Slaughter in the Snowdrifts (Eris/Semi-Open)

[Minerva]

The snow fell ceaselessly upon the village streets, piling into drifts that blew with the driving wind. Most of the inhabitants of the city had retreated indoors, though it was barely past noon, because of the vicious and biting cold and the unforgiving conditions. Ice and snow made even walking treacherous, and there were few who were foolish enough to go out of doors.

A blue flame bobbed up and down along a deserted avenue. Minerva was humming happily to herself as she strolled down the street, seemingly oblivious to the cold and the pelting snow. In fact, she seemed to be steaming slightly, and snowflakes melted upon careening into her cloak. It was most unusual, but then again, most people were not mages.

The city was calm, and the watchmen at the gates shivered, cursing their luck and waiting for the next shift, stamping their feet and grumbling to one another. This was certainly the rottenest of luck, being on watch during a blizzard. Who on earth would attack a village during a fiendish snowstorm?

Who indeed…

A few kilometers outside the city, and closing fast, was a most unusual group of bandits. Defectors from the Bernese military, some of them, others from Ilia, and the remaining common hill brigands. The motley group made up for what it lacked in cohesion or communication with brute strength. In fact, each unit often bickered with the others over spoils or who took the point in the attack, so poorly organized were the bandits.

But that did not lessen the danger of their attack. The first unit was a group of five Wyvern Knights who had grown tired of following Ilian orders. They broke from their homeland and took to raiding the countryside, where they conglomerated with a hill tribe of axe- and sword-wielding brigands. The ‘band’ moved eventually to Ilia, where a rogue cell of Ilian mystics assimilated themselves into the group in order to more easily obtain blood sacrifices for their Nether-fueled rituals.

The mystics, used to the conditions, were closing in on the town’s southern gate. They would attempt to breach the walls from that location and then puncture inward. Simultaneously, at least in theory, the Wyvern Riders would have come in from the north, drawing the guard presence that way and bypassing the walls and gates entirely. Finally, the hill brigands would provide support and simply maul the forces after bashing through the eastern gate. The tactic often worked, not due to adherence to strategy or careful timing, but rather due to the individual competence of the bandits.

The town sat, oblivious to the approaching threat, as the bandits drew ever nearer. They would be upon the village within minutes, and no guard was the wiser.

OOC: To enter, please see the LFM thread.

[Eris Coulson]

It was a good thing there was no one defining trait that helped one tell a Bernese person from, say, a Lycian. Eris wasn't stupid enough to try and pretend she was Ilian, but she sure as crap wasn't about go around stating she was from Bern. Thankfully for her that was a rather easy thing to lie about. It wasn't like she was patriotic or proud of Bern. Maybe had she done more in the rebellion she'd have more pride for it...but really there was far more shame than anything else.

The strawberry-blonde shivered and crossed her arms tight as she strode through the streets. In Sacae her gear was just a bit too hot, but here it was barely warm enough. It seemed Bern DID have a favorable climate for her if nothing else, but then again it was all she was used to. She knew the mountains were similarly frigid, with pure white snow drifting onto the summits near constantly. This village was no different.

Snow and ice had begun to clump in her hair, and Eris had even bothered to keep her helmet on for a touch of extra warmth. She hadn't hit teeth chattering point yet, but she was close. Her nose was red and her cheeks flushed as her body did what it could to spread warmth throughout her.

Then she heard it. Something strange. Though the snowfall seemed endless the winds were not that strong. The village was sleepy, quiet. Perhaps it was only because the sound was once so familiar to her that Eris even picked up on it at all. The sound of wings beating through the air. Her immediate thought was "This is Ilia. It's probably some prissy Pegasus Knights here to drink and show off to the men, bragging about their gold and their skill and long legs and..." Her bitter, envious train of thought came to an end, though, as the sound grew louder.

These were not wings of feathers, but leather. She'd heard it so many times. Watching Commander Ilheod run drills with his squadron. Fighting larger battles alongside the rebellion's finest.

Eris looked around swiftly, adjusting her eye patch to see if her eye could handle sight yet. It was none too bright out, but even still what light there was stung and left her vision in that eye blurry. Too soon, it seemed. Eris was able to make out the form of some bluish haired woman walking a bit ahead of her, though, so she sped her stride up to catch up to her.

