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Post by Cefia on Feb 23, 2012 20:31:04 GMT -6
Cefia was about to run straight through the tunnels. She dropped the journal and ran straight towards the enemy. However this was no time to go berserk as she realized the size of the thing. They couldn't beat it, at least not now. She simply placed herself perpendicular to Derick.
"When I say run, do it," she warned Derick, sweat building up along her brows. She had somewhat of a plan already formed in her head. If it worked, it would be great, if not, she planned on taking down the scorpion regardless. With that thought in mind, she threw her hand axe.
The blade twisted through the air, managing to sever the stinger of the monster but only barely. It still hung on but as long as it didn't touch them it would still be fine. The insect let out a squeal of pain and reared back, bumping off a scorpion behind it.
"Run!" she ordered, before the axe reeled back towards her. She had to wait for it to return back into her hands unless she risked losing a weapon or an axe to the back. This allowed the giant scorpion to regain enough composure to strike with its pincers. It nicked her left thigh as she caught her axe and ran.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 23, 2012 20:57:16 GMT -6
Derick's combat reflex surged as he and the beast face-off, he dimly heard Cefia's voice as he drowned in his personal hell of adrenaline and bloodlust. "--do it." Derick's brow contorted as he tried to concentrate, "d-d-do...it?" his mouth could barely form the words. Death was whispering on the wind...
It whipped past his right side, Derick's eyes dimly followed the slash of light as it circled around him. The ray spun almost majestically before colliding with the plus-size scorpion. It screeched, and whipped its tail violently as the crescent receded, and that's when Derick saw the blood.
The lance clattered to the ground, abandoned along with conscious thought. Derick's legs pounded against the rock in an all-out sprint. His shoulder dropped and in a final heave, he launched himself at the scorpion. Derick's cries and the scorpion's intersected on impact, punctuated by the brutal crunch of steel on brittle hide. Time stood still for a fleeting second, and then the beast lurched backward, skittering across the rock. It squealed in panic as it tried to reattach to the floor, but to no avail, it catapulted into the black whole and disappeared in a twinkling.
Derick's body forced itself up and ran to the edge of the chasm. His legs tensed as he prepared to dive...But a will to survive prevented him, he collapsed at the chasm's edge, gasping as he pulled the musty cavern air into his starved lungs. He wordlessly surveyed his surroundings...the scorpions had stopped advancing...and they were slowly crawling down the sides of the hole...what was?...
SSSKKRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The howl was agonizing, Derick lay flat on the ground and clutched his ears, physically recoiling from the power of the cry. As the last echoes died away, Derick sat up and stared in wordless terror at Cefia.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 23, 2012 21:07:38 GMT -6
Cefia let out an exasperated sigh. Whoever Derick took out seemed important to the other scorpions. With the extra time on their hands, she leaned against the size of the tunnel. Now that they had time to breath, she felt the full blunt of her thighs. It was a relatively large slash wound, she won't be able to run as fast. At the very least it didn't cut deep as it could have.
"We need to find a way out and quick," she stated the obvious more for herself than Derick. Now was also the perfect time to give the young soldier a scolding or two.
"When I said, run, I meant out through the tunnel," she said, her voice sounding angrier with each word.
"What you did was reckless, hazardous, completely uncalled for. Do not do it again!" she barked or rather growled the last words out.
"But thanks, good job, not come on, let's move," her voice made a complete u-turn and actually sounded like how a mother would praise their child for good work. She pushed herself off the wall and began to half limp into whatever awaited them.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 23, 2012 21:23:00 GMT -6
Derick retrieved his lance and quick-stepped over to Cefia's side. He noted that she was nursing a wound on her thigh...A profound amount of guilt weighed on his heart immediately, "Cefia...I--" she cut him off, "We need to find a way out, and quick." Derick nodded and held out his hand to assist her, if needed. He had another thing coming...
Cefia chewed him out for his actions, each and every one of them. Derick opened his mouth many times to interject, but instead ended up petering out awkwardly or stuttering so badly that he would instead shut his mouth and hang his head in shame. By the end of the lecture, he almost felt like he would have been better off jumping into the abyss after all...
"But thanks, good job, now come on, let's move," she said this cheerfully, almost as if praising him, and then pushed off the wall and started down the tunnel, completely ignoring his hand. Derick's mouth fell open and he stared after her in dazed confusion. Half a minute passed before he regained his senses, "H-hey! Wait up!" He jogged after her and uncertainly offered his arm for her to lean on.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 24, 2012 10:32:54 GMT -6
Cefia was getting relatively tired of all this cave scenery. Her slight limp was getting better as she got used to it. The make shift torch also seemed to be dying out. How she managed to hold on to it was beyond her. What they need now was a new source of light.
