Bael Hunt (Closed)

[Kyle]

"But all her weapons would slow her down, and you need to be able to dodge these hits." HE of course saw merit in Ajari's view but he was too determined in his own plan to shift too much. But her plan of not trying to directly harm them was a bit worrying. Hopefully she wouldn't get herself killed. Hopefully no one got themselves killed.

He moved back a little bit as the group progressed eventually coming to the cave. The cave was thickly coated with webs, clearly marking it as the spider's lair. It was probably a bad idea to confront it there but the rest of the group moved forward anyway despite his hesitation. When Duma stopped everyone because of the spider Kyle could only faintly hear it. When the spider pounced he dove and rolled out of the way to his right bring him back unto his feet again.

He watched as the others began to attack, assessing the situation. Ajari rolled under and attacked it from the side, Vincent attacked the underbelly and Yorick somehow managed to attack from the top. The spider's attention also turned to her because she was the last one to strike it. Before it could completely turn around however he pulled an arrow out of his pack and fired toward the spider hitting it right in the eye, blinding it partially. The spider let out a shriek of pain and turned it's attention towards him. The multiple attacks were confusing the spider it seemed which was good for them. But some noise began to come forth from the deeper part of the caves. Something back there must have awoken at the sounds of the battle. Great.

[Duma]

OOC- the second bael in the cavern.
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The bael was furious, as any creature would be at the loss of it's eye. Granted it still possessed seven more but it still caused it pain. The bael like many other spiders possessed tiny hairs all over it's body that it used to sense it's environment for changes. The bael had general knowledge of where everyone seemed to be positioned due to it's heightened senses. The blow to it's back, powerful as it was, simply managed to jab part of the blade further into it's exoskeleton then snapped in half. The spider responded in kind by letting loose a stream of web from it's backside, hoping to either tangle Ajari or push her further into the cavern. Either way the entrance to the cavern, some feet ground around it, was now blocked by a layer of fresh sticky webbing that would make it difficult to maneuver. The bael let out a small percussion of hisses, before Yorick hit it with her spear.

Duma wondered for a moment as to why the spider would let out such a unusual display of hisses. It was only after he heard another louder hiss, echo out from the cave that he realized why. Damn it! There is more then one!

After bucking from Yorick's attack it's attention focused to the one that just injured its leg. It had seen this tactic before. The bael knew it was a distraction. Duma charged at it's other side attempting to strike at one of it legs, but it jumped, and disappeared into the mist. Only the sound of shuffling stone could be heard as the bael moved quickly on it's eight legs. Duma barely had a visual on it, but saw where it was going.

"ARCHER MOVE!" He shouted.

Within in moments the Bael had moved into position to strike at the archer. Hit or miss the bael was already on the move towards it's next target.

"It's trying to pick us off individually!" Duma spoke. He immediately noticed the large shadow looming over him and held his blade up on it's side to block the fangs. The force was enough to knock him to the ground on his back and he lost his torch. Unfortunately Duma had the fangs caught by the blunt edge of his sword, with the blade end facing him. The bael was pressing down, trying to push as much weight as it could onto Duma. Duma managed to kick it hard in the abdomen, near where an old wound had been.

It was enough to have the bael back off, and run back out into the mist.

[Ajari]

Ajari felt the inferior blade snap under the force she applied and snarled. She should have guessed that would happen, though hopefully it at least bothered it. Unfortunately, she had precious little time to think on this, as a blast of web came at her.

Nimbly, Ajari jumped backwards, kicking off a few dry rocks as she did so, managing to dodge the webs. This did put her deeper inside the cave, with only Yorick and the Bael to keep her company. It seemed that Yorick had almost freed herself, which would be helpful, considering the answering call coming from deep in the cave.

"The mate comes! On your guard, Yorick!" she called as the woman freed herself. "It seems we have been left to handle this ourselves." The large wall of web between them and the other Bael served two purposes. It kept them in the cave and it also kept everything else out of the cave. One way or the other, this fight wouldn't be getting interrupted easily.

The larger Bael came out of the shadows, lunging straight at Ajari, as Yorick was still partially obscured by parts of the cave wall. Ajari jumped to the side again, cautious to avoid striking any web that would seal her fate. The cave was difficult to maneuver in, and it took most of her focus to safely dodge the strikes.