"Hey!" Eris blurted out loudly, cutting straight to the point. "Weird question, but does Ilia have any Wyvern units? Any around here?"

[Minerva]

Minerva continued her walk, moving forward purposefully. The aura of heat around her was steady and small, but she was comfortable as she strode through the snow. Then there was a hail, no-nonsense and brash. Looked to be a soldier. Odd hair, odd garb, perhaps Lycian, or Bernese. Definitely not Ilian, otherwise she wouldn’t be freezing her face off. Whatever.

Wyvern units? Was she dense? This was Ilia, land of the gods-be-damned Pegasus Knights. The princesses of stick-up-your rear always-on-my-high-horse better-than-thou how-dare-you-look-in-my-direction-peasant…did she miss any?

Ugh. Pegasus Knights. They made her sick. But anyway, either this woman had hypothermia, was an absolute idiot, or both. Most likely the last option, since she was wearing light gear in an Ilian blizzard and was babbling about Wyverns. The sheer ridiculousness of it almost made Minerva laugh, but she managed to keep her calm.

"Uh, no. This is Ilia. We have Pegasus Knights. The Wyverns are all over in Bern. You doing ok there, soldier? You look pretty cold, and you’re talking crazy talk. If you want I can get you to an Inn, I guess."

---

The mystics actually arrived first, sliding to a halt outside the walls and throwing grappling hooks upward. Their dark maroon cloaks stood out against the snow, but no one could see them through the walls. They did, however, see them when all six of them, five plus the unit leader, came in almost synchrony over the wall, loosening their grips on the ropes and sliding down to surround the gate. The two guards were massacred, their bodies slammed to the earth and impaled with physical manifestations of Nether power. Their ruinous power was not to be sneezed at.

However, their attack was delayed slightly as they cut open the guards’ bodies, spilling the hot blood in an odd shape on the ground and wailing like maniacs before smearing their faces and hands with the lifeblood and even eating of their victims’ flesh.

Then they charged towards the center of town, letting out a vicious scream.

---

Minerva looked up, surprised. There was a war-whoop of some sort, and she caught sight of a man who looked to be covered with blood tearing down the street towards her and the soldier, wailing like a dying animal. Then she saw his hands raise, and a glow of darkness began to surround them. There was a flash of light as the mage said something unintelligible, and then all went white as a small sheet of ice shot up in front of the two, Minerva holding her hands forward as if trying to keep something from tumbling down upon her. Sticking through the ice sheet, only a half of a meter from the soldier and mage, a spike of blackish magic hung for a moment before both it and the ice shield crumbled.

Minerva’s head whipped up towards the sky as the shadow of a Wyvern flew overhead. What in the name of hell was going on here? Turning to the soldier, she grabbed her roughly and almost hurled her into an alley to get out of an immediate danger zone.

"I don’t know what in blazes is going on here, but I do know that you’re about the only person I’ve seen so far that isn’t trying to stab me with filthy dark magic. So we’re going to have to work together if we want to survive the onslaught. I know full well that his magic has an advantage over mine, but I think we both know that those robes won’t stop a spear. So if I keep him busy, you stab him. Then we have to figure out how to get rid of that Wyvern Rider."

---

The hill tribe was drawing nearer, and the six Shamans had spread out, beginning to sweep forward through the town. The one engaging Minerva and Eris was the frontrunner, but more were not far behind. Overhead, the Wyvern Riders were coming down towards the barracks, intending to take out the town guard in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, most of the town guard were suiting up in their homes, having abandoned the cold barracks for their wives and fireplaces. That would buy the militia much-needed time, but would it be enough?

[Eris Coulson]

Hindsight was a wonderful. Had Eris been blessed with access to it, she may not have seen Minerva's comment quite the way she did. Perhaps the mage was simply attempting to be friendly, and show some genuine concern.

All Eris heard, and felt, was attitude. Condescending and dismissive. Eris rolled her eye and glowered at the mage. "Yeah, I'm pretty f**k**g sure I know this is Ilia by now. Where the hell else would I be if I'm freezing my tits off just walking through a city." There was no real rage or venom in Eris' tone, nor was she frothing at the mouth mad. She was simply unamused, particularly not interested in being so easily dismissed.

