RP:Battle for the Children: Team B

Part of the Rise_of_Larket Arc

The first part of this RP can be found here.

""Summary"" Krice, Shishi, Gilwen and Kelovath headed northern area of Larket in hopes of finding a child alive.

Northern part of Larket searched.

Shishi gave chase while Wakka detached from his arm, sputtered in the air, dipping close to the ground before finding the wind beneath his wings and flapping wildly to bring himself high into the air, finally settling into wide circles above the assassin and the prey he was tracking down. The vampire doesn’t wait for the other man that seems to be heading in the same direction as him when Gilwen calls out to Krice for an explanation on what the heck is going on here. Instead The Blue Demon is on the heels of a straggling, black furred fermin that had been redirected north after Thronnel’s earth wall had cut off its original escape route. The cursed vampire catches up to the creature’s shadow before anything else and when his foot falls atop the shade cast by the rat it springs to life and peels up from the ground, wrapping itself around the limbs of the vermin and wrestling it to the ground where Shishi dives onto it and shows a bit of the gruesomeness that has earned him his Demonic title. Shadows gather at his fingers after slithering up his limbs where they take tangible form in the shape of talon-like claws that he repeatedly uses to swipe into the back of the downed fermin. Over and over the sharpened darkness rips through fur, flesh, and bone alike. That fanged smile that shows up through the blood and viscera that sprays onto his face betrays the murderous maniac the family’s curse turns this man into. He shows little concern for chasing down the other fermin and the child they have with them… Not until he’s visciously torn clean through this one he’s caught.

Krice was removing his katana from a third fermin when Gilwen caught up to him, paused over the furry corpse. He glanced her way briefly and offered a succinct, " Fermin grabbed some kids," before Shishi's battle prowess was displayed in the form of shadowmancy. The warrior did not linger for long, instead following the scent of the remaining fermin who likely still held possession of their captured child.

Gilwen panted slightly with the exertion used to catch up with Krice and looked between him and the carnage in the streets. She had heard rumors of the Fermin attacks in Larket, but hadn't thought the sewer creatures would go so far as to snatch children. "Why?" She asked, attention still fixed to the bodies Krice had cut down, not having realized the warrior had already moved on until her question was left too long unanswered. A brief glance around the area told her that Krice had already begun moving on, and so she turned to Shishi, a look of unease- and perhaps disgust- washing over her features. "Blue! I think it's safe to say that creature is dead." Whether or not her words pulled the vampire from his eviscerating fun, Gilwen followed after Krice, once more running to catch up.

Shishi catches up to Gilwen and Krice after the woman’s words had made him realize he was seated atop the bottom third of a fermin, swiping at the bloodied ground where its torso had once been. The thing’s head had been kicked to the side of the road and The Blue Demon is licking rat blood off his fingertips when he rejoins the man and the elf, wrinkling his nose at the taste, but not stopping the action causing him to do so. The assassin’s pace slows at the sight of a child sized boot that lies on the ground in the middle of the road. The slowed steps are short lived however as a bloodcurdling scream sent from obviously young vocal chords to the west has Shishi and the other two bounding in the direction it came from. There they’ll find evidence of what caused the cry of agony, much worse than a lost boot...

Krice couldn't really focus on Gilwen or Shishi, given his attentive focus on the task at hand. When Gilwen enquired as to -why- the fermin had come to steal the children, the warrior's answer was a simple, " No idea," whilst he directed his gaze to their surroundings. Lifting his chin, he took note of the scents in the air. The boot on the ground was noted but he followed his nose, stepping toward the screaming child just a fraction of a moment before the sound echoed through Larket. The warrior's speed was uncanny, something with which the vampiric Shishi would be familiar, and he disappeared into the darkness around the bend and further north.

Gilwen hadn't had time to familiarize herself with her surroundings, let alone use what means she had to help in the search; instead, she followed after both Krice and Shishi, past the boot that she refused to look deeper into Larket towards the source of the scream. The moment the group stepped onto Fair lane, the elf's gaze swept over the immediate vicinity, looking for signs of the missing child; unfortunately, the sign came in the form of an eyeball that rested atop a decorative, flowering bush in front of the single storied riveside home to their east. By the looks of it, it had been ripped out at the root- the optic nerve was still attached and quivering with the electrical pulses that still ran through it. "Krice, Blue." Gilwen said, her voice filled with dread as she pointed toward eye.

