RP:Bloody Rain, Some Stay Dry And Others Feel The Pain, Part 2

Part of the Thy Kingdom Come Arc

Part 1 can be read here.

Part 3 can be read here.

Summary: Hildegarde's forces discover themselves ambushed in a mountain pass by Balgruuf's forces, led by Trajek and Balder. Chaos and tension mount before, amid tragedy and casualty, the heroes of the day are able to repel the ambuscade and press onward.

Path to the North

The pass had been fortified, but only at the farthest northern end. Three mantles stood along the width of the pass. Wide enough and tall enough to project a giant, the unadorned stationary shields were forged and bound with iron, with space between them for only a single person to pass. The spikes that held them into the ground were deep, and the iron rod that held it upright was anchored into the stone. “We hold them here,” A man’s voice called out from around the barrier. “We hold them here until Frostmaw comes. We are the only ones standing between the pathetic humans and the city!” Trajek yelled this at giant, but also at their foes. The six giants behind the barriers nodded, if only because of the zeal to his words. “They will come in waves. We will –break- those waves! Stay behind the shields. Let them come to us!” When the echoes of warriors filled the path, when boot and claw dislodged stone from the walls and shook the ground beneath them, the older man sighed. “Prepare the javelins."

Hildegarde had gripped Ashe close to keep him safe under the shield as bodies rained down from the skies above; a few thumping against her shield and falling grimly to the ground around them as she withstood the impact. Of course, soon, there was silence and no impact of bodies but that wasn’t for the lack of falling corpses. It was due to Mikael, taking a stance above both Ashe and Hilde to protect them both. Mostly Hilde because that was who he was sworn to, but he’d protect Ashe as best he could too. “Milady,” he said, once the bodies had ceased to fall. He gestures to the one bearing Hildegarde’s clothing and the note of ‘come’. “We must go!” the Silver snarled, immediately moving to leave the camp after glancing over at Kelovath, Josleen, Gilwen and Rayala. They seemed to have it all in hand, they could care for the sick, wounded and – unfortunately – the dying. The knight bolted immediately, heading northward in some dire attempt to reach Frostmaw. What would happen if she waited longer? Would they harm more if she did not go? Her sense of duty and love of people called to her.

Ashe did not fight it. The bard was pulled along and protected regardless of whatever his own opinion may be on the matter. Of course, his own protests were not heard over the yelling and chaos and so, soon enough, he simply yielded. Once he was let go, however, the bard rolled a shoulder and looked up to the giant as Hilde stormed off. “Much obliged sir.” though he did not linger long. A quiver of arrows appeared dangling from a strap in his hand as he turned and trotted off after the dragon. “Hilde!” he called out over the noise as he fell into step with the very same. “I know better than to dissuade you from taking the bait. But do not throw away the life of your men to save the very same. We'll be walking into the maw of the beast and must not do so lightly.” the man was no soldier, but he knew enough of the world to recognize things for what they were. “Temper your fury. A burning blade serves better than a glowing iron. You must not rush headlong unprepared.” Of course, his advice may well fall on deaf ears at this point. Still, Ashe would accompany the dragon. Perhaps to his folly.

Orikahn had in fact already been eyeing Aira's bow, and as he pushes himself to his feet, he is about to rush toward it when the elf's words catch him offguard. It's a crisis, and the feline doesn't quite have the time to process. Cakelog it is. Scooping his own bow and quiver in one hand, he grabs the parcel in his other, gripping it by the twine, and he scrambles. With what little he can carry, Kahn points himself toward the catapult fire and begins running. Over the course of their charge, he will have time to shoulder the quiver, string the bow, and wonder why he still has a box of dessert, now tied at his hip to save headache and handspace. What had become of Aira? Certain she'd found herself tied up in her own devices, the cat plods on, ever onward and northward. As the path grows steep and the rock walls astride grow ever higher, a sense of claustrophobia begins setting in. With hackles raises, he moves with the rest of the counterassault. Moves, that is, until haulted by an unwelcome sight: a curtain of sturdy mantlets blocking the mountain pass. He backpedals to avoid getting jammed in the growing congestion. What treachery is this? Will the whole of Hildegarde's forces will soon be crammed into a pen? The sound of cries from above draw his eyes up to the lips of the mountainous cliffs overhead, and there, a terrible sight waits to greet him.