Before she could make another retort, though, the town erupted in sound. A battle started to break out. Men and women acting as town guard hurried and stumbled through the snowy streets, screaming bloody murder and forewarning both the citizens and their comrades of some manner of attack. Then Eris looked up and...well wouldn't you f**k**g know it. A freaking Wyvern. She wished she could just outright state she's from Bern: a real Bernite knew a wyvern when they saw or heard one, no matter how much they disliked the winged lizards.

"Well would you look at that?" Eris started, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she studied the growing chaos. "Maybe I'm just crazy, but I'm pretty sure that's a mother fu-" Eris' bitter-triumphant rant was ended swiftly, the mage forcefully shoved her into the nearest alleyway. The...unwanted physical contact immediately set a spark of adrenaline, like getting hit in the chest with a pebble and the heat from the welt spreading out through her veins. There was no pain, only anger and energy.

"Okay, hands off lady!" Eris barked, continuing to glower at the woman as she began to lay out some sort of...wait, what? Was she actually trying to save this town? Eris shoved past the woman and gazed around the corner, studying what she could see. Mages, looked like dark magic casters, had begun to take control of the streets. So far there was only one wyvern in the sky...but riders rarely flew alone. This could be some renegade squad of Bern soldiers that wanted to stick it to Ilia even harder than they already did, or these could have been the old regime loyalists who got booted out when the rebellion won.

Either way, they were not to be messed with. Neither were any mages, for that matter. If they had any powerful magic at their disposal Eris could wind up blasted or torn to bits without much of a warning. She'd seen what magic could do during the war, and it wasn't pretty.

"...All right. You sound like a quick thinker, so kudos to coming up with a quick plan." Eris turned on her heel and stepped towards the woman. Tch, damn. She was pretty, too. Would have been a lot easier had she been some ugly old hag mage or something. Ugh. That just made Eris even angrier, and she sneered as she continued on. "It's a damn shame your plan sucks bandit balls. What I'm GONNA do is slink around this mess and get the hell out of here."

She took a moment to size the woman up. She sounded confident, was irritatingly attractive, and claimed to be a mage, but for all Eris knew she couldn't tell conjure up a fart let alone any useful magic. "If you're smart you'll do the same. If we get spotted, we cut down anyone in our path. Or, you can mount your little counter-attack, and wind up as wyvern-chow. Your call."

[Minerva]

Wow, the soldier had one hell of a tongue and a temper about as short as her own! If she wasn't suddenly interrupted by the Shaman, Minerva would have sassed her right back, but as it was she was cut off once more by the woman, who had to get in another jab as the damned winged beast flew by overhead.

"Maybe I'm just crazy, but I'm pretty sure that's a mother fu-

Okay, hands off lady!"

Minerva almost lost it. She had been trying to save the woman's sorry rear, and the best the soldier could do was give her grief for it? Damned if she was going to take that from anyone, much less some punk soldier who was shivering like a wimpy Lycian in a mild Ilian snowstorm. Puny.

Then Eris began her little rant about Minerva's plan. Well, the soldier had never worked with bandits before, then. Slink around the mess? More like get her head sliced off and eaten by one of those freaky cult worshippers the dark magic users. Oh, Eris was done? Good. Time for Minerva to speak her piece.

"Look, b****, don't tell me what to do. I'm helping you save your sorry ass from these blood-sucking devil worshippers and all you do is give me grief? You have to be kidding me. If I thought we could save this steaming pile of dung I would have gotten the town guard, not a wimp who's freezing in the middle of a little snow. Don't get me wrong, we're blowing this joint, but there's no way in Gaea you'll get through this mess by slinking around. And if I'm not mistaken, you haven't had the exquisite pleasure of working with bandits, so you have no idea how they run these things. So listen and let me save your ass again.

We're going straight through the blood-suckers. Since we're pretty far away from the south gate, and that's probably where they came in through, I bet you'd say go for the eastern one. But that's most likely where their reserves are waiting to slaughter the fleeing civilians. Or maybe it's already fallen and they're pushing us all into a corner to cut us down. Both are valid. But either way, we've got to go now. And I'd rather take the blood-suckers head on than have them coming at us from behind."

As Minerva spoke, the flapping of wings intensified, and the rest of the Rider unit shot by. Five total... Too many to field. Thankfully, the streets gave them some cover, if they stayed on back alleys. That would lengthen the journey, though.

