Monster in a cave

[Scar]

"Keep up Cardin", spoke Scar as he pushed his way up a hill. Scar was still in his human form at the time, if you can call it a human form. The lion was not wearing his concealment clothing instead he was letting his natural tanguel feature hang out in the open. His dark brown skin shined in the high noon sun and his black tail bounced around as he moved. His cat ears sat at the top of his head listening out for any sign of danger. At the time Scar had on only a black short sleeve shirt and a pair of tick leather shorts, which were made from the hides of deer scar had slain.

Scar had come to Bern through a series of strange events, but he was still in Bern for one reason and one reason only, Wyverns. Scar wanted, no needed to kill a Wyvern. Not just any Wyvern either. It had to be a adult Wyvern. He would prove to his foolish and young associate the power of his claws and maw. No beast of the sky could ever match him in combat be it wyverv or Dragon!

In pursuit of this Scar had moved to the mountains well away from people. Scar did not really know the scent of a wyvern, but he had a idea of where they lived. So the Lion moved around the area till he picked up a scent he did not know, which turned out to be a lot. They ran into rabbits, goats, bears, and even the bones of a once mighty dragon. At this point scar was starting to get frustrated. However he was not going to give up. It was during this time that Scar had picked up on a scent that irritated his nose. It was a smell that seemed unnatural. Immediately Scar knew that it was not a Wyvern however he could not ignore it. There was something wrong inside of this fort.

"keep your wits about you", warned Scar toward his young friend.

[Cardin]

Through traveling with Scar, Cardin had learned many things. One was that you never fought alone. An encounter with a bear had taught him that one. A bear had tried to steal a deer he had taken down, and Cardin had retaliated by striking the bear in the eye with an arrow. At least, he had aimed for the eye. It actually didn't even hit the bear, the wind blowing the arrow further off course than it already had been. That had merely alerted the bear to his presence. He had been forced to run and cover his tracks by leaping into a lake undetected. Luckily, he was able to (mostly) dry his clothes before Scar had returned from his hunting. He never told Scar that story. But Cardin knew that he should never challenge an enemy that powerful alone after that night.

They had soon arrived in Bern, and Scar was now in pursuit of a Wyvern. Cardin had no intention of fighting said Wyvern, but if Scar was going to, he would have to help if things got serious, even if he only provided a distraction. The way Scar began acting told him he sensed something he hadn't expected. It couldn't be a Wyvern, or some kind of hostile wildlife, like bears. Not even a dragon, since Scar knew the scent from a skeleton they had found a few days ago. No, this was something entirely new, and Scar obviously didn't like it one bit. Cardin knew that he would need to be prepared in case whatever-it-was happened to be hostile. He slowly took an arrow to his bow, standing ready to fight anything.

[Scar]

This is not a cave, Scar thought to himself as he began to move around. Originally Scar thought he had found a cave, bot after entering in he realized that this was a man made structure. From the look of it the place was a old lookout. It probably belonged to the human clan that rules these lands, but looking at the decay it is clear that they have forgotten it, or at least use to forget it. It was fading, but there was a old human scent still left. It was nothing fresh or nearly fresh. It was probably a year old. the only reason it still existed was due to it being buried under other objects with the same smell. As Scar looked around he noticed a few old and rusty axes. Blood stained the blades and bones were scattered along the floor. "was there a battle here", Scar asked himself as he avoided the bones. The air here was tick with a sickening smell and as a result the room felt, twisted.

"Cardin stay close", whispered Scar. The place was so quite however it sounded as if he was yelling. Scar had no idea of what was going on here, but there was one thing clear to him, whatever was causing this, it was evil. taking a few more steps in scar came to a sudden halt. His ears on the top of his head suddenly went flat. His golden eyes shifted into night vision and the inner beast inside Scar began to roar! However there was no time for Scar to shift into his War form. The Lion had to act.

"get back", roared Scar as he suddenly jumped to his right hand side. From the roof came black figure with winds of a bat and skin of stone. It's spear slammed into the ground with so much force that it created sparks on impact. The brief moment of light revealed to the duo the creatures true form. Standing a daunting six feet and eight inches tall with skin that was made of stone was a fearsome gargoyle.