Shishi ’s currently glowing crimson eyes watch as Krice speeds ahead in the direction they assume the child is being taken. The Blue Demon slows his pace again when Gilwen calls his attention to the unfortunate sight of the lost ‘item’ sitting atop the plant. There's little reaction from the cursed assassin other than a quick shrug of his shoulders, an inappropriate smirk and the smart response of, “Better get going then. We're looking for a cyclops now…” The trail has become easier to follow and creates a greater sense of urgency because it is now made up of increasingly large drops of blood that turn into a steady streak that indicates the captive is being dragged. The cries are becoming weaker and soon they stop altogether…

Kelovath heard about the recent kidnappings within Larket and came-a-running. Sure, he was probably a bit behind everyone else, but there were a few things/people that the paladin needed to check on first. Coming into view from the front of the on-coming group consisting of Krice and the gang, the paladin unsheathed his weapon, He knew the fermin were responsible, but from past experiences, there can be very unlikely allies in Hollow. The group, as far as Kelo knew, could be assisting the enemy. So there was no confusion, the armored man used a bit of holy magic to give himself an unnatural golden aura that wrapped around his entire body. Kind of like a big firefly, except not solely located on his bum. With both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, the paladin of Arkhen called out to them. "Where is the child?!" Whatever reply came from the group, the paladin quickly followed with, "Are you helping the child or the fermin?!" Ready for anything, Kelovath began asking Arkhen for strength. If this turned out badly, three against one would not be an easy fight.

Gilwen's attention was ripped from the eyeball and she turned toward Shishi, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "That's not funny," she stated, her tone icy. She hadn't realized Krice had bypassed the left behind eye entirely and sped after the abducted child until they turned to follow the blood trail. The moment Kelovath had stepped out into their path, it was just Shishi and Gilwen- Krice was too far ahead of the group-, and the glowing paladin was met with a look of confusion. "Does it look-" She paused to gesture to Shishi, but the blood covered vampire likely did little to convince Kelovath, and she sucked in a quick breath. "Damnit Blue. No, we're trying to rescue the child."

Shishi ’s chest, face, and hands are all but covered in blood. There's bits of fur stuck to him too, but if that optic isn't enough to convince the Paladin what side he's on, or as the elf thinks, serves to convince him the other way, then hopefully the druid’s word is enough for Kelovath. The vampire puffs out his cheeks at Gilwen's reprimand, “What did I do?” he asks, still moving down the blood trail in an attempt to catch up to Krice, the Fermin, and the kid maybe. The glowing man is passed by… they know each other. Groomsmen together for the ‘Stupid Knight’ as Blue has taken to remembering Parsithius. Though the assassin's eyes were more blue that day and the Paladin was less… bright. “Let's get going, Shining Knight. I don't want that other guy to get to kill all the rats. Coming, Gil!?” the last bit is shouted over his shoulder towards the redheaded elf.

Kelovath paused for a moment, realizing that there were in fact only two people here. Here he is glowing like an idiot and unable to even see how many people are causing the possible threat. Hearing the spoken words from the elf, Kelovath wasn't quite sure if the woman was trustworthy. And the vampire...Wait. He knew him. Well, for the moment, it felt like he was in the correct company. At the mention of killing rats though, the paladin couldn't help but to feel a bit of blood-lust himself. Probably nothing at all like the vampire, of course. Maybe at the end of this he'll remember the guys name. The paladin thought it would be best to decrease the magic output, lowering the brightness of his glow to almost normal. Before seeing if the elf was going to follow or not, Kelovath took it upon himself to catch up to Shishi. "I'll follow you, I guess."

