purse. The man guided them through a small stock room before pressing them into the outside. Endless ruins greeted them. Bricks, stone, wood all lay shattered. A bisected statue held his sword awkwardly up into the air, as though he had bent backwards while the artisan worked. His chiseled, confident look had more than a few cracks running through it. "The land was cheap, eh? But ah, it will all be replaced soon. The catacombs are the remnants of the city sewer, some ancient buildings and some freshly destroyed ones." The proprietor explained. He knelt down and unlocked a small hatch. Serelle leaned forwards, peering into the inky darkness far below. The man chuckled. "Ah, that is only temporary! A fungus from the underdark has spread across much of the stone. The lighting is very pleasant, almost romantic." He said with a dramatic wink towards the two girls. Serelle quickly descended down an shoddy wooden ladder. The seemingly ancient thing creaked and groaned, before her foot struck hard stone. She blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was a noise of rushing water, which made her more than a little nervous. There was also light, which she promptly moved towards. She held her hands away from her body, hopefully to prevent an embarrassing collision. She contacted a wall and felt around before finding the passage towards the light. She stepped through and her foot promptly struck stone, bringing her face first into a foot of water. Serelle panicked and lifted herself from the liquid with urgent, splashy movements. Regaining her composure, she sniffed the water timidly. It was perfectly normal, she realized. The girl rose from the water entirely and walked to the light source, a strand of some mold. The albino glanced along the fungus's extent, finding that it got thicker and significantly brighter. Serelle moved out of the way of the small strand and towards the larger whole, leaving the stream as she went. Her sandals made rather audible squelches as she went. |
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| Nkiruka | Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:50 am Post #8 |
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((OOC: I got permission from Ley to help Serelle up.)) "I'm not going to be your babysitter." Nkiruka stepped into the water, circling around to Serelle's front. Kneeling, the mercenary grabbed her forearm and helped the girl to her feet. Placing her hands on Serelle's shoulders, Nki bent down so that she was eye-to-eye with her. The low light caused her eyes to be unnaturally reflective. "Listen to me. This is very important. This distance that we're standing right now, about arm's length? You need to stay further than this distance from me the whole time that we're down here. In the possibility that there is something, I don't want you getting in my way while I kill it. If you do, I will cut you into little pieces. Okay?" Her hands slid off of Serelle's shoulders and returned to her sides. Now silent, Nkiruka made her way down the tunnel on the opposite wall. Further away, near-darkness gave way to light as some sort of bioluminescent fungus grew along the walls. In densely packed areas, it looked like the walls were made of light; where it was more sparse, they twinkled with all the complex beauty one might find in the night sky. Nki tried to focus more on the tunnels themselves. It was probably true that this manmade, underground river of sorts used to function as Taras' sewer system a long time ago. Something about it seemed incomplete, though. Nkiruka suspected that it was some sort of old version of the city's sewer system that mages ritualistically purified when they retired it. Otherwise, she couldn't fathom why people would decide to put a large catacomb immediately adjacent to a functioning sewer. Almost every few feet they traveled, a new side-path appeared. "The underground river must be the central feature of the whole system," Nki said. "It's the widest, most well-lit. Probably has the most exits. We need to keep track of where we are in relation to this river." The mercenary came to a sudden stop. They had been walking for almost a half-hour. To her left, a red flag draped from the wall. The pole that held it had been hammered between the bricks. Nkiruka approached it. In the light of the fungus, she could see three horizontal, parallel white lines painted onto the cloth. Everything about the decoration was shoddy. Curious, and pausing to look down the otherwise unremarkable hallway it marked, the mercenary unsheathed both of her knives and proceeded into the side-corridor. She didn't bother to explain to Serelle what she thought was going on -- Nki simply didn't know what it indicated. It shortly became apparent why these subterranean corridors were called the Taras Catacombs; the walls became crammed with indentations storing what could have been hundreds of stone caskets. Nkiruka would frequently find herself glancing over her shoulder, making sure Serelle was still there. Every now and then, the mercenary would stop to carve large arrows into the densest patches of fungus that pointed the opposite direction of where she was moving -- she felt like it would probably be safe to have a quick, simple way to get out if they needed to. The quiet was the worst thing. Nkiruka eventually caved, speaking to Serelle in a steady voice. "Always check behind you. These hallways branch off in every direction. Can you fight?" |