Balder paces the high ridge, gazing down upon the road below with unbridled contempt, a sneer of hatred that begins to show the meagerest glimmer of excitement as Hildegarde's counterattack begins charging in. Trajek's strategy had paid off. With an ambush waiting high on either side of the deep, stony pass, the day would soon belong to the city of Frostmaw and all those loyal to Balgruuf! "Crush them!" He cries, unable to contain himself and unwilling to wait for Trajek's signal. Taking one of so many dozen ready logs, he lifts it like a javelin and hurls it lengthwise down, down into the growing confusion below. The other giants follow suit. Hildegarde's soldiers and allies are marching into a hail of mighty blows raining from the cliffs above. The Ho-oo scampered off to the south.

Khitti regained her strength eventually after the paladin's magic had waned. As the bodies finished dropping from the heavens, she rises from her spot on the ground with a growl. A quick survey of the area is taken, a frown alighting her lips as she spies the Silver running off. With much disdain, Pilar is left where she is in hopes that the healers would tend to her. Hildegarde would need as much help as she could get after all. Despite the pain that plagued her, the vampiress takes off after the dragon woman and her allies, sprinting and leaping over bodies and darting past those that were still living as she goes. A glob of acidic ooze was conjured up along the way, verdant optics scanning the scenery for anything that may be lying in wait along the way towards the North. And then, the logs start their rain upon those that made their choice to go to Frostmaw. A sound alights Khitti's ears, the noise quickly coming closer as a log comes crashing down nearby, signaling that there was indeed an incoming attack. It explodes into jagged shards, the wood flying in all directions, the large shrapnel impaling Khitti in the shoulder, the corrosive ooze dropping to the ground. She hadn't been quick enough, sadly, to get out of the way, a scream bubbling up from her throat. "Hildegarde! Look out!" is yelled towards the dragon as the vampire continues her chase after Hildegarde, doing her best to dodge the incoming logs.

Linn , busy as he was with getting his sight back, was close enough to Hildegarde to get the gist of where the situation was going. Once his mask was clean enough he’d rise a little unsteadily to his feet to move off with the rest north. Sending any message to slow down was out of the question to him, leaving him to dive into the fight alongside Hilde and do his best to make things go right. Though that didn’t exactly mean taking the fight head-on either. The moment the fortifications came into view he’d split off to the side to climb around the mountains to get up and over the walls, using his magic to stick himself to the wall to scale especially tricky or sheer faces. Maybe it was lucky, maybe unlucky given the ambush. Unless deliberately targeted he was unlikely to get hit as he was spaced apart from the rest of the forces, though a log properly rolled down the cliff would make for a rather sure way to dislodge him. Already that possibility flashed through his mind and he began avoiding going –too- high up a sheer rock wall, preferring to skip from ridge to ridge as he went along to retain some mobility options. After some dodging he’d begin going higher up the cliff though, making it within a stone’s throw of the top where the giants were if possible.

Gunnar gets an eye of those fortifications, and the in coming projectiles. The slamming of shields into a wall is a familiar tactic, and it seems the foe this day imagines a full frontal assault. The gathering electical currents rising from his right causes the paladin to look towards the Kensai. Kasyr is letting off quite a bit of electrical surges, and this gives the giant an idea. To Tyr, gunnar says. "Rally to Hildegarde, prepare the men!" Then, calling to Hildegarde herself, he yells. "Be ready! I shall open up a way!" Running towards Kasyr, the giant says. "Skyfall." A phrase used for ideas tossed back and forth through the nights the pair have spent talking about the upcoming battle. With that said, Gunnar takes out a single knife and slahes open his left hand. A sacrifice of blood to his god. This small ritual allows the paladin to suddenly become enevloped in an aura, one that seems to grow in the presence of the other paladin, that being Kasyr. With these two warriors who are divinely empowered, Kasyr would feel a buff in his own abilities. A short sort of supercharge, which is hightened when Gunnar takes hold of the revenant with a firm grip. "Reign down hell itself, and we shall be right in behind you!" And with that, Gunnar Stormbeard uses those massively muscular arms to cock back the Kensai, and then releases the vampiric lord like a missle in an arch that has the revenant flying towards the heavens. The arch is impressive, and would have the figment falling right into the heart of those battlements. With that, Gunnar turns about and heads to meet hsi men who are rallying to Hildegarde.