Ajari had learned her lesson from before, however. Standing behind the creature would be an invitation for it to try and ensnare her with its web. The front and the sides were the best places to fight. Ajari had dodged to the side, and then swung a fierce spin kick into the cluster of eyes. The bael was staggered more than anything else, hissing in anger as it tried to bring its powerful limbs down on her.

Her reflexes kept her safe, as the legs pierced into the stone like spears. It had a lot of strength when it was striking down, but it didn't seem to raise the legs with anywhere near the same amount of force. Perhaps that was something she could use to her advantage?

[Vincent]

Vincent watched as everyone took to action against the beast. They all fought relatively on their own but they each played into the prior's actions. Just the way he liked it, it meant with them he could go 'wild'. Oh crap! The bael chose him as its target. It was fast approaching and he would jab it in the face with his sword? He hesitated trying to formulate a plan.

As the eight-legged monster closed in Duma came in from the side causing the creature to jump away. Vincent let out a sigh of sheer relief. "Thanks! The beast vanished into the fog once more. Vincent looked around a bit trying to discern a presence and listening. Unfortunately he mostly heard the others and beyond that the blood pumping in his ears. A giant pissed off spider charging you is unsettling to say the least. Worse still is having it come bear down its fangs at you.

Vincent could see the shadows and feel the murderous intent. It was above? He looked just as it came crashing down attacking Duma now. Duma was slammed hard yet still he held out if only barely. With his blade he kept from being bitten and devoured. The Bael was deflected away hissing and likely cursing in its own evil language.

"Are you alright!?" Vincent shouted to both Kyle and Duma as he offered Duma his hand. It seemed the girls were still fighting further in the back. Vincent had a strange feeling they could handle it but they still needed to down this first beast. He wanted his blade back after all.

[Kyle]

The Bael was quite ticked at the onslaught of people attacking it nest. The spider let loos a pray of it's weird. . . web stuff trying to hit Ajari and blocking the cave of for him before disappearing from view. He could have taken a shot or two at where he thought it went in the fog, but that would have just been a waste of arrows if he didn't know where it was going to hit. HE needed to hit the eyes although it would only cripple it's ability to sense them, well that's what his father said about spiders at any rate, and he seemed to be right a lot. So instead he just drew arrows in both of his hands and readied himself; Trying to pinpoint where the sounds the spider was making were coming from, it was quite hard as it kept echoing around the cave.

Right as he thought he had pinpointed the spider's location near him, Duma yelled to him throwing more noise around the cave distracting him. AS the spider lunged he was barely able to twist out of the way, one talon ripping his shirt with a faint scratch, reveling a large horizontal scar, and another tight below his right eye. He retaliated against the spider by stabbing the arrows in his hands into two more of the spider's eyes while pulling out his other one, blinding it further. But with a shriek the spider was off again to attack someone else.

He suddenly felt very woozy and in pain. It seemed to spread outward from where the cuts were, making it progressively harder and harder to move his body from the numbing pain. It made no sense! How could he feel this numb and be in this much pain! When someone asked if they were alright he tried to respond, "Not really.." His response was extremely weak, they wouldn't hear him.. He stumbled a little bit away from the cave before collapsing to the ground. The Anti Toxin! It was his only hope. He pulled his pack off exerting a lot of effort and began to haphazardly rummage around his bag looking for the anti toxin. Where was it?!?

[Yorick]

Bah! They were cut off, it seemed, somehow. What a terrible situation. With a firm slice, she freed herself from the web, dropping down onto the ground once more, and grabbing her other axe. The large spider smashed its forelegs down, barely missing the martial artist. Damn, she could fight... She was fast.

Axes in hand, she analyzed the beast in the split-second she had. Her lance was still in the other Bael, so all she had were her axes, her large sword, her knives, and her javelins. Well, that was all right.

Running forward, Yorick raised her axes high and roared as she charged in a seemingly suicidal attack. As the creature brought its forelegs up to block her, she slid onto her back, her momentum allowing her to get under the creature.