The passage widened the farther they went in. It became far larger than she had wanted. If a group of those insects came trudging through, they would soon be dead. She bit down on her bottom lip, almost drawing blood.
"It seems lucks been going downhill," she muttered to herself.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 26, 2012 9:30:01 GMT -6
Derick walked beside Cefia through the spacious tunnel. He had explored a small cave when he got lost in the woods, but this was an entirely different matter. It was beautiful, and exciting! Derick's heart remained in good spirits, despite the monsters and darkness.
Cefia stumbled again, Derick reached out to catch her, but withdrew his hands at the last moment. What is wrong with me? Despite their time together, he was still shy about being close...stupid.
"It seems lucks been going downhill," Cefia muttered. It was meant to be only to herself, but Derick opened his mouth before he could stop himself, "It's not all bad..." he paused, they were in a cave full of scorpion monsters, things were most certainly not ideal. "We're alive and..." his sentence was cut off as they entered a new chamber. It was...different. Somebody, or several somebodies, had carved the stone in this chamber. The walls, floor, and ceiling were completely smooth and had some ornate swirls carved into them. "Where are we?"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 26, 2012 15:27:10 GMT -6
Cefia examined the large room closely. It brought into question of where the heck are they? She thought the whole place was just some natural disaster but by the looks of the current area, some of it appeared man made. Her limp seemed to have gotten better as her body was getting used to the pain. She might not be able run at the moment but prospects was still positive as she saw the corridor across the room.
As she took steps forward, she realized something. Bones littered the floor and there was another hole in the ground. Its edges looked rough and she could smell the stench of dirt.
"Ugh, its a trap," she said with a grumble.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 26, 2012 15:47:03 GMT -6
Derick stopped as Cefia crossed the room, the floor was covered in bones...but there was more to it. The stone had great scuff marks in it, almost as if something had..."Cefia!" Derick ran to catch up with her as she drew nearer to the hole, "I think that!--"
SSSKKRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The agonizing howl echoed in the mighty chamber, forcing Derick to cover his ears once again. This howl sounded much less distant, and more pure. Derick mused, it's almost as if...SSSKKRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!--it was in the room... The silence that followed was almost as piercing as the cry itself. Derick spun in place several times, looking for the source of the awful howling. A dull roar was gradually replacing the silence, and the floor was shaking...What's going on? As Derick completed this thought, a chuck of rock dropping just inches from his feet. The small boulder shattered, splinters of rock deflected off of Derick's leg armor. He looked up...
"WATCH OUT!" Derick dove into Cefia, driving her to the ground and covering her with his body as the ceiling and walls crumbled. The chamber was a cacophonous roar as boulders detached themselves and came crashing to the floor. After a full minute, the debris seemed to have settled, Derick looked up cautiously, the room was now a maze of immense boulders, minuscule crevices, and winding pathways...Something under him shifted, Cefia! "I'm sorry!" he stood up and rubbed the back of his neck before it occurred him that he should be helping her up. Derick rushed to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder while proffering his other hand for her own. "I didn't mean to...wasn't thinking...are you hurt?..."
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Post by Cefia on Feb 26, 2012 16:14:47 GMT -6
Cefia was caught by surprise from the sound of the screech. It became worse as she fell forward as Derick tackled her over. The whole room seemed to collapse on them. This was all going quite swell...
As the dust and debris began to clear out, Cefia coughed and hacked a bit. Her lungs burned from breathing in during the collapse. She saw what Derick saw, a maze of rocks, walls, and boulders. Now they had to make their way through to get to the other side. As she dusted herself, she spat a bit onto the ground. During her fall, she landed face first onto the ground. It was only natural for dirt to enter her mouth. This was hardly the first time but those stories can be shared late.
"Ye're not goin' to pick up many girls by knockin' them over 'n makin' them put grub in em gullet,"she joked, adding back her pirate accent for effect. She coughed a little bit more and spat the dirt out with the ease of a professional (don't ask me how).
"No time to waste though," she said, switching over to something more of a standard. She then began to make her way farther into the maze, taking note of the scuttling that seem to come from all sides.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 26, 2012 16:36:05 GMT -6
Cefia stood up and seemed fine, thankfully...Her face contorted as she stood, causing Derick some alarm, but rather than cry out in pain she began spitting out dirt. Thank goodness you're alright... "Ye're not goin' to pick up many girls by knockin' them over 'n makin' them put grub in em gullet," she said it with a smile, but Derick flinched. He hadn't meant to--He allowed that thought to drop, there were more important matters to attend to.