Gilwen didn’t have time to explain to Shishi about his state of appearance, but apparently, she didn’t need to- the glowing man and the vampire knew each other it seemed. She didn’t need to be called along by the vampire, because the moment he had started moving again, she was on his heels. Attention back on the task at hand, Gilwen realized that if Krice did manage to catch up with the vermin before they could catch up to –him-, he would be fighting the rat-men on his own while potentially trying to rescue a child all simultaneously. So, in midstride and without any sound to indicate such a change, the elf’s small, lithe figure became a red hawk in a matter of seconds. No clothes were left behind on the ground, leaving the only option that they were ensorcelled. Instead of continuing her forward path, she climbed higher into the air to get an aerial view, and once the signs of fermin were found, the bird surged forward.

You :: From high above the trees and building tops, Gilwen would be able to see the warrior engaged in combat. His katana was overkill against the fermin, as was his level of skill, but he used it to the fullest necessary level to ensure that every one of those fur-covered, mind-numbingly cruel bastards was dispatched. Unfortunately, he couldn't act beyond who he was and ensure that they had painful, -slow- deaths, so they all lost their lives to the warrior's efficacy in battle, clean, near-instant kills that spared the Fermin any suffering. By the time the group caught up to him, they'd find the warrior with his sword sheathed once more and his shirt removed, wrapped instead around the body of a young boy from his head to his thighs. The lower half of his left leg was missing, and blood covered his entire body, hinting at a vicious death. The unintended mercy shown upon those who had so violently attacked this child was not visited upon the child, himself. Unfortunately. The toned body of the warrior bore no obvious injury as he cradled the dead boy against his chest, concealed for discretion and and dignity beneath that large black shirt. The engimatic swordsman himself seemed calm and quiet, though that was his way on any given day - but a little more so than before. As soon as the others came within earshot of him, Krice would call out a steady, " I think one or two made it back to their burrow. Most of them are dead."

Shishi jumps slightly when he turns to call out to Gilwen and finds her right there behind him. When the woman goes through her transformation and swoops upward where she will briefly encounter the annoyance of Wakka, The Blue Demon lets out a whistle at the feat and picks up his pace so that he and the Paladin aren't left completely behind. When he comes upon the scene of the rat massacre he growls out, “Son of a- gah!” the last word turned into a grunt as he kicks the head of the nearest felled Fermin. “You couldn't leave me one!?” He shows zero concern for the child, consistent with his demeanor for the entire chase. The vampire isn't sulking for long however as the one or two mice men that managed to slip away from Krice’s blade have delivered a tale of a single man that they could overwhelm with sheer numbers and take revenge on for their fallen brothers. The scratching pitter-patter of something like 80 tiny Fermin feet announces the arrival of the ambush before the first rat is seen, the group of twenty surrounds the three on the cobbled street while the hawk Gilwen soars above… and all at once they collapse inward toward the party, teeth, and claws, and various weapons bared.

Kelovath did his best to follow the familiar vampire to...Why was the trail heading this direction? Larket wasn't -that- big of city and the paladin knew pretty much every inch of it. After all, he did run this place for a decent amount of time. It seemed odd for the fermin to make their way here, but, you know, fermin aren't exactly intelligent. There were sounds of fighting that could be heard, but by the time it could be seen, everything was finished. The over-grown rats were dead and the child..."Oh no." The boy was dead. The paladin grew irritated and angry, but knew how to keep his emotions in check, at least on the outside. Allowing his brown eyes to scan the space, thinking a distant noise might have been heard. For now, the thought was dismissed. The Fermin have literally been plaguing Larket and now it seems their ambition are increasing to more daring acts. With a deep exhalation, the man approached Krice and gave him a quick nod. "Thank you, for what you did here." Muddy eyes sank to the deceased child and a quick prayer was whispered. Shortly after said prayer, Kelo looked back to Krice. "I can take the boy back to..." It was at that moment the ambush was sprung, completely taking the paladin by surprise. His anger and concern for the boy had temporarily weakened him. Thankfully, his sword happened to be still held within his grasp. As the first Fermin neared, the paladin was able to easily remove his large head. And for the paladin, that was all he had time to do, before a pair of Fermin struck the man in a simultaneous tackle, bringing Kelovath down to the ground.