[Cardin]

Cardin cowered in fear at the sight of the creature. It was massive, towering over him. Cardin was barely the size of an average man, yet this thing would be taller than most any man. Giving them no time to react, the beast charged toward them, and they jumped off to the side swiftly. Cardin's mind was racing, trying to find a way that they could get out of this situation. They could try to run, but the Gargoyle would just follow them. It began to be apparent that the only way out was to fight. The winged terror took off, charging down toward them once again. While the creature began going for Scar, Cardin lept ran away toward a flight of old stairs. Using these as a vantage point, he began firing a volley of arrows at them most of them missed, and the ones that did hit didn't do much damage to the creature. Cardin took a moment to rest from shooting. His arm was already bruising from the bow's string slapping against it. He really needed to be more careful. He took a deep breath, then took his bow in hand, knocked the arrow, and aimed for the creature's foot. If he could take away it's ability to land without hurting itself, the gargoyle may exhaust itself from excessive flying, which would allow Scar to get a few good hits on it before it recovered. Cardin closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and let the arrow fly, striking the beast in the foot. It yowled in pain, and took off once more.

[Scar]

OCC: sorry for the late response, right before i was going to post my brother offered to take me to see logan. Got home late.

Ic

'Just in the nick of time', thought Scar as the spear tip slammed into the ground. The beast ha presented itself, a monster beyond Scars imagination. When Scar first picked up the scent he did not expect this thing. In his mind it was some kind of undead dog or maybe some walking bones, but this. It was practically a devil. With one great flap of its wings the creature lunched itself forward. It's spear stabbing towards Scars heart. In his defense Scar raised his hands to block the blow. If any other mortal had tried that it would have been there doom. However Scar was a Colossus. His arms and legs could block blades, however that did not stop the beast. With a fearsome roar the creature countered Scars defense with a swipe of its tail. The blow sent Scar flying backwards a foot and doing a twirl in the air. Scar hit the ground hard and the creature would have moved in for the kill but a arrow from Cardin hit the creature in the small toe doing some decent damage. The action caused it to flinch and turn its gaze onto the boy.

"damn saved by the brat", spoke Scar as he got to his feet. The gargoyle was speaking something in old Dragon and Scar could not understand. Suddenly its lance lit up like the night sky and seemed to almost turn into lightning. The spear began to radiate lightning till you could only see the dancing sparks.

"Oh no you don't", shouted Scar as he realized the creatures intentions. "AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH", Scar roared with all of his might. The tangues chest suddenly expanded as Scar called upon the power of his muscles. The sudden shift in size was so great that Scars shirt ripped from his body."

The sound was so great that the creature turned from its target and looked upon Scar while in the middle of tossing its spear. The electric projectile flew off target and instead slammed into a nearby wall. The heat from the jolting electricity could still be felt by Scar on the other side of the room. However Scar was not going to let that distract him. He had his opponent right where he wanted it.
"ATATATATATATATATASTASTATATAT" Roared Scar as he delivered a series of fast but powerful punches. The creature stumbled backwards against the onslaught, but it was far from finish. Using its wing as a shield the beast blocked Scar's next assault and backhanded him with its right hand. The blow knocked Scar back giving the creature enough time to outstreach its hand and call back its spear. Like lightning to a lightning rod the lance cut through the air and returned to its user. The creature spoke the words again and its weapon lit up like it did before. Its fearsome bolt was ready to strike down into Scars heart.

[Cardin]

OOC: LOL yeah I dont mind. Funny story, my real name is Logan, so whenever people mention that movie, I think they're talking about me LOL.

Looking on in fear, Cardin realized that Scar was in serious trouble. Normal attacks, he knew that Scar could deal with. However, it appeared this creature's weapon was a magic weapon, specifically a Shockstick. The creature spoke an in ancient tongue, one that Cardin had never heard before. It's weapon activated whenever it spoke, so Cardin assumed that it's weapon was enchanted to only activate on those words. If Cardin could disarm it, they may be able to take it down. Cardin took up his bow and grasped the string tight, however, his earlier strike did not come without consequences. The creature had seen him take up his bow again, and had begun flinging large chunks of debris at him with one hand, holding onto his weapon with the other. Cardin needed to get to higher ground, so he ran further up the ruined staircase. As he did, one of the stairs fell out and his foot became stuck. He swore under his breath. The creature was gaining on him fast, and there was no way out. He struggled to pull his foot free, and eventually succeeded, the stone beast barely missing him. However, this had worked to his advantage. The creature had lunged at him with his spear, and the weapon was now stuck in the wall. The creature struggled to pull it's weapon free, and Cardin quickly readied his bow. Taking a moment to aim, he fired an arrow for a large cracked stone pillar above the creature, and the slight force caused the pillar to collapse atop the Gargoyle...