"Well, there's another problem. Let's go, soldier. You in front, me behind. If you see one of the bloodsuckers, shish-kebab him while I try to roast him alive. And stick to the alleys, or we will end up Wyvern food. Now let's get the hell out of here!"

---

The town guard scrambled from their homes, pikemen and swordsmen rushing out to see the Wyvern Riders striking from the sky. The militia force concentrated their work on keeping the airborne attackers busy, and the mystics crept ever nearer to Eris and Minerva's position. Archers began to strike back at the fliers, but the sheer number of them made it difficult to concentrate their fire enough to bring one down. The hill tribe charged nearer to the eastern gate, closing the distance. Impact would soon strike the town, and it would get a lot worse.

[Eris Coulson]

Eris grit her teeth and glared at Minerva. The bitch had the nerve to talk back to her, but at least they were clear on the goal. Much as Eris would prefer it it was definitely dangerous for her to go alone. For some reason Minerva did not think that stealth would work, which made no sense to her. They were just two people in a town full of more people. If they were trying to leave then yeah, sure, could mean they were going to get help for the town (as if). Eris got that logic.

But the odds of these morons fixating that much on just the two of them felt low.

Regardless Eris was freezing and pissed off. Time was of the essence, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let this bitch run the show. "Oh hell no, bitch. Don't you tell ME what to do either. I haven't "worked with bandits", but I've sure as crap dealt with them before. They're just here to f**k crap up. If you stay out of their sight they won't mess with you. And I'm not acting as some meat shield for you. We rush through these alleys side by side or not at all, got it?"

More flapping, meant more wyverns were coming. Eris gazed around the corner and up towards the sky. Was hard to see through the flurries and grey skies but...ah hah, there they were. About five more wyvern riders now. Great. Eris just hoped none of them could bother with them in the alleyways. There'd be no room for their stupid winged lizards to land, so odds were they just had to deal with the shamans instead.

Fantastic.

Eris moved back around the corner of the building and eyed the nearest alleyway. The stupid mage seemed to think East was a trap, but frankly Eris had been hoping to go West. South would be preferable, but West looked to be the longer way out. Meant the odds of there being any more brigands that way was a little less.

"All right, let's go. I hope to hell you know what you're doing with your magic." Eris gripped her lance and charged through the alleys, heading to the town's West exit. She doubted the bitch mage would follow alongside her, so she made sure to keep her eye back on her as often as she could afford to. Didn't trust the blue haired Ilian anymore than she could throw a wyvern.

[Minerva]

Minerva laughed loud and boisterously. If they stayed out of their sight they won’t mess with the two of them? That was glorious. She loved the idea of bandits who left people alone. While they were at it, why not just leave the city itself, that way people could move back in? Y’know, abandon the whole ‘raze it to the ground’ and just ask nicely for all their money.

Well, the foreigner would have a lot coming to her. Ilian bandits tended to kill everyone, take everything, and burn anything they couldn’t take to the ground. And since most bandits lacked the ability to move a village, most villages that fell to bandit attacks fell. Crashed and burned, really. In fact, she’d been the primary cause of a couple village fires. Ahh, how nice it was to possess the power to freeze and burn, to shock and buffet with wind.

The sound of the Wyverns intensified, and Minerva shook her head slowly, watching them soar overhead. This was bad.

Then the foreigner took off, Minerva following behind her. No way was she leading. The cold woman kept looking back, as if she expected Minerva to have left. Where the hell else would she be going? The soldier would be better served watching where she was going, lest they run into-

As the two raced West, they came into an intersection at the same time as one of the first of the mystics, who was charging from the South. The first move came from the blood-smeared Shaman, who wailed loudly. A sort of ritual cry, by the sound of it. And then he leaped forward, eyes glinting with barbaric glee and teeth bared as he summoned a spear of dark power from his maw towards Eris.

Against her better judgement, Minerva got in front of the attack, barking a few words in a language long relegated to historians and mages, calling forth Fimbulvetr in a chunk of ice from her stiff-arm and extended palm. The icy sheet erupted out from her hand, taking the shape of a tower shield. As the Ruin spear contacted it, Minerva was thrown backwards, past Eris, her shield shattering even as the mystic fell backwards, off balance after the sudden collision. Hopefully Eris could finish him off, but Minerva took no chances, scrabbling to get a handhold and quickly springing upright once more, looking to see if her companion had finished the blood-sucker off.