With a grunt, she jammed both axes into the spider's underbelly with as much force as she could muster. Bingo! The thing reeled, swiping its forelimbs, as she crawled out and emerged behind it. That hurt it! But she didn't have her axes anymore. Only one thing to do. As it turned, seeking her out and seeming not too much worse for the wear despite having two axes slammed into it, Yorick dove under it again, grabbed her axes, and was emerging out the other side when she felt a very sharp sensation in her side and suddenly was jerked upwards.

"Oh, bloody hell!"

The spider opened its jaws and jerked its body, sending her into the wall again. Her axes dropped to the floor out of her limp hands as she struggled to breathe. Why was everything feeling so tingly? It had to be the venom in its fangs... She couldn't reach her antitoxin. It was in her hip pouch, and she had no means of cutting herself free. Plus, it was so much easier just to sit her and let the tingling sensation wash the pain away. In fact, she couldn't move very much, but it didn't bother her. She was just fine to hang here, just fine...

[Duma]

Duma took Vincent's hand and used it t help himself get up off the floor.

"Thank you." He spoke in his surprisingly calm and polite tone. He looked around hoping to see any trace of the spider within the pea-soup thick fog. No luck. When he didn't hear a response to Vincent's questioning from anyone else he assumed the worse. Best go check up on the archer. An idea was formulating inside Duma's head. They needed a means to see where the Bael was. Oglaf was kind enough to provide them with oil. The gears in his head were turning with what he could do with that oil. This is going to be very crazy, suicidal, and yet very awesome if I can pull this off properly. He heard the screeches of the bael off towards the direction of the archer and assumed the beast had lost a few more eyes.

"Vincent. Listen carefully. I have an idea." He spoke seriously. He handed the light haired young man his pouch of anti-toxin and vulnary.

"Give this to the archer. I have no doubt in my mind he's been hit. Smear the anti-toxin onto the wound. It will leech off the poison, and then the vulnary. Now, for my plan." He pulled out from the supplies a flask of oil.

"You saw how the bael pounced on me. Well I'm going to need it to do the same to you. The damn thing is probably going to pounce while your helping him. Defend yourself in the same manner so it can't kill either of you. I'm going to jump on it while it's head is low enough and break the flask of oil onto it's face." He then proceeded to pull out an unlit torch from the bag.

"While it's distracted by me, find a way to light its face. Either with the torch, or archer-boy's arrows. Understand? Can you do that?" If not I need to resort to another tactic.

As he was talking, he his eyes and ears trained on any movement he heard. Nothing from the creature so far, which was a bit unsettling.

[Ajari]

Ajari watched with a mixture of confusion and amusement as Yorick went under the bael one way, and then back under to reclaim her axes. Unfortunately, the bael had learned from her first trip, striking her hard and slamming her back into the webs. Even worse, she had been struck with the fangs, which meant that she wasn't just stuck, she was poisoned. The bael, content with her foe being defeated, turned to face Ajari, clicking its pincers as it hissed at her. Ajari had not planned to fight such a creature alone, but she would not back down. There was no way she could get to Yorick and help her with this creature here, nor could she possibly hope to cut the webs that separated them from their comrades. She was well and truly on her own, with an unforgiving time limit on her fight. Ajari felt the slamming of her own heart against her chest, taking a deep breath and calming herself. Serenity, even in the eye of madness.

Power was not evil. Power was a tool, it was the hand that used it that gave it meaning. Ajari knew better than most how dangerous the power she had to call on could be, but she also knew that such power would be the only thing to possibly save Yorick's life.

'Goddess, give me strength...' she prayed, as the nightmarish creature charged her, ready to bring it's strikes down on her again. This time she didn't dodge, she stood there as the gem in her bracelet began to glow. Her eyes became slitted, he skin taking on cracks and fissures and her hands and feet even started to deform into something resembling claws. She took a knee as the beast charged, and when it was mere inches away, she acted.

With a powerful jump, she brought her deformed foot up to strike the creature. The force in the blow was far beyond what most humans would be capable of. A heavily muscled warrior, perhaps, but certainly more raw force than anyone here. The strike was a clean hit, and made the bael rear back for a moment. Its multiple legs kept it from being too off balance from the strike, but it had left itself exposed by the sudden movement.