Rainbow arrives with Kree well ahead of the force proper, calling a halt as they arrive at the opening of the pass leading to Frostmaw proper. The Knights Ignis had long since returned, the catapults having fallen silent, thus precluding the need for their return strike. "Well, this is obviously a trap." she comments, nodding to Kree. "Go get 'em." She stretches out a hand toward Kree, words of silver fire pouring from her mouth and settle upon his carapice, twisting and shaping it, merging his legs with the sides of his warbeast, his shell hardening and thickening, becoming more like a knight's heavy plate than his normal shell armor. Then the actual ambush begins, entire trees raining down from above. "Projectiles." The air mages outstretch their arms, great gusts of wind exploding from their forms to push away the missiles so that they land around the group. "Respond!" Pyromancers use their Pixie Dust to spin illusion about themselves, hiding them from view as they swoop up to the upper platforms and unleash their power, three pixies taking each side and flying past, great streams of flame pouring down upon the giants that stand there, fire that seems to stick to earth, wood, and flesh, consuming all that it touches. Earth mages down on the ground work their magic as well, and under the feet of the advancing army the ground itself moves, rising and flowing benieth them, both enhancing their existing charge and carrying them along on its own, its front face a wave of spikes and rock.

Kreekitaka had gotten to the pass wayyy before anyone else had. It was quiet. Very, very quiet. Too quiet. “CowarDAH!s!!” he roared up at them in a challenge—he was almost certain somebody was up there, it was too quiet for it to not be, but the fact that they were just waiting, setting a trap? It was childish and stupid. If they wanted to fight, they should come down and fight. He'd slowed down a while, moving carefully through the valley, occasionally shouting some insult up at the people he was sure were out there to try to provoke them into descending towards him where he could get at them. Rainbow's urging brought a nod from Kree, and upon her sudden flood of life energy, Vindicator took off at a much higher speed, surging toward the gate and shield wall with a completely unprecedented surge of strength. When the attack finally came, he was close enough to see Trajek's gate at the far end of the valley and was starting to urge Vindicator back into a charge. Suddenly, here came a rain of huge spears! The mounted trio continued forward as quickly as they could—getting hit by those things would be bad, but continuing to stay moving sideways was the best way to make it hard to target them. Kinda like not going to the Prometheus School of Running Away From Large Falling Objects. The power of the charge became entirely a moot point when Rainbow's earth mages summoned a wave of earth that carried all of them into the gate. The scorpion had no idea how to comprehend the changes happening to its body, and that made it angry, and there were beings in front of it that Kree had been urging it towards anyhow. Kree's lance, also reinforced, struck the middle of the gate and shield wall with approximately the same amount of force as a locomotive, most likely blasting the thing entirely open, and possibly impaling whatever poor sucker decided to be right there. The next things in were Vindicator's claws, and these were less like crab claws and more like mantis talons, each with dozens of razor-sharp spines the size of a sword, and these flashed out at terrifying speed to slash and tear at hostile giant flesh. The other two scorpions and riders were here as well due to having been caught in the wave, and while they may not have been as absurdly buffed as Kree and Vindicator were, they certainly didn't hurt. Hopefully Kasyr didn't get caught up in the furious storm of claws and spikes that crashed up against the barricade, because... well, that would be bad.

Aira halts her running through the campgrounds just as the bodies stop falling, those metallic irises lifting towards the heaven to make sure of it. The huntress is not yet close enough to read the word upon the last fallen corpse but it’s probably for the better. All at once, Hildegarde is calling to go and dashing off. Aira is jostled a bit by the crowd that follows the Silver, but she eventually finds her footing and follows suit, holding nothing more than her short blade knife. In the shuffle, she loses site of Kahn but knows he is probably ahead of her at this very moment. Aira follows the pack, skids to a halt when she realizes that something’s wrong, her head whipping around until those giants above begin to hurl those logs on those below. Somehow, the huntress finds herself unscathed (shockingly so) as she runs by but does a double take as she sees the vampiress get impaled with a fragmented piece of wood. “You alright?” she calls out, putting whatever feelings she might have aside, at least for the moment. Aira does her best to weave her way through the crowd in order to get closer to Kahn. She finally reaches her target, colliding into his back as he backpedals away from the congestion. “Oof!” A Simurgh scampered into view from the south.