Gilwen found it strange that they were being led back into town, but had no time to ponder the reasons for it before she had located Krice and the unfortunately deceased child. She found a perch on the ivy coated wall that fenced in the zoo animals and waited for Kelovath and Shishi to catch up, which hadn’t taken long at all. Between the paladin’s words with the warrior and Blue’s tantrum, she almost missed the muffled pitter-patter that marked the arrival of the vermin. Lacking the vocal cords necessary to issue an understandable warning, Gilwen shrieked and took to the air once more. It was then that the rats were seen, and in a matter of moments, surrounding the trio on the ground. With Kelovath’s hand free to wield his sword, and Shishi’s shadomancy to protect him, the hawk-turned elf looked toward Krice in time to see two of the rat-men lunging toward him. The ivy that climbed the near-by wall immediately shot out toward the creatures, curling around their limbs and stopping their movements just as Gilwen dove toward the ground, once more shifting back into her elven form in a graceful and fluid transition. Her captives were hauled back to the wall and strung up by their throats, which would see them dead in a matter of moments.

Krice sneered at Shishi for his callousness, though his reaction stopped there. Kelovath's words drew an understanding nod from the warrior, but soon enough, there were sounds of an approaching force and attentions had to be directed outward. Before he changed his focus from the two men in front of him to the fermin beyond them all, he crouched to lower the child to the road, right there between the trio of men, where he would be protected - at least by Krice and Kelovath. As he reached up to take hold of his sword once more and spun to face the oncoming vermin, the warrior witnessed the capturing of two foes in seemingly self-animated vines, yanked away from him and restrained against a nearby wall. Redirecting his gaze to the arrived Gilwen, he offered her a fleeting, grateful look that she likely wouldn't see if she was faced away from him, before he lunged forward past her, curled his right arm around her left side from behind, and moved forward to decapitate two more enemies who had advanced upon her the Elven woman as she landed; a single swipe of the katana from right to left achieved this. In so doing, the warrior and the elf were even. His touch did not linger on her as even more of the ground-dwelling bastards advanced upon the group, and though it was typically his method to move into the fray, Krice lingered behind to protect the corpse of the boy behind him, killing all fermin who came within a four metre radius of the boy. He didn't stand idly by, however; if any of his comrades needed assistance, he would step forward to help them and then he would return to his post. The musculature of his left arm rippled as he flexed his fingers around his katana hilt, poised for attack, rigidity in body reflecting the focused intent of his mind.

Shishi occupies five of the ambushers on his own. Or rather the family’s curse occupies them as the glowing eyed vampire stands motionless in the center of the fray. Shadows lash up from the ground taking the shape of various weapons. Black whips, blades, pikes, warhammers, et cetera all take shape and tangible form and bat, slice, and strike away any rat that takes a lunge at The Blue Demon. The assassin watches with a fanged smile as the darkness gathers around him from around Larket, strangely illuminating the areas where shadows are being pulled from. Soon there is enough shade cast around the vampiric father that the weapons start to outnumber the fermin trying to get at the man. The furred, feral creatures are overwhelmed. One is felled with a mouse-like squeak after a spear pierces its stomach and a huge hammer comes crashing down from above onto its skull. Shishi takes a step forward and the onslaught continues. Another rat goes down, cleaved in two, longways, by a battleaxe while the beast had been distracted parrying a dark short sword. The Blue Demon leaps forward now, meeting a third fermin in mid air. The two grapple, the vampire is scratched and bitten and clawed at. A wicked left hook is thrown by the southpaw assassin that stuns the rat long enough for the fangs of the dead man to find its throat and tear it out while the remaining two rats are just engulfed by fed up shadows that have given up on fancy shapes and resort to suffocating their final two victims.