---

The Eastern gate shook with the force of many axes and a battering ram as the hill tribe slammed into it with full force. Men began scrambling up the wall using hooks even as their compatriots continued the assault on the gate proper. The militia inside the gate rushed to get reinforcements, a few soldiers sprinting as if their lives depended on it (which, of course, they did) to find support.

The archers and militia in the center of the town had felled one Wyvern and beheaded its Rider. Enraged, the other four were swooping down, slaughtering the guards, even as the archers, hidden in buildings and on rooftops, continued to pepper the flying beasts with projectiles. It was beginning to even out in the center, though the defenders had suffered harsh casualties.

The mystics had dispersed, moving quickly and quietly and slaughtering all they encountered as they made their way up from the South. The exact whereabouts of all of their unit remained unknown, save the one who was engaged in combat with Eris and Minerva.

[Eris Coulson]

The blue haired idiot laughed, for some reason. Eris presumed the laughter was aimed towards her, and she grit her teeth. Fine. Whatever. At least the mage didn't bother arguing further. Granted she still stayed a bit behind Eris which, in retrospect, WAS the smarter idea...Eris just didn't trust the bitch any farther than she could throw her. Still she couldn't afford to keep her gaze fixed backwards.

What did surprise Eris was the scale of this attack. It had to be rebel, deserted Bernese knights in tandem with some hill tribes or something. Wyverns and mages? Average brigands barely had any worthwhile armor let alone proper mounts and MAGIC.

Hah, as if on queue one of these mages rushed around the corner, letting out some sort of deranged cry when he saw the two of them, like some kind of animal gone mad. "What the hell?" The shaman had blood all over his face...something Eris decided not to read too deply into. He lunged towards them, black energy forming and swirling around his...mouth...before he essentially vomited a spear of nether magic right towards her. "WHAT THE HELL?"

Minerva leaped in front of her and forced a shield of ice with her magic, blocking the attack but knocking her onto her back as a result. Guess Eris COULD trust her after all. Still, the shaman had also fallen backwards. Apparently vomiting magic wasn't the most effective way of casting it. Eris didn't need to be told to capitalize on the opportunity. Dark magic was supposed to be slow to cast by the average user, but the spells cast were perhaps the most deadly of all magic. The sooner the bastard was dead the sooner the two could move on.

Eris charged forward, thrusting her lance directly at the fallen shaman's chest, piercing his robes and torso with ease. The deranged man let out an agonized squeal whilst Eris twisted her lance in his body, grinding the blade against the meat. He coughed up blood this time, not magic, and for good measure Eris pulled her lance from his body and impaled him again, slightly more towards the left side of his chest. She was aiming for his heart.

The shaman writhed on the ground weakly before collapsing, and with a single breath Eris pulled her lance free of his corpse. She turned around to look at Minerva and sighed before offering a hand.

"Good work." She wasn't going to say more than that. Eris COULD have dodged the attack, but it was...reassuring to see that the mage was willing to do her part to protect her. "Now come on, let's get moving."

[Minerva]

The soldier seemed quite surprised by the ferocity of the Shaman’s attack initially, but she was quick to use her lance to finish the threat off. Two swift stabs were all it took, it appeared. Good. She was glad to have that freak out of commission. Blood-sucking Dark mages were freaky.

The soldier offered her hand, which Minerva took, nodding simply as Eris offered her a simple phrase, both a thank you and a brief congratulation. There was no time for exultation or additional petty bickering. Things were getting heated, and Minerva would prefer to keep the peace and focus on slaying everything between them and safety. They could sneer at each other later.

"Yes. On your lead, then. Let’s get out of here."

---

The eastern gate shattered, the wood splintering and the metal reinforcement bending as the gateway was broken open by the advancing hill tribe. They were met immediately by the town guard, many of whom were now striking out at the brigands with a mixture of frenzied strength and almost crippling fear. There was not a whole lot that looked positive about the situation, for while they were holding off the invading force for now, they would most likely soon be broken through and decimated by the raiders.

In the center of the town, the battle against the Wyvern Riders had taken its toll. Though three of the five had been taken down in total, and the fourth was on the ground, his mount disabled by a volley of arrows lodged in its wings, nearly all of the guards had been killed or seriously wounded in the struggle. As Minerva and Eris were finishing off the Shaman, the threat of the Riders was essentially neutralized, as the grounded Wyvern Rider was slain via lance to the face. The last Rider had peeled away from the conflict, moving in an arc to avoid the hail of arrows as he sought an easier target. Two women running through the streets seemed to fit the bill.