His companion took the initiative on navigating the chaotic maze the room had transformed into. Derick watched his foot as they moved along, there was hardly any even ground left in the formerly pristine room...it would be easy to hurt something if there weren't careful. Derick talked aloud, hoping to move past his error, "do you think we're close to getting out?" As his sentence hung in the air, the ground trembled again. Another collapse?! Derick hung his head, they couldn't catch a break.
The ground a few meters to right of Derick and Cefia exploded, erupting in a shower of rock fragments and a cloud of dirt. Derick's gloom was immediately cast aside as his combat reflex set off once again. He readied his lance and stepped between Cefia and the blast. As the dirt settled, a massive armored juggernaut emerged from the middle of the room.
It was a scorpion.....if it was possible for a scorpion to be the size of a small house anyway. The eyes on it's head were glowing red, and its sparkling black armor was the thickest Derick had ever seen. Feeling slightly awestruck, Derick didn't move until he glimpsed the queen's massive tail slowly raising up, slathered in deadly venom. "LOOK OUT!"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 26, 2012 16:54:30 GMT -6
Cefia's eyes opened wide with surprise. She will never need a monocle to realize the size of the monster before them. What had they gotten themselves into?
As the tail came down upon them, she dove out of the way. The aim was true and sure enough, she could hear the sizzling coming from the spot she once were. Make no mistake, she wasn't the most athletic for she struggled to get up as she laid sprawled on the ground again. She also managed to get more dirt into her mouth.
She examined the situation for as long as time permitted. There appeared to be something stuck at the base of the giant scorpion's tail. She couldn't quite make it out but it obviously didn't belong.
"Derick, can you distract it for a minute?" she shouted over at the young soldier. It was more of an order when it came from her mouth though. She was intent on getting whatever was stuck there.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 26, 2012 17:27:45 GMT -6
Derick ducked under the tail as it lunged forward. It missed him completely, so its attention was focused on Cefia...not good. He studied the creature, looking for an angle. It was hunched closely to rocks, so getting a clean shot at it's unarmored underbelly would be nigh on impossible...To complicate things further, its armor seemed far more developed than its young, the cracks in the queen's armor seemed to have more armor underneath. Derick supposed he could still wound it, but there was no way he could kill it in its present state.
"Derick, can you distract it for a minute?" Cefia called from somewhere nearby. The labyrinth of wreckage made it almost impossible to see anything on the same level. Higher ground had advantages here. "I'm on it!" Derick called out in no direction in particular. He knelt and picked up a chunk stone by his feet. He squeezed through two boulders leaning against each other, and found the queen on the other side. It was shuffling to and fro, evidently it had lost track of Cefia. That was good, but Cefia wanted it's attention directed at him. He closed one eye, judging the distance before heaving the rock. It sailed through the air and struck the scorpions back solidly. Derick took a step back in anticipation of being chased but...nothing...
"I guess that would be too easy..." Derick grumbled to himself. In truth, he relished the opportunity to get close...to get some action. He picked his way through the rubble, moving as quick as the treacherous footing would allow. He drew within a few yards of the scorpion and quickly formulated a new plan. The queen was facing the opposite direction now, digging through some rocks in search of prey. Derick gathered two stones and scrambled up a particularly large chuck of debris that had fallen off of the wall. Standing on the platform, he was now level with the creature. Derick took a deep breath, closing his eyes and embracing the cocktail of hormones surging through his system. Opening one eye, his left arm reared back and chucked the stone almost of its own accord.
The rock sailed through the air and struck one of the queen's reddened eyes. It screeched and turned around with almost blurring speed. Its eyes locked on Derick immediately. Perfect! Derick whipped the second stone, unconcerned about where it landed. It bounced off the queen's back, but it had pinpointed the source of injury. It charged after Derick, bent on killing him. Derick laughed confidently and slipped of his perch.
The queen was rapidly approaching, but Derick has a plan. He started to run away, but then dropped to his hip. Sparks flew as he slid on his hip plate into a crevice in the wreckage. The queen's head bashed into his hiding place. Her mighty jaws crunched down on Derick's right arm. Derick's armor crumpled and he screamed hoarsely as the bite mangled his arm. He reflexively struck out with his lance, the queen recoiled, giving Derick enough time to pull himself deeper into the hole. The queen snapped at him again, but he was safely out of reach...That didn't stop her from trying.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 26, 2012 18:08:20 GMT -6
Cefia had practically slipped out of the scene. If she was just a normal scumbag, she would have ditched the young man to fend for himself. Luckily for him, she might have been filth, a pillager, marauder, and a scoundrel but she never abandons an ally. To prepare for her plan, she just had to make sure she wasn't for the target, long enough to sneak up behind the scorpion.