Kasyr just grimaces – his thoughts flickering back towards a particular conversation he recalled having with Hildegarde, in regards to dirty tactics and where 'Noblesse Oblige' was going to land the silver. Thus, Kasyr's initial intention of taking to the skies with sabotage and slaughter in mind had ceded way to the more strategically important goal of 'Keep proximity to Hildegarde – wait for the inevitable'. The upshot of course being, that it had also left him time to prepare himself, meticulously converting flesh from his wings into that ionic energy he shared a special affinity with. Thus, when that odious cry of 'Crush them' rang out in the air, the Revenant was not caught entirely flatfooted. Hildegarde herself had discussed the probability of an ambush at the pass- though her own tactics likely would have carried a more personal touch then the deluge of wood which now rained down on their position. Gunnar's call, once it rings out is heeded, the Kensai allowing Gunnar to do as he will, his only real comment being, “Watch Hilde.” Then he falls prey to the giants strength, gravity's pull made briefly meaningless as he's sent hurtling...”Fu-.” Kasyr, for his part, having been expecting to be hurled in a lower, more straightforward trajectory towards the barricade – actually feels his heart beat quicken and skip beats, the thin sliver of sky he was once able to see from down in the pass now a faint memory, blotted out beneath the downpour of timber-related torment, one of which seemed all but poised to crash into him. Instinct took over at this point- the Kensai pulling clear one of his myriad Katana's from it's sheath, the arc of the draw bringing it forward so that it would impact into the lumber-y lance before it would reach him. It's at the moment of impact that Kasyr's gambit reveals itself, a subtle discharge of some of the electrical energy he had been building up now used to greatly augment the kinetic force of the blades impact- thereby at once bursting apart the end of the 'caber' and slightly altering it's downwards trajectory. Whilst this in itself might have given the Kensai another second or two of life before the now slightly twisted log plowed through a different portion of his body- the sheer fact that Kasyr wasn't anchored in any sense meant he was also knocked askew by the force of the blow, essentially hurtling himself back down to the ground- albeit at an angle meant to bring him far closer towards the barricades on the pat then he might have been otherwise. It's the moment the swordsman would touch the ground that he'd make use of the 'blessing' Gunnar had imparted on him, that divine energy used in tandem with his own electrical affinity to send himself jolting off to one side. “Caber tossing.” And again. “Stupid.” Every pause where his foot would touch the ground, another surge of electrical energy meant to keep him in motion, if not moving forward. Sure, his wings were rapidly disintegrating to nothing, and the pain of their hastier dissolution made tactical thinking beyond the immediate difficult... “Gods damned sport.” But, he has every intention of darting, bounding, and jolting his way towards that barricade, to spring whatever unseen element of this trap was currently left in plan.

Elones had been spending the past few hours in the skies as a dragon, trying to avoid anywhere a giant could have reached her. She had been gone a long time - she was almost entirely unaware of the war that had been going on while she was away in that cave. When she finally emerged, however, it was the wyrm in the firepit of the tavern that had caught her up on recent events, including the war. She decided she wanted to help Hildegarde, even though she wasn't entirely sure what had started the war. As she was flying through the skies now, however, she heard Hilde's voice call out and she looked down. An ambush? Was that was was happening? She watched, a little shocked, as troops ran up the steep slope towards the giants, and one scorpian-like creature be thrust forward on moving earth. It was a sight to behold, especially in the eyes of a naive youngling. In all the things that were happening, however, there was one thing that stuck out to her - the man she had met in the tavern a little earlier today, standing alongside the giants. She tilted her head in confusion. But he had warned her to get away from Frostmaw so she wouldn't be a victim to the giants - wasn't he a good guy? She zoned out for a few moments, confused, then shook her head viciously. Hildegarde was a clanmate of the clan she once belonged to. Elones may be young, but she knew where her loyalties would lie. She threw her head up and roared as loud as her thirteen-foot-long body could muster. All around her, her firend - ice wyverns, all of them - took to the skies as she dove towards the giants, the wyverns soon following to help the fire pixies attack the giants with magic - even though Elones knew she could only provide a temporary distraction as she shot snowballs the size of boulders from her mouth onto the heads of the giants as she passed by, then gaining altitude again before they could grab her.

The pass erupted into action, and none of it brought Trajek or the giants in the pass any happier. In front of them there were scorpion riders with the ground beneath them rising to someone’s command. “Pines!” Much like the giants on the rim of the mountain, commanded by the oaf Balder who broke rank and ruined the plan, pine logs were launched from behind the barriers three at a time. Each volley, thrown with the strength of a giant, would be a force both raiders and foot soldiers would have to contend with. But only two waves of javelins would be thrown straight and true; the rock had softened the hold the mantlets spikes had, and the spikes of rocks threw the warrior and the giants back. “Arm yourselves and stand!” He stood behind the six giants, delirious from such a concussive blow, his plain shield turned to the allies on the ridge of the mountain. But it was not to Balder he directed what little light there was up; for all the older man cared, Balder and his crew could slide down into what was soon to be a killing field. He turned his shield, to the pair of eyes that hid behind boulders at the entrance of the pass. The giant rose with a roar; its brethren, nearly numbering twenty, stood and answered his calls. The boulders that once seemed like part of the mountain, so solid and sure, were pulled free, high. Each was thrown at the entrance of the path, and as they collided with themselves and the ground, a makeshift barrier was created. From end to end, up to a giant’s breast, the stones were celebrated by the giants with insults thrown at those who were trapped in the path. Only then did Trajek turn his shield to Balder, signaling for the second, more heinous act of the day. “Kill the ones the fire doesn’t get!” Trajek ordered as he readied his sword and shield. A Simurgh scampered into view from the north.