The mystics, for their part, were having great success with their hit and run tactics, and had effectively massacred the townspeople hiding in the southern homes. They continued to move upwards, their location yet unknown and their numbers still strong.

---

Minerva stopped dead in her tracks as a large, dark green Wyvern slammed down into the street in front of her and Eris. The two had resumed their run for freedom, but this mounted bandit with a sharp, long lance posed a significant threat to their escape. And the longer it took for them to get out, the less likely they would escape in one piece. Minerva sure hoped Eris knew a good way to take these down, because she couldn’t do it all herself.

[Eris Coulson]

Eris proceeded to lead the way further down the alley. The sounds of the battle in the main streets only grew louder as they essentially passed by. Specific details were hard to make out over the shriek of the wyverns, the clashing over steel, and beats of their wings. It was not the sound of a massacre however, at least not yet, and of a battle instead. Whatever guards there were seemed to be holding out at least a bit.

Unfortunately there were a few sounds that did make it out over the typical sounds of battle. Eris was essentially sneaking behind some houses after all. She heard screaming women, muffled through stone and nearly drowned out by the battle that raged just around the corner. The sounds of children, crying and sobbing, could be heard as well. They were no doubt terrified, and there was a good chance they'd wind up as casualties of the attack. Collateral damage.

And here she was running away from it all. She was not stupid. There wasn't a single part of her that thought she had to stay behind and defend the townspeople. Eris knew better than that. There was no pay for her and the odds were NOT in the favor of the guardsman between the wyverns and the mages. All she'd likely do is become another corpse for the pile.

Even so...

Eris mind was ripped from her...depressing introspection before it could dive to deep, thankfully, by the shock of a wyvern crashing down in front of her. Did the thing survive? Seemed the wyvern did, but it was not unscathed. Wounded, looked to be a large rip in it's left wing. Couldn't fly...probably never would again. Explained why the creature bothered to land rather than utilize it's most obvious advantage.

No bright ideas from the bitchy mage? Good.

“Start hurling magic at it. Try to aim for it's wings, the rider, or in it's mouth if it goes for a bite.” Eris immediately barked out. If there was one thing she DID know, thankfully, it was how to kill wyverns. That had been a lesson the ex-soldier had relished in, since she was otherwise forced to hear how amazing or invincible the winged lizards supposedly were.

Performing the act of killing a wyvern was something she hadn't done, however, so Eris gripped her lance tightly and kept her eyes on the thing. Wyverns were powerful and deadly. The lizard itself out-ranged the rider, but the also meant it was the main blockade between Eris' lance and the beast's rider. Eris would need Minerva to distract the thing, because Eris was as good as dead if she went aggressive against the pair.

All Eris could do, in this situation, was protect the mage until she saw an opening.

[Minerva]

“Start hurling magic at it. Try to aim for it's wings, the rider, or in it's mouth if it goes for a bite.”

Well, really now. Wyverns were weak to magic? She never would have guessed. Minerva chose not to comment, instead barking out a short phrase and hurling a fireball at the duo. The large lizard tried to bat it away, flapping its good wing, but the fireball kept on trucking, hitting the wing and singing it, causing the Wyvern to flail, screeching, and sending its Rider off of it. The tail of the beast slammed into Minerva, sending her again on her back as she flew back a few feet. While it wasn't spiked, or sharp, like a lance or sword, it was meaty, thick, and certainly dislodged the wind from her lungs. The beast lunged forwards, snapping at the mage, who rolled backwards, scrambling to her feet.

The Rider took his lance and charged at Eris, putting his whole body behind the shaft and using his full weight to drive the Heavy Spear towards her. It was really designed for puncturing armor, but he figured it would be equally effective on squishy redhead. It was a bit hefty, though, so if Eris could outmaneuver him, it might work to her overall advantage. Minerva, for her part, had begun throwing fireballs at the Wyvern, trying to simply wear it down as it forced her ever towards the South. She was retreating, moving backwards, trying just to pepper the winged beast with as many grapefruit-sized flaming orbs as she could. It was hurting the Wyvern, but, she didn't know how much. This could end badly.