More importantly, Ajari could see two large slits, where Yorick's axes had pierced the creature's skin and exoskeleton. With a mighty roar, Ajari pressed both of her claws forward as flat as she could manage. Her training paid off, as both claws struck the slits Yorick had made for her. The claws dug deep into the creature, causing an ear piercing hiss of pain as she forced just past her wrist of each hand into the vile creature. She felt the blood and ichor running out between her clawed fingers, jabbing them once more before pulling out.

A splatter of blood and other vile substances dripped from the wound and Ajari's hands. The bael fell back to standing on all eight legs, but looked sufficiently injured from such a strike, backing up towards the web between it and its mate, hissing in a way that seemed both violent and pathetic.

Ajari instantly let the power subside. She didn't relinquish all of it, but she'd learned long ago that to use power like that for more than a moment of crisis was to court disaster. She wanted to go help Yorick, but such was not possible. For one, her foe was still here. For another, Ajari's hands were covered with their plague ridden vitals. She should be OK, but she wasn't sure what effect such could have on Yorick, or if it might make the anti-toxin useless. Still, if the situation didn't improve soon, she might have to try anyway...

[Vincent]

Duma thanked the boy with haste before making a plan. Vincent was placed at the center of this plan and with that monster of a creature to say he didn't like it was an understatement. Despite this he still agreed to the madness. "I'll do it! Don't worry about me!" Vincent did not wait for any follow up comments but rather rushed into action.

The archer needed aid and if he could help him he would not allow him to fall prey to an ill fate. In his haste he ran to where he knew the man would be, or the general area. He called out to him moments before running into him and falling over the injured man. "Ouch! What was-" he realized. In haste he fumbled with the anti-venom but quickly administered the aid. Seeing that it was working and the man was still consciously capable of movement he handed him one of his personal elixers. "Just to ensure you come out fine." He only had two left now. Standing from his knees he shuddered as he looked and listened for the bael.

The beast was still, silent, unmoving. That terrified Vincent but all the same he ought to take action of some sort. "Hey, if you can stand then get to a safe place. If that THING spazez when it goes up then the whole cave could too. You should get out if you're too hurt." Vincent pulled out his sword and held his torch high. That was when the beast peered out of the fog in surprise.

It raised a leg and slammed Vincent aside causing him to tumble through the air and slam on the ground hard. By some miracle the torch stayed lit and he was out of range of the webbing. The Bael moved for Kyle, it must still expect him to be an easy target. It would not be the action Duma hoped for but it would need to do for now. Vincent threw his knife causing it to plunge deep into its face. The beast hissed and shrieked in response, offering a short opportunity as it nursed itself. "Now!" Vincent shouted not seeing another chance coming. He tried to step forward but buckled under one leg. He must have sprained it after being tossed aside. At least that was the worst of it. Still, he was terrified of not being capable in a moment like this.

[Kyle]

Kyle kept rummaging around his backpack. That was one of the bad things about having a big pack, but it was usually helpful in other situations, and surviving by himself. Without his pack there was no way he would have made it off that island. . . But this time, not so much, the anti toxin was eluding him for the moment though moments are all he felt like he had left.

Right as he felt his hand on the anti toxin something hit his back and tumbled over him, knocking the grasp he had at life out of his grasp, making him groan in pain. A brief wave of panic washed over him, was the spider coming out there to attack him? Were the others dead already? He thought he just heard them, maybe the poison is more potent then he thought. He then realized that what hit him was not the spider, but Vincent, the grey haired boy that Near attacked. What was he doing here? More movement would just attract the spiders, and that was the last thing he wanted.

When Vincent tried to apply the anti toxin to Kyle; Kyle just pushed his hands away weakly. This was something he was going to do himself, he wouldn't let someone else try to save him. And to his surprise, not really, the spider appeared out of the fog and easily knocked Vincent aside leaving it with Kyle. Great, just great these things just always seem to happen to him. Thankfully a knife flew out and hit the spider, distracting it to a new target. Kyle began to use his willpower to roll in the other direction to where the blow from earlier knocked his anti toxin. He tried opening it, and failed. He tried again, but he failed again. Was he too weak to open in? NO, he couldn't give up, not like this. He put all of his addled strength that he could muster and tried once more. With a pop it opened, allowing him to reach the sweet nectar of healing within. He began to apply antitoxin liberally to the wounds on his chest and his face. It felt a little bit better. He rolleda little bit farther into the bush and began to rest, he still had a job to do.