[Scar]

The creature was preparing to lunch its attack when the young archer prepared to fire. Seeing the boy the creature switched targets. Using its wings the mighty beast blasted particles toward the young fighter. The creature then flew in and aimed to end the conflict with its lance, however Cardin was quick on his feet and was able to dodge the blow. The lightning scorched the crumbling walls and caused the stone and dirt to mold around its tip. In the middle of all of this chaos Scar took the opportunity to transform into his war form. Before hand the fast pace of the battle had prevented him, but now. Now things were moving in there favor.

A loud roar filled the room shaking the weak foundations as Scar transformed into his true glory. At that same moment Cardin fired his bow hitting a weaken pillar. The force pushed the pillar over slightly giving gravity and the poor condition of the ruin the opportunity they had been waiting for. The pillar fell over like a tree in the forest. Its stone girth tumbled atop the beast. However the creature was ready. As it fell the creature dropped its spear and raised its arms. The pillar still seemed as if it was going to crush the monster flat, but the beast inhuman strength pulled through. In a rage filled roar the creature lifted the pillar with all of it's might.

Scar now ready to dominate the fight rushed in with his claws ready. The Lion moved to maw the creature while it struggled to maintain the weight. The creature saw the Lion coming however and with a fearsome roar the creature tossed the pillar at Scar while he was in mid air. The throw was off due to the weight of the object, but it did manage to clip the Lion as he was lunging forward through the sir. The action caused Scar to not only twist in the air, but alter his course. The Lion slammed into the ground hard a couple of feet from the beast. Scar groaned as he attempted to get up.However a sudden grip on his throat stole the jester from him. The beast had flown forward with it's powerful wings and Scooped Scar up by his throat. The beast, now enraged with the two fighters was planning to call upon its lance and sewer him while it was in mid air. However it did not expect for Scars claws, the ones on his hind legs for that matter, to break through its tough skin. One kick from Scar cleaved through the stone hard skin causing the creature to let go. Scar hi the ground, this time, as a cat should, on his legs. The assault left the creatures lower abdominal dangerous due to the expose inner flesh.

[Cardin]

Cardin watched as Scar tore at the beast, ripping it's stone off with a massive kick after he had been lifted into the air. A portion of it's flesh was exposed to the open air, and Cardin saw an opportunity. He took his bow in one hand an arrow in the other, placed the end of the arrow on the string of the bow, pulled the string back, and released. He repeated it until his quiver was nearly empty, the gargoyle writhing in pain. It's blood spilled from the wound, and it struggled to stand as its bled. Knowing it unwise to waste his last few arrows, he slung his bow over his back, and went down to the creature's writhing body. He wrestled the lance from the beast's claws, and stuck it into the creature's wound. The creature screamed, wiggling until it suddenly stopped. The gargoyle was dead. Finally, after a long fight against what was basically a stone demon, it had finally fallen. It reminded him of something that had happened long ago, back when he had been training with a friend as a child, and things had taken an awful turn...

Cardin was outside of his home village with his friend, Clarisse. She was a young girl at the time, his same age then, barely 7. They had been friends since they were young, grown up together.
"When I grow up, I'm gonna be the world's greatest Swordswoman!" said Clarisse. She was swinging a wooden sword at a training dummy. He had always admired her drive, even at such a young age...

Cardin snapped back to reality, staring at the corpse of the beast beneath him...

[Scar]

As Scar hit the ground the bat winged gargoyle moved to strike, its ferocity was only matched by Scars new taste for blood. Before the creature could strike however a arrow came from the shadows. The bolt slammed into the exposed flesh of the creature. No longer was it protected by its iron like skin. The arrows struck soft tissue and the beast hollered in pain. Now tasting blood and in his true war form Scar rushed in to attack. The beast attempted to defend itself, but the 900 ponds of flesh that was Scar refused to be swatted away by a bare hand, even if that hand was a demon claw. Scar descended on the beast all fangs in. His claws cut through flesh like a hot razor. The creature screamed out in pain as its flesh opened up. The beast moved to counter with its lance, but another arrow sent it tumbling backwards. Scar was going to move in for the kill when he felt the sting of his wounds. At some point in the fight the creatures claws had cut into Scars side. He was not sure when, or how bad the wound was, but it stung like poison. No doubt the vile concoction of monster miasma. It would not kill Scar, but the Lion feared worse injury. If there were more of such evil wounds he might be in trouble. Instead Scar allowed the boy to finish the creature off. Not only was he ranged, but this might aid him in becoming a true man. The first kill of any species was a important one. He would need it when he faced beast down the road. He needed to know that these things were mortal too. they can die, and like the corpse of the stone monster Scar was simply silent.

Scar moved over to a lonely corner and shifted back to his human form. He then began to apply some Elixer.