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| Serelle | Thu Feb 3, 2011 1:19 am Post #9 |
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Serelle followed along, her wet sandals slapping against her feet. She was mindful of the mercenary's mindless sword-swinging range, even as she felt the urge to charge ahead and look at all the delightful environments. Her mind drifted to all of her beloved stories. Demons and evil doers loved places like this, she mused, so she found it funny that there was a supposed group of bad folks hiding down here! Isn't it conspicuous when your secret club's members all go to the same place all at once? Serelle glanced over to the river as Nkiruka explained her idea. "Oh! Maybe. I wouldn't know. I'm not an underground sorta girl." Serelle said truthfully. It did make her sound a little dumb, but she saw no reason to lie. Her eyes watched a few blue and green mottled crustaceans move about the stone wreckage within the water, scuttling quickly from hiding spot to hiding spot. This forced a blink. "I think it might be salt. There's crabs. So this goes right out to the sea? Driven by the tides?" Serelle wondered out loud. Her mind flicked to a memory of the last time she was at Taras. They had been visiting the cooler Taras shores and trying some fishing in the surf. The fishing was a miserable failure at first, but then the tide came up. It was still a miserable failure, but at least her dad wasn't trying to catch bait fish. "...Oh. Oh my. Tides. Just a gander, but I think this place gets filled during high tide." Serelle continued. She glanced around, noting where the moss lived. Only scant inches at the top of the wall, and they had been traveling steadily, but slightly, downward from where they came. They'd probably be able to swim the way back. This calmed her down a little, plus, she had little to fear of salt water, or normal water. Their travel continued further, her sandals ceasing their wet flopping noises. They discovered a sign, which was their only lead, so they followed it. Nkiruka continued to lead for quite a distance, Serelle becoming increasingly cautious. They had been walking for quite a while, without any indication of where they were going. "Nkiruka, don't you find it funny we've been wandering into their base for minutes, with no contacts? You think this place is empty?" Serelle inquired. She turned around quickly and double checked a side passage they had just walked by. Another person peeked down the hall straight at her. "Inky! We've been surrounded!" The albino squeaked. A few men sprinted down the hall at them. Edited by Serelle, Thu Feb 3, 2011 2:48 am.
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| Nkiruka | Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:14 am Post #10 |
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Nkiruka came to a sudden stop. She tore her knives from their sheathes, violently elbowing a crimson-robed man in the process. He staggered back, giving her just enough time to slash him across the face. As he turned to run away, holding his face in pain, the mercenary followed through with her other knife on another attacker. She managed to stab him in the lower torso, torquing the blade in one direction before pulling it back out. As he fell, Nkiruka could see another standing much further away, apparently unarmed. He was whispering something to himself. "I hope you're holding out back there," she called over to Serelle, who was still behind her. Movement down the hall drew back Nkiruka's attention. Before she could realize what happened, a bolt of dark energy slammed into her chest. Sliding back several inches and being almost knocked over, Nki dropped her weapons and fell onto her knees, reeling. Pain originating from the spell's point of impact shot through her entire body, setting her nerves on fire. Wincing, still and silent, Nkiruka fought through her cramping muscles to look up at her attacker. He was much closer now, walking toward them both. Gnarled black claws made of dark energy grew from his right hand. Defiant, the mercenary tried to pick up her knives. |
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| Serelle | Fri Mar 25, 2011 4:42 am Post #11 |
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Serelle was nearly immediately tackled. Her vision blurred and stars flashed into existence. Her skull ached from an impact with stone. She gritted her teeth. Pain was something she wasn't entirely familiar with. More pain. What was she struck by? A fist? She cried out. Her eyes focused on a wooden club. She seized it with her hand, stopping its ascent. They struggled for a heartbeat. Serelle groaned, breaking into a scream. Her hand became a claw. A quick swipe brought blood spilling from the man's neck. He collapsed backwards. Serelle shifted the shape of the rest of her body. Powerful claws pushed the corpse from her, and she pressed herself to her feet. Another cultist hurled himself at her, dagger raised high. She kicked, cutting the man open. The pain left her, confidence replacing it rapidly. Serelle giggled, cracking a man's skull against the wall with a powerful limb. She repeated it once more. Her eyes trailed to Nkiruka. The albino blinked before rushing towards him. She leaped over Nkiruka's fallen form, and tackled the cultist to the ground. A brief few moments of intense struggle, claws rending air more than flesh. Blood flecked the walls as the two shouted meaningless noise at each other. Serelle gained the advantage somehow, rising up for a brief moment to claw the creature apart, spraying blood across the walls. She stood up slowly, legs shaking and chest heaving. Blood red eyes fell on Nkiruka, and she stretched out a blood-drenched claw to her ally. "Let's take a short break," Serelle said. She slumped against the wall, a long white tail coiling up beside her. Her little sandals held onto her heavily clawed feet in an awkward manner. "I...I do weird things, okay? " Serelle murmured in the direction of Nkiruka. She stared at her feet, and gently removed her footwear with the front of her clawed hand. She daintily put her shoes in her bag, and adjusted the seal on it. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise!" Serelle pleaded. The last thing she wanted to do was be stuck in these catacombs alone. |
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| Nkiruka | Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:33 pm Post #12 |
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The spell relinquished its grip on Nkiruka's muscles. She slumped against the wall. In front of her, Serelle struggled with her misshapen, bloodstained limbs. The corners of Nki's mouth lifted into a kind smile. She softly laughed. "I've seen weirder things." Perhaps the rush of being released from intense pain was what made her more amicable than she'd been all this time. Without moving very much, the mercenary reached out and retrieved both of her knives, sliding them into their sheathes. "I'm glad you're useful," she said in a slow, even voice. "I wouldn't have let you die, but you would've made my job a lot harder." Feeling around the back of her hip, Nkiruka eventually found the small waterskin she had. After untying it from her belt, opening it and taking a sip, she held it out toward Serelle. "Water?" After slowly gathering her strength over another minute or so, Nki managed to get back onto her feet. It would be a few more minutes yet before she'd be in some kind of fighting form, but it was progress. "Any idea what hit me?" she asked her ally. "I've heard that Enervation has some nasty effects, but I don't really fight a lot of magi. We need to be wary." She looked around. "Let's explore deeper. I don't like seeing people dressed alike attacking us. Not a good sign." Edited by Nkiruka, Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:34 pm.
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| Serelle | Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:35 am Post #13 |
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Serelle was overjoyed that the woman didn't mind her oddities, bringing a smile to her face. She accepted the girl's praise and water, sipping it. The albino gave the mercenary her water back, as delicately as possible with her clawed fingers. They rested together, listening to the total silence amongst the corpses. "Ennervation? I wouldn't know what it actually does. I've heard about it in stories. For all I know, you could have gotten hit by a love spell!" Serelle squeaked. She stood, bone scraping against bone and stone. She rose awkwardly, hip tilted to one side. "A lot of people in the same clothes isn't a big problem! It just means they must be creepy cultists, waiting to sacrifice a distressed damsel," the creature of bone and blood stated. She followed after Nkiruka awkwardly, moving with the awkwardness of something that wasn't used to its own limbs. They walked for another good long while, through slowly rising passages. The stone changed slowly, scarred deep with blows of sword and ax. Mold crept between cracks above a waterline at neck height. They walked farther, passing by another one of the cult's markings. "We must be getting closer," Serelle whispered. A long claw indicated the sign for a moment before passing forwards. They continued to walk, before the hallway widened into a single, large room. Tilted slightly to one side, with four broken stairs leading down to a massive structure. It had once been a theater of some sort, light brought in by a few flickering torches and a ceiling covered in luminescent mold. Crooked, shattered steps for seating, balconies half-hanging on rotting wood. A grand curtain hung awkwardly on one side, the other already fallen and mostly rotten. Serelle walked into the room, her massive clawed feet clacking against the ground as she went. "I bet this used to be a nice place," she exclaimed. There was a single shout, and then men poured in. From behind them they came surging down the steps. From the stage they rushed out, bearing all manner of equipment. Serelle's tail widened, bone plates widening outwards into a massive, chitinous forked end. Every surface on the appendage was a lethal edge. She waited for a split second, and then lunged through the air. Her leg separated for a split second, sending her into an arc passing over the front of the horde charging from the stage. One of them broke her fall, a massive clawed hand crushing him to the stonework. He looked shocked for a moment, before his skull was bashed against a hard edge. Serelle landed improperly, her other hand failing to catch herself before she struck shoulder first. She rolled, and pressed herself back to her feet as quickly as her bruised muscles would let her. Edited by Serelle, Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:35 am.