[Yorick]

"..."

As the numbing toxin took effect, Yorick simply hung, looking an dazed confusion at the fang marks on her side, where the monster's vicious teeth had punctured through her armor, and gave a shrug and a smile as best as she could. That was so unusual. She didn't recall being bitten by anything. When did that happen? And why on earth was she hanging on a wall? She couldn't really move, but she felt all right. A bit thirsty. She could use a drink. Yes, that was what she needed. A drink.

There was a woman dancing about with a giant spider. That was pretty funny, so she tried to laugh, but succeeded only in giving a strange garbled wheeze. She was really quite thirsty. The halberdier tried to reach her hip pouch, but only was able to move her arm a little bit. Huh. That was... Peculiar. Trying again, she kept forcing the arm until it got into her hip pouch. Feeling a faint outline of a bottle, she clenched her fist and willed the arm out, watching as a large vial appeared instead of her flask. What a surprise. Where was her flask?

Yorick brought the vial up towards her, looking at it bemusedly. She wasn't sure what it was, but maybe she could drink it. Unfortunately, her fingers seemed to be rebelling, and she couldn't pry the cork out of the glass vial. What an aggravating situation... She kept trying, over and over, repeating the same futile motions with less and less energy, her eyes beginning to stare blankly. All she could think about was getting a drink. She was thirsty.

[Duma]

Duma mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. He held the flask of oil carefully in one hand and his sword in the other. He kept all his senses focused on the sound of the bael. He slowed his breathing down and kept his focus. This was stupid idea and several things can and probably will do wrong. But he needed to do this. He knew he could do this. He had to do this. The girls were still trapped, and the 3 of them on the outskirts of the cave were getting clobbered. The a brief flash memory, of him chasing after a wyvern rider during his time in Eturia popped into his head. He shook it off. No he needed to focus.

There were sounds of a scuffle near him. Sounded like Vincent had found the archer. Good. Now just wait for it. Duma quietly approached the noises until he could just see the outline of the two young men. This is far enough. He hoped, then prepared himself to run.

NOW! He heard Vincent shout through the fog. The Bael had lowered it's head enough to the ground for Duma to do this. And Duma ran for it. He ran straight at the spider and jumped at it's ugly head. He plunged his sword deep into what could be the called neck of the beast. He was ontop of the bael's head. He quickly broke the flash of oil onto it's hairy head. He broke a secondary flask onto the baels eyes. Gods let that be enough! The bael unaccustomed to person's on it's face began running and bucking wildly. Duma wasn't going to fall off easily. He used his sword as an anchor and held on for dear life.

"LIGHT IT! LIGHT IT!" He kept shouting. The bael tried to swing at him with his two front legs. Duma kept trying to hold on to buy the other two men enough time to get a clear shot at it. But the Bael had enough it front bucked hard and Duma unable to hold on went flying. His sword still lodged within the bael's head. The sword master landed on a large dirt mound several feet away with a THUD. He was unconscious.

[Vincent]

Vincent watched as Duma hounded the bael just short of it finishing Kyle. Thank goodness for his quick act. Vincent rushed forward swiping up the miraculously still lit torch shortly before his leg got the better of him and he toppled over. "Gah! DANG IT!!!" He cursed. Adrenaline gave a quick burst but that was all it offered the boy.

Suddenly Duma was thrown from the beast's back and soared through the air deeper into the fog. Vincent could not see what happened to him but the thud was faintly audible and it did not sound very good. With Duma down that left him and the archer alone with the girls fighting another uncertain battle. This was growing more and more desperate by the moment. Vincent clawed his way to his feet once more and desperately made a dash for the bael but once again fell.

He looked to Kyle but Kyle was in no shape to continue to do battle as he was still recovering. To toss him his torch would be the same as forfeiting the flame. Panic striking him to his core Vincent noticed something. Something risky, something effective, and something foolish. The Bael strode over its own webbing.