[Cardin]

Taking what he could from the creature, Cardin scoured the Garoyle's corpse. He decided to save the lance; they may be able to sell it for something the next time they reached a town. He noticed Scar was injured, a gash in his side proving as much. They could bandage it up for now, but he would need proper treatment eventually. This posed a problem: Scar didn't want anyone to know that he was a Taguel. So naturally, he probably wouldn't let just any doctor see him. For now, he just required some way to postpone the treatment. As they left the ruins, he began to remember once more the times he had spent in the village growing up...

As Clarisse continued to speak to him, a storm shadowed overhead. He knew that it would eventually begin to rain from the looks of the clouds, and they were called inside by their parents. The next day, Clarisse was gone. There was no trace of her, and the door to her home was a note demanding a ransom for her safe return. Her parents worked to earn the money for the ransom, but when they came to exchange the money for their daughter, the culprits of the kidnapping were nowhere to be found. Cardin hoped that, wherever she was now, she was okay. But he knew that that was just a false hope; Clarisse was most likely dead by now...

A few days later, they reached a village. Entering the village, they found it completely deserted. No signs of life anywhere. It was clear that no one had lived here for years. There was a note plastered onto the door of a pub. It said nothing except "You shouldn't have made us your enemies..." Beneath that was a symbol Cardin knew all too well. It was the symbol of the Flame Raiders, the same tribe of bandits that had destroyed his village and killed his parents. "Those Bastards..." he thought. He would make them pay for what they had done.

[Scar]

Scar was planning on spending most of the day lazying around. Cal was making a big fus about the wound, but Scar could care less. The elixir he applied to it stopped the bleeding and his own natural healing would do the rest. For a normal human a good elixir could do the job, Scar was just a bit more advance. Besides being sour Scar was fine. He would just need to remember to get some more the next time he went to a village. Though that was easier said than done. They were quite rare and Scar did not truly understand this gold system. He preferred to trade in bones and fur rather than collect shinny flat fruit thingys. Humans were weird. That was one of the major reasons that Scar kept the kid around. He understood this kind of stuff. It was all so convoluted and confusing to Scar.

Speaking of which the kid did a good job in the last battle. Scar was going to have to give him a complement. He would need to do it in a way that did not give him a big head though. That would most definitely be difficult. You give a human a inch they will take a mile. The same goes for Lions as well, but they tend to try and murder you for your stuff. Humans seemed to be more inclined to annoy you to death than physical violence. Some humans that is..

"Hey Kid", spoke Scar, but he was interrupted by the young lads declaration at seeing the sign. It seemed that the marks on it had some kind of special meaning due to the fact that it made him angry. He began to curse and rage up. whatever it was it was not good.

"So what does it mean", asked Scar?

[Cardin]

"The Flame Raiders..." Cardin said, "They're the group of bandits who razed my home village and killed my parents. Someday, when I'm stronger... I'll make them pay for their crimes. They'll never hurt anyone else." Judging by the state of things, this village had been razed years ago.

"We should go," he said. "It wont do us any good to linger here." As he turned from the building, he heard a voice shout to him.

"Don't move!" The woman said. A tall woman brandishing a sword stood behind him. As Cardin turned, she held her sword up against his neck. "You're trespassing on the land of the Screaming Blades," she said, "State your business, and we shall decide your fate."

"Please!" said Cardin, "We mean you know harm! We were simply passing through!" He looked around them, only to find that they were surrounded. A group of bandits had enclosed the area they stood in. There wouldn't be enough time for Scar to change forms without one of them attacking. He decided to play along with these bandits for now. It was their safest option. They would find a way to escape later.

A man approached them and ordered the woman to strip them of their weapons. As the woman worked, Cardin realized a shocking detail. The way the woman wielded her sword, her hair and eyes, it was the same as his friend Clarisse from all of those years ago. "Clarisse?" he said. "Is that you?"

The woman froze, "How do you know my name?"
"It's me, Cardin!" he said.
"Oh, gods!" said Clarisse. "I cannot disobey my superiors, but I WILL find you later. If I can tell them who you are, I may be able to convince them to spare you two."

One of them men approached Scar and removed his hood, revealing that he was a Taguel to the bandits. "Keep a close eye on this one," the man said to the others. They put them in a cell in what used to be the town's prison.