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| Nkiruka | Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:47 am Post #14 |
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Nkiruka had her knives out by the time she turned to face the men coming from behind them. Unceremoniously she slashed lines down the outside of her own forearms from the base of her elbow to the knob of her wrist, causing black blood to explode out of the wounds. They congealed into long lances running parallel to her arms, extending out further than the reach of her more conventional weapons. Flourishing her left-handed knife into the proper grip, she hurled it through the air. One of the charging men in the forefront stopped, gaping, the handle protruding from his stomach; his knees buckled, and he fell forward. Nkiruka kept her stance fluid as the rest of the robed men made contact. Light on her feet, she twisted and ducked to avoid an arcing longsword, following through by slamming her wing bodily into his back. He also fell forward; she made a point to stomp on his sword-wielding hand with superhuman strength, grinding her boot into the broken bones. While doing so, she was forced to deal with a flurry of blades from what seemed like every direction. While most of them were sloppy and ill-practiced -- she could manage to parry most jabs and slashes from the knife-wielder using the needle-like lances on her arms, for example -- the sheer volume of attacks allowed many to get through. When Nki could finally maneuver her way out of the group, her upper body was covered in cuts. Keeping her body facing the remaining assailants, she backed up the stairs, toward the dying man. Bloodlust filled the more inexperienced cultists; they began grinning. The knife-wielder scraped his blades together, taunting her. She kicked the fallen man's body with the side of her foot, rolling him over. They were charging again within seconds. Nkiruka rushed to tear her other knife from the robed man's stomach, straightening just in time to impale the knife-wielder on one of the blood-lances growing from her arm. She cranked it to the side, breaking it off, letting him collapse so she could stab the next cultist that attempted an attack. The last two hesitated. Nkiruka met their gaze with her own: an overall blank, vaguely disapproving stare. One of them turned around and ran toward the stage. The other hesitated, seeming to realize that Serelle and the mercenary had them all cornered, but followed anyway. ((OOC: Used Ink Lance tattoo and Bull's Strength.)) |
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| Serelle | Thu Apr 14, 2011 9:04 pm Post #15 |
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Serelle hissed, eyes alight. She stared at them as they backed away from Nkiruka's vicious blades. They died quickly. Her eyes flicked back to the group advancing on her, and she stepped back. Claws slid across water-rotted wood. One of them had a spear, he jabbed forward with quick movements. Serelle moved back with each thrust, the cultist became more aggressive. He leaned in and thrusted, Serelle moving out of the way a moment too late. The leaf blade sliced her shoulder open. She winced and gritted her teeth together. He drew back his spear. Claws dug into soft wood, she lunged forward. A mass of spines and bone struck the spear wielding cultist. Serelle scrambled to her feet, leaving lacerations across the man as she did. His allies fell upon her, wrenching her from one side to the other. Daggers and clubs fell near or on her. She lashed out with a claw, a man dropped. One of the others hesitated. Serelle lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. She jammed her clawed hand against his throat. She pulled it back and snapped her fingers shut. Serelle swung her tail, catching the last man in the stomach. Serelle stood with her eyes on Nkiruka. She allowed her tail to sway, they had won. In retrospect this whole endeavor was silly, Serelle was surprised she'd enjoyed fighting so much. A little giggle escaped her mouth as she flicked blood from her claws, and kicked more blood from the claws on her feet. Her cleaning was interrupted by a cackle. She immediately turned and stared at a cultist on the stage. He began a magical chant at the same speed as an auctioneer. Serelle growled and leaped. She landed at the stage's edge and bounded again, little splinters of wood clawed up in her wake. His chant ended abruptly as she was in mid air. He flashed, the air howled, and Serelle was knocked back in an explosion of bone and blood. |
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2:48 PM Jul 11