Derick's antic worked for the most part but it was moving far too fast. She was unable to sneak up properly unless she wanted to get stung in the face. With that in mind, she let out a sigh of relief when it began to go at Derick with full force. When she heard the scream however, she knew she had to hurry.
Not wasting anytime, Cefia rushed behind the monster. Once again she was thankful for the height. It didn't take long, while up close to realize what it was. The axe was quite a bit larger than her steel axe. The large end appeared to be embed into the monster while the smaller end glistened like new.
She took one deep breath and half cursed herself for what she was about to do. She took hold of the large axe and tugged with all her might. The thing came with much effort but the first attempt was enough. She gripped the weapon with both of her hands until the knuckle turned white. Without further thought she swung the thing, the axe tore through the scales like nothing as the new blow practically tore the tail off. The scorpion screeched with pain this time and turned towards her. Its tail hung on off, almost detached.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 26, 2012 18:39:42 GMT -6
Derick looked at his hand with a morbid fascination. The queen's bite had thoroughly mutilated it, the armor plating on his glove and forearm was perforated, with shreds of the metal embedded in his skin. He would need to use vulnerary on it, but now wasn't a good time, he was left-handed anyway.
The queen bashed against the rock yet again, and Derick felt his hiding place shift. This was not good at all, if the rock came loose, Derick would be crushed instantly. He hoped Cefia was getting the time she needed--The queen screamed and abruptly turned away from Derick's hiding spot, whatever Cefia had done, the queen had almost certainly heard it. Derick grabbed his slim lance and ducked out of the crevice, eager for blood.
Derick was immediately faced by the tip of the queen's tail. He back against the rock, unsure of what was going on. He traced the malevolent stinger to its source and was surprised by what he saw. The tail has hanging on by a thread of sinew and plating...what had Cefia done?
The tail flicked, Derick lunged to the side just in time to dodge it. Although it was incapacitated, it could still move, and that venom...Derick stared at the pools of green forming on the craggy floor...that venom. Derick stomped right next to the tip of the tail, eliciting a weak response from spastic tail muscles. Derick ignored this and drove his lance through the tail once...twice...thrice. The tail flailed again, but Derick paid no heed to it as he balanced on the tail with one foot and then twisted his heel. There was a moist tearing noise, and the tip of the tail parted ways with the rest of the tail.
Although the queen's sense of feeling in its tail was diminished. It certainly seemed to feel its tail rip apart. It started to turn around, Derick knew his time was limited. He plucked the tail tip off of the ground and affixed it atop his slim lance. The spear tip dug into tough scorpion flesh and held nicely...perfect.
The queen's red eyes were affixed on him now. Derick took a deep breath, allowing his consciousness to intertwine with his combat reflex. His eyes opened, and his lance extended straight into the queen's rapidly approaching mouth. Derick's temporary spear tip buried itself somewhere within the queen's internal tissues, releasing its toxin and causing the queen to rear up whilst screaming perversely. "Cefia! NOW!"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 26, 2012 18:54:09 GMT -6
Cefia was glad that Derick came out to help. His distraction had helped them immensely and her new shiny weapon was sure effective at tearing apart the scaly armor. It doesn't make her any more immune to death like any other person though.
When its attention was focused on her, it began to frantically swipe at her with its claws. She barely managed to avoid a wound to the already injured thigh. However one attack almost tore her arm off, barely nicking it on the side. The thing was smarter than it looks though as it grabbed hold of the axe's blade. She didn't give it a change to throw it aside, as she pushed down with all her might. The weapon slid out of place and tore through the plated claw.
Thanks to Derick's new distraction, she took the chance to finish it off. She heaved the blade over her head and charged forward, no longer worried about the poison tip. Her charge opened up the wound on the thigh but she didn't care as she brought the axe down. The monster screamed out as the blade sank deep into its head. With one final heave she pried it out and brought it down again. After twitching for a moment, it finally stopped moving.
"We must hurry and get out of here," she stated. She wasted no time making her way to the general direction of the hopeful exit. They will have to check for injuries after they get out of there. There was more smaller scorpions left after all.
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