Kelovath knew he was in big trouble if he couldn’t get off the ground. It would have been ideal to use magic on his way down to the ground, but even with the protective armor, air from his lungs flashed passed his lips. The weight of the Fermin was too much and so the paladin hit the ground rather hard. Like a blessing from Arkhen, his sword just so happened to of found its way into the stomach of one Fermin who was in on the tackle. That beast, although not dead, couldn’t summon the strength to make an attempt on the paladin’s life. The other, however, was more than active enough to kill him. The Fermin did not have a weapon, whether it was dropped or tossed aside, it wasn’t there. The over-grown beast clawed, scratched, and bit whatever was within reach. The majority of those attacks were easily blocked by the well-made armored surrounding the paladin. Although he did rely on the strength Arkhen can bestow upon him, it wasn’t always needed. Kelovath knew enough about his own magic that when it needed to be used, he could do so. Right when the Fermin finally figured out his attacks weren’t working was when the paladin unleashed his magic. A golden aura emitted from the man’s armored free hand and with a strike, the hand connected with the Fermin’s face. He punched a rat. With a holy fist. Not only did the rat get knocked backwards and off of the paladin, the fur around its face started to burn. It wasn’t an ordinary fire, but a holy fire. It only took a second or two before the rat stopped moving and the same went for the rat-ka-bob at the end of his sword. Rolling backwards now and positioning himself closer to the dead boy, Kelovath readied himself for any offensive attacks directed toward him. Though, from the looks of it, the vampire had it mostly covered.

Gilwen hadn’t lingered in the spot Krice had moved her to in his attempt (a successful one at that) to keep her from being attacked by a surge of vermin. Instead, she positioned herself between the rats and the prone body of the child, with her twin daggers curled in her hands. Between the vines and her weapons, she was able to subdue the two ratmen who had advanced on her. The first had been a quick death as one of her daggers sliced neatly through the throat of one, spraying her with blood in a gory shower. The second fermin had managed to lunge forward and swipe her claws across the elf’s face, creating four angry furrows across her left cheek that bled freely. However, the creature wasn’t allowed further access to Gilwen; the ivy lashed outward again, encircling the each ankle and wrist of the furred female, giving the elf ample time and room to drive the pair of blades through the leather armor of the rodent and deep into its chest. A vicious twist and yank, and the rat was discarded as Gilwen turned to survey the remaining foes.

Krice glanced in fleeting bursts toward Shishi and Kelovath, notably when the former engaged his curse-magic shadows, and when the latter dispatched his own attacking rats with a flare of holy magic punctuating the strength of a punch. He turned, stepped out of the ring of heroes who protected what remained of the dead boy, and lunged at a fermin who advanced upon the armoured paladin (who I am sketching atm). The curved katana steel pierce through fur and flesh and in-between bone to puncture the fermin's heart, stopping it dead on its feet. Reaching out with his free hand, the enigmatic swordsman clutched at the head of a second fermin and, with a frustrated grunt, lifted it from its feet, pivoted on his own, and thrashed the body of a third rat-beast with that of the second. The two collided creatures toppled to the ground atop one another, and once Krice had pulled his sword free of the first one, he moved toward them to cease their lives with the splicing of their throats. Blood by now was streaking the warrior's shirtless torso, following the complex highways of muscle beneath his tough skin, and whilst he didn't revel in the kill quite like Shishi did, he certainly didn't seem too bothered. Four fermin remained.

Shishi wipes away fur and blood from his lips with the back of his hands as he stands over the fermin he has eaten. The animated shadows, their tasks completed waft and slither towards the Blue Demon, swirling around him in a black vortex as he watches the other three deal with the remaining ratmen. The darkness lashes out at the assassin that has brought it to life through his family’s curse, opening shallow cuts on his calves and knees. ‘We’re not done yet.’ The malicious entities filling his mind with their bloodthirsty voices. ‘The Shining Knight first, we think… Then the elf, maybe? She’s bleeding’ Shishi flinches and sneers at seemingly no one before his crimson eyes start to glow just a little bit brighter. The vampire raises his left arm and from out of thin air he pulls a short, black wand like it had been hiding in a pocket in space. He flinches again, more visibly this time as the shadows let out a wild scream and violently flee from the assassin and The Wand of Mordant Flame. The shadows move outward from The Blue Demon in a black pulse with considerable enough force to knock anyone unsuspecting enough off of their feet. The corpse of the child is pushed across the ground unceremoniously by the pulse and some braver shadows stop their retreat closer to their host than the rest to surround one of the remaining fermin. The darkness latches onto the rat’s limbs and is clawed at futilely as more shadows replace the ones that are town away in the struggle. Once the creature is fully restrained bits of shade coalesce into centipede like shapes and crawl up the ambusher turned victim’s fur towards its eyes where they burrow until they reach the back of the skull to the soundtrack of pained squeals and mousey squeaks...