[Scar]

How in the sam's hell did I not smell them thought Scar to himself. He knew they had just had a major battle the other day , but he did not take any damage to the nose. There was only three possible solutions to this problem of theirs. One he was so tired that his body stopped using its smelling ability. That could not be it because he was most effeminately smelling them now and trust me it was something terrible. Two the smell of old wood and human filth was identical. Possible but the smell he was smelling now kind of disproved it. The last was that this was a act of god and that he did not pick up on them because fate demanded it to be so. This was not also possible because the gods loved him. So it was probably just a fluke.

The humans here were bold, far to bold for scars liking. The women had a sword at the boy's throat and that gave them some power. However that power was fragile. They had no true idea of what they were facing. Scar was of the Lion tribe. He was not a weak human. Cardin somehow seemed to know one of them. It was clearly someone from his past and somebody that probably had meaning to him. that very fact made things a bit more difficult, well till that person apparently thought it was OK to rob them of there possessions, especially when one of her men decided to lower Scars hood. That was a mistake.

As the man took Scars hood down the peanut gallery made a comment. The shock and awe of seeing Scars pointy cat ears on the top of his head caused a murmur among them, that murmur would soon turn to horror. With cat like reflexes Scar rose his hand and grabbed the back of the man's head. His face shot forward and his sharp teeth lunged into the soft flesh of the man's neck. with a quick jerk Scar took a portion of the flesh clean out. "Taste like crap", spoke Scar as he swallowed the flesh. Fear and appall fell upon all who witnessed the scene.

In a hysterical rage a man rushed forward with his axe to put a end to the beast. Scar quickly turned the body of his first victim as a shield to block the blow. Immediately Scar sent his body to go to his war form as another brigand attacked with a spear. The transforming Scar blocked the blow with his hand, which thanks to his evolutionary trait made it possible for him to block steel. As Scar took on his true form another man rushed in and attacked with his sword. The blow came in toward the back of Scars body on his side. The Lion roared in pain, but he was now a Lion. Scars paw came swiftly and cleaved through the man's side. Standing before the brigands was a nine hundred pond Black Lion with eyes as fiery as hell itself. Fear swept through the men present as none of them had ever seen a tanguel before even more frightening a lion.

[Cardin]

Cardin grabbed Clarisse's hand and pulled her away from the battle. Scar could handle himself, and most of the bandits were already fleeing in terror.
"Alright, Clarisse," said Cardin, sternly, "I need you to tell me what is going on, starting with what happened after you were kidnapped from our village all those years ago."
"Okay," said Clarisse, "After one group of bandits kidnapped me they beat and tortured me for a month or two. They planned to make me their servant. All of those bandits were killed, a few months later, by another group, the one that your friend is currently mauling," she snickered, "They promised to release me if I became strong enough to kill their leader, but I knew they only wanted me to join their group and fight for them. I did, hoping that one day I could escape, but each time I tried, they kept me in line with more and more threats. Now, I guess i'm free. Thanks." She smiled, "I guess I'll just come with you guys back to the village now?"
"The village is gone, Clarisse," said Cardin, "It was trashed by another group of bandits a few years ago. Scar's training me to become a better warrior." Clarisse pondered this for a moment.
"Well," she said, "It's not like I would ever have seen my parents again. Even if I did escape, I'd never have made it back on my own. I guess I'll just tag along with you until we reach the next village, and then I'll get things sorted out for myself."

[Scar]

Kill, that was the only thing flashing in Scars mind at the moment. He needed to kill as many of these hairless monkeys as possible. He had seen this image countless times in his worst nightmare. Himself in his beautiful and perfect war form fighting against a endless horde of ravenous weak humans. In his dream, it always ended the same. He would kill them by the tens, but in the end they would kill him. They would surround him on all sides and stab there spears into his flesh, his hide was never tough enough he would die. Not today, not now. The human numbers were not endless, nor was there courage undaunting. When he killed the first two there group began to scatter. They had never seen a creature like him before. They had never seen a lion, let alone a taguel. His fangs and claws had shaken them up and as a result the advantage was with him.

A man driven by fear rushed forward with a lance stabbing at the beast. Scar as agile as ant cat hopped to the side and pressed his paw down snapping the lances shaft like a twig. Scar then rushed forward and slammed his body into the man. He would have ripped the man's jaw off, but his friends were to close. Another human rushed in with a blade. His swing was blocked by Scars paw as he lifted it bringing it down to shave the man's arm. Scars attack left three long slashes down his flesh a wound the man could not take. It soon became clear to Scar that he could not remain in one spot, as a arrow slammed into his side. The fearsome Lion turned to see a coward with a bow preparing another shot. Scar sprinted forward horizontal to the man and took a big leap up to one of the homes. Using his claws Scar climbed up onto the roof taking the battle vertical.