---

The hill tribe was beginning to overwhelm the defenders, and the militia fell back, trying to strike the bandits down and avoid being utterly annihilated. The Wyvern unit, except the now separated Rider and Wyvern Minerva and Eris were dealing with, had been neutralized, but nobody was aware of the rogue Shamans, the mystics who were creating a flood of blood in sacrifice to their gods.

[Eris Coulson]

Minerva followed Eris' command, succeeding in burning one of the Wyvern's wings. The stupid lizard let out a shriek of agony and fury as one of her fireballs sizzled and seared through the leathery flesh, but Minerva had stepped too far to land the blow. The beast had pivoted sharply and lashed it's tail out towards the mage, striking her before Eris could do anything to protect her. Instead the strawberry blonde merely winced as Minerva was knocked back through the air. No doubt that had to hurt, but it did show Eris how poorly disciplined the beast was.

After all it had tossed it's rider off in the middle of it's tantrum. Whilst the man was down the wyvern continued it's little rampage lunging forward towards the mage. Unfortunately for them all the space in the alleyway was narrow, so while the wyvern could only work it's way forward so fast, there was also little room to properly avoid it. It had to pass by Eris to reach Minerva, the beast snapping ferociously at the soldier as it did so.

Yeah, no discipline. It was acting out of rage and really poor instincts. Clearly not the brightest OR best trained wyvern out there. Eris still had to keep sharp, hopping backwards until she was pressed up against cold stone, but the beast had it's eyes trained on Minerva. It's vulnerable flanks and throat would be in...relatively easy spear range for the soldier if Minerva could keep it distracted long enough.

Unfortunately the wyvern was NOT alone. It's rider had gotten to his feet now and charged dead on at Eris. In his hands were a heavy spear, thick and tipped with strong steel. He couldn't swing the thing worth a damn, but Eris' lance wouldn't be able to deflect the thing. She also had little room to work with, stuck between the stone wall of a house and the ass-end of a wyvern.

"Crap!" Cursing under her breath Eris rolled forward, ducking beneath the end of the heavy spear, but when her head came up it met the thin tip of the wyvern's tail instead. It slashed against her face like a whip, stinging fiercely more than anything else, and nearly causing her to drop her lance. Eris staggered forward, however, and turned around to see the rider swinging his lance to face her. The thing really had to be heavy if just turning was such a burden on him. At least she had the advantage that this idiot clearly hadn't prepared to fight on solid ground.

[Minerva]

Minerva stepped backwards as the Wyvern snapped at her, lunging forward and chomping on the air where she used to be, its jaws slamming closed in a very unnerving click. It would be very painful if those teeth ended up in her arm...leg...anywhere, really. As it screeched again, Minerva had an odd thought. As it made its way in range once more and lunged forward, the Mage ran past the head, getting under the beast and slamming her hands into its underbelly as she let loose as much electricity as she could, drawing forth the power of her Trinity tome.

There was a very unhappy sounding screaming noise and the Wyvern flailed about, trying to stomp on Minerva and get her out from underneath her. Indeed, the mage ran as fast as she could, diving and using the snowy, icy ground to let her slide out under the flailing tail. Standing up, she had to duck immediately once more to dodge the tail, as the wyvern flailed and screeched and generally made a commotion as it turned to face her once more.

Minerva looked over, rolling her eyes as she saw Eris trying to do some sort of dance around the lanceman. Good Gaea, there was no time for fancy work and elegant fighting. They just had to get the hell out of Dodge. If they hung around much longer, there would likely be more people coming, and that would just get bad fast.

"Hey, come on! Just stab the son of a bitch already! This isn't ballet class. I could use some help with this freaking lizard when you're done dancing with that guy."

[Eris Coulson]

Eris couldn't really afford to take a nice look at the cage match between her bitchy mage friend and the winged lizard that assaulted her. From the corner of her eye she saw that Minerva surprisingly managed to mostly remain unharmed and outmaneuver the wyvern, but since it was a creature meant for combat in open skies that was now grounded in a more narrow space, maybe it wasn't so surprising at all. Minerva snapped at her like some idiot, thinking that Eris was taking her sweet time or something.

"Just shut up and keep the wyvern busy!" She barked back, forcing herself into a standing position and whirling 'round to face her opponent."Use the terrain! It's basically just a big, scaly bird right now. It can't fly and it can't move well, so use that."