Krice moved through the squealing and the screeching of the maimed and killed fermin, his actions fluid, precise, and performed with apparent ease. He sensed the oncoming shadow-pulse before it hit him and thus was able to brace, his legs rigid and body tense. The wave hit him hard and he grunted quietly, more out of irritation than pain or discomfort. As his gaze drifted over the fallen Gilwen, he almost offered assistance before she rose to her feet, thus negating the need to help her. As he glanced over a shoulder toward the blood-soaked Shishi, the warrior caught the tail-end of Kelovath's defensive holy magic being used a second time, which caused him to squint against its glow. Once everything had settled and the paladin had gathered the child in his arms, Krice regarded the departing pair - Gilwen in tow - with a level stare, which then drifted a little more icily over Shishi's face, and at last over the corpses of the fermin. Twitching his left arm downward, the warrior flicked loose blood off his katana blade and turned to shuffle away from the battle, perhaps made tired by the exertion.

Kelovath assumed the others would be able to handle the very few remaining Fermin. Of course, the blast from the vampire’s wand changed his mind, as it did for the last three of the beasts, who seemed to switch from Shishi to Kelovath. That holy flame located within his armored hand moved throughout his entire body. Once the three creatures were close enough, the holy light flashed brightly and flowed into the paladin’s sword. With a single slash of his blade, a wave of holy fire was sent directly toward the couple of Fermin. As expected, the attack connected and completely burnt the critters’ into ash. Fur and all. Positioning himself correctly, the paladin would move over to the boy and do his best to carefully lift the child from the ground. A small moment flashed into his mind, wondering if Krice would want his shirt back. Stupid thought, which was follow by a few shakes of his head. Even though the child was no longer alive, he still felt the need to be quick about his movements. It was hard to tell if anymore Fermin would be making their way to them, but with how easily and efficiently the group were removing blood from the over-grown rats, it seemed unlikely. With no enemies left, Kelovath took the boy back to the sickbay. Back to his awaiting family, should he have any?

Gilwen turned toward Shishi the moment those shadow entities pulsed outward, which successfully knocked her off her feet. A groan of pain was loosed from her throat, but she didn't linger long in her downed position and instead scrambled after the child's body while Kelovath dealt with the remaining vermin. Unable to lift the body, she remained crouched over it in a primal, protective manner until she was certain the fermin attacks had calmed, for now at least. Once the paladin scooped up the child, Gilwen was hot on his heels, following him back to the sick bay.

Krice moved through the squealing and the screeching of the maimed and killed fermin, his actions fluid, precise, and performed with apparent ease. He sensed the oncoming shadow-pulse before it hit him and thus was able to brace, his legs rigid and body tense. The wave hit him hard and he grunted quietly, more out of irritation than pain or discomfort. As his gaze drifted over the fallen Gilwen, he almost offered assistance before she rose to her feet, thus negating the need to help her. As he glanced over a shoulder toward the blood-soaked Shishi, the warrior caught the tail-end of Kelovath's defensive holy magic being used a second time, which caused him to squint against its glow. Once everything had settled and the paladin had gathered the child in his arms, Krice regarded the departing pair - Gilwen in tow - with a level stare, which then drifted a little more icily over Shishi's face, and at last over the corpses of the fermin. Twitching his left arm downward, the warrior flicked loose blood off his katana blade and turned to shuffle away from the battle, perhaps made tired by the exertion.

Shishi remains silent as the last of the fermin are dealt with and the rest of the party exits with the evidence of their ‘failure’. The Blue Demon remains in place until they are all out of sight, the black wand still clutched in his left hand, and finally collapses to the ground in a seated position where he will wait out the remainder of the duration of his family’s curse. Calming his nerves and fending off the dark voices of the shadows he has given life to until his irises return to their usual shade of oceanic blue and the shadows are forced back to their natural positions around Larket. He won’t follow the other until much later if at all...

Krice may have looked like he was leaving, but he lingered nearby, deciding it necessary to make sure that Shishi didn't go on a murderous rampage against -innocent- people. Yes.