Terrified of how this may end Vincent decided on a course that must be taken if they were to hope to live. "Burn." Vincent set the torch against some webbing along the ground and as it caught it quickly spread more and more in a quick burning but intense flame. It spread throughout the cave engulfing the webs and of course reaching the bael as well.

The oil made an excellent fuel source and quickly the bael was engulfed. Shrieks of pain and agony echoed in the burning cave. The air was thick and now it was smoking. They would all need to get out and fast. If the baels or flames don't take them surely the smoke will. Vincent crawled along, the cave now bright with flames. The webbing may have burned quickly but he did not want to risk it.

"Duma!" Vincent called out to the blade master hoping to bring him back to consciousness. "Archer!" he coughed. "Help!" Vincent feared for the women deeper in the cave but now he needed to ensure Duma and Kyle's survivals.

[Ajari]

This whole situation was deteriorating far too quick for Ajari's taste. She had no idea how the outside team was doing. Yorick was poisoned and stuck in the webbing, while the bael in the cave was grievously injured. The bael was staying away from Ajari, considering her not worth all the trouble. Ajari took this moment to run over to Yorick, watching as the girl tried to fumble with what must have been her anti-toxin. Now she could help her, the fight had afforded her the moment.

And then something happened. One of those things that can forever change the course of a battle. Ajari's nose was being assailed by all manner of smells since the fight began, but this one she recognized. It was a potent and sweet smell, like the kind you got before lighting a torch. A torch? Ajari turned, noticing Yorick's discarded torch on the ground, flickering softly. She then noticed that there was a small river of... something curling towards it. At first she thought it was blood or ihchor from the bael, but then she noticed that it was coming from outside the cave, seeping through the webbing.

Oh...

Ajari no longer felt like she had free time. Grabbing the bottle from Yorick, she shattered it on the girl's wound. Ajari couldn't apply it normally, since her hands were still covered in some questionable fluids. She hoped Yorick would forgive her for the broken glass in her wound if they survived this. Her next move was far more daring, placing both hands on the girls shoulders and pulling, a glow coming from her bracelet. The webbing gave well, pulling Yorick free, but Ajari knew that the real dangerous part came next.

With nary a thought of an alternative, she charged the webbing that covered the cave mouth. Webbing that was starting to catch fire, as the glow made obvious. With a shoulder tackle, Ajari slammed into the weakened webbing. She, thankfully, had enough power to break through, entaggling both herself and Yorick in a mountain of webbing as they passed out of the mouth of the cave, rolling a bit down the path.

The rolling was sufficient to put out the fire on the webbing that had come with them, but both of them were sufficiently immobilized by the amount of webbing restricting them. Ajari wasn't sure even she would be able to pull out of this much, but at least the immediate danger had passed. They were out of the cave, Yorick had the basics of anti-toxin applied and they weren't on fire.

Considering the situation, a good day.

[Kyle]

Things were happening, he could hear it. There was a bunch of yelling going around; most of it was about lighting something? were they going to set it on fire? and the other half was about help. Were they trying to offer help or give it? He couldn't tell. He was too busy fighting the toxins with sheer determination. He couldn't give up, he had already put some of the anti toxin on the wounds so they should be getting better. But it was too slow. TOO SLOW. He needed to start moving; he couldn't keep being confined to his hazy mind. He couldn't stand it. Stand. Stand up. That's what he needed to do. Now! Stand! STAND! STAND!!! Using all the will power he had he slowly propped himself up on an elbow, then sat up. He was making progress! He put a hand on the nearby tree and strained all of his muscles to throw himself into an upright position, teetering around as he was still foggy from the toxins.

Although he was jacked up with toxins and his vision was swimming he could still see well into the fog that swirled around him. He could see something spring up in bright oranges and reds a bit away, was it the cave? They must have all gotten out if they set fire to it, it was surprising that it even caught fire. Oh well, he didn't even care right now. All he cared about was that spider getting ready to attack something. he couldn't tell what, but it was something. Pulling back his bow, he haphazardly shot an arrow at the beast, striking it and causing it to rear. The beast began to move backwards on its hind legs until it seemed to trip over something causing it to fall backwards into the orange red. All he could think to do was to stick his middle finger up at the beast that caused him so much trouble. Then he fell backward to meet the ground once more.