All that time bossing around her fellow soldiers clearly paid off. When it came down to it Eris was proud to say she usually DID have sound advice to give...though, by now, she admitted that she wasn't always the best at delivering said advice. Eris didn't like others barking orders down her throat either, unless they had some sort of rank or standing. Something that proved to Eris she could trust they weren't stupid, otherwise she'd just make her own orders instead. Minerva seemed to look down on her but her only suggestion had been the one that got them in their current situation.

Her opponent, his piercing lance leveled and at the ready, charged once again. Yeah, because that worked so well the last time. What mattered was that Eris had moved herself into better terrain than she had been in before. Not backed against a wall with most of her free movement blocked off by a wyvern's ass. Using it to her full advantage Eris side-stepped the man's charge, sliding her right hand further down the weapon's shaft.

The man was heavily armored, like most wyvern riders. Eris could have swept her spear at his knees or shins but his plate-mail would have rendered that useless. Her spear didn't have the weight or thickness that his did, but if she attacked at the right angle she could find an opening.

...like the backs of his knees, perfect!

Before the rider could turn around Eris drove her lance straight through the back of his left knee, prompting a scream of agony from him. Eris grunted and pulled the lance free, swifter than she ever had before, and with a cry stepped forward and kicked him onto his chest. She planted her boot firmly on his back, easily pinning the rider down with the aid of his weighty plate armor. Eris raised the back end of her lance above her left shoulder, twisted her torso to the left as well, and drove the lance firmly into the exposed space between the bottom of the rider's helmet and his neck. He gurgled and wheezed, blood filling his throat and mouth, and by the time Eris pulled her lance free he was already dead.

Taking a moment to breathe Eris turned around to see that the situation with Minerva and her new scaly friend had yet to improve. Unless Eris could get a good strike at it's underbelly or throat her lance wasn't going to do much work here. Minerva's magic, in theory, would.

The mage just needed a distraction.

"HEY UGLY!" Eris cried out loudly, sprinting up to the wyvern's flank and thrusting her lance into the thigh of it's hind leg. Her lance pierced the scales, but didn't go through as much flesh as she would have liked. Either way the beat let out a piercing shriek and turned it's head to face Eris. Good, it's attention was on he-

WHAP! With surprising speed and force Eris felt something leathery slap against her head hard, forcing her to let go of her lance and fall backwards. The creature had struck her with it's injured wing! But at least it was distracted now.

[Minerva]

"Just shut up and keep the wyvern busy! Use the terrain! It's basically just a big, scaly bird right now. It can't fly and it can't move well, so use that."

Minerva gave an angry, exasperated growl, and again surveyed the situation. The wyvern was still waddling around, flailing its wings and tail and snapping at her. It was too risky to try and get another direct shock in, given how wildly it was thrashing about. But if she kept her distance, she could just keep zapping it, so that's what she settled on doing. The mage continued to back up, splaying her fingers out and extending her hands. Small sparks flew between the fingertips, and then she released her pent-up power, sending a charge of electric energy snaking from her fingers to the Wyvern's snout. It shocked the beast, causing it to squeal and writhe once more, but Minerva couldn't sustain the attack for long. Electricity was not one of the areas of magic she'd delved very deep into.

"HEY UGLY!"

Well, that helped. It looked like the Soldier had finally decided to kill the Rider and was beginning to attack the Wyvern. She had used her lance to try and impale the thing, but aimed for the leg instead of part of the body, as if poking it in its hind leg would somehow cause it to fall over and die. What was it going to do, bleed out from a little poke? That was like trying to kill Minerva by stabbing her with a nail.

And then something hit the Mage in the head, causing her to swear vehemently and stagger backwards. It seemed like when the Wyvern was busy laying down the law on the Soldier, the lance had come free from Eris's control, and then had been sent flying by the beast. Thankfully, it was the side of the haft that hit Minerva, but it still hurt like hell, especially when she wasn't expecting it.

Picking the pointy, metal-tipped stick off the ground, Minerva slung it in a low sidearm across the ice towards the Soldier.

"You might want this. I've got a plan. You charge it, and I'll use the opportunity to get right up to it and blast it with all the power I've got left. I'll just let loose and try to freeze the thing with the might of Fimbulvetr!"