Hildegarde could hear murmurs of ‘watch Hilde’ and the warnings of othes like Ashe. While she may have marched onwards with a furious temper, she did heed his advice. She didn’t go there expecting to be able to rush ahead, but she didn’t expect the giants to attack quite at this point. As Khitti screams about the logs, she grunts as she throws herself down hard onto her knees: sliding along the gravel in what would be a painful motion if it weren’t for her armour. Hildegarde had kept a hold of that shield she had picked up from the camp, using it now to still keep it up above her head. The mention of fire, the impending searing heat, it’s not good news: especially for a Silver dragon like Hildegarde. But she has no choice but to proceed. If she lingers for long in the valley, she will surely die. If she does not press ahead, the giants will gain the ground. “Argh!” she cries out, pulling her shield down and twisting her body full circle and into a graceful spin before launching the shield with powerful momentum. With a heavy “thunk” and gently “twang”, the oaken shield is embedded in the body of the mantel and the knight appears to be running right toward it. Fortunately, these mantels don’t feature the tell-tale holes of a lurking enemy waiting to jab a spear out at you, but they could easily conceal someone behind them. Her halberd at the ready, she continues to bolt at the mantel: tossing herself to the side to kick up against the rocky wall, onto the shield and then over the mantel itself with her weapon drawn. “Hyaaaah!” she cries, halberd pointed downward as she leaps over the mantel; ready to End the life of whatever foe might be waiting behind it for her. Should she have to dispatch a life or not, she proceeds onwards. She must make it to a point where the giants cannot strike true.

Between the huddle and the bombardment and consecutive shrapnel, Ashe was not in a good position. One might question what a bard and self professed -not- soldier was doing in this situation. If Ashe himself questioned this, he did not spend much time on it. He stuck close to the larger and heavier armored folks around him, managing to avoid shrapnel and log by simply being surrounded by larger targets and surfaces than himself. Of course, this cover vanished as the charge began in the wake of Kreekitakas cavalry charge. A opening had been made and Hilde's folk were not slow to take advantage of it. The chaos was... complete. Frost wyrms above, raining destruction. The giants improvised artillery. The pixie magic flying about. A flying Kensai. Joy. Ashe, rather than remain someone that someone might try to kill, took to the air. But not in a large enough shape to target. He was a crow. Fluttering around and between the Silver and her giants. Make yourself a smaller target. That simple. Still. He had something to contribute. The bird song of a crow might not normally be a beautiful thing. But this one let out a continuous musical melody rather than hoarse cawing. This song resounded, supernatural as it was, unlike any natural sound and instilled a feeling of raw arcane power into those who heard it. Why not strengthen any supernatural powers when all of them are on your side?

Orikahn whips his head from side to side, plainly overstimulated as chaos and carnage begin to rain down on every side. The cat's seen ample gore in his day, and he's had time enough to desensitize himself to near every manner of violence, but all that doesn't stop the hunter from beginning to feel somewhat shellshocked. This is a situation he'd never thought to prepare himself, mentally or emotionally, for a scene such as this. With eyes wide, reflexively draws and knocks his bow, a mindless, defensive gesture as he struggles internally to find some sort of footing. Aira bumps him. Kahn gives an "oof!" likewise as he collides with his fellow hunter, and he rounds on her, ready to bite or claw or shoot as needed. Recognizing her, he grimaces, and he is about to say something when one of Rainbow's windy gusts carries a log by overhead, followed by an eddie of flaming timber that all wash back up the cliffside, charting the reverse course from which they'd initially been hurled. Kahn watches, somewhat awed. "Great spirits..." He mutters under his breath and draws back to shoot up at one of the giants overhead, sticking an arrow in his. What else is he supposed to do? "I prefered the dragons," he confesses to his pridemate, shouting over the din of battle.

Balder's laughter is distinct amid the cries of the ambushers. His sadistic smile had returned the moment the logs had claimed their first casualty, and with obvious delight does he hurl his next, sending it whistling down into the fray to land with a splintering crash. The craven giant's eyes widen at the sight of the carnage. Linn will certainly spot as much as he crests the lip of the cliff. There are the catapults that had launched the blood and the bodies, there are piles of logs and, more worrysome than all this, he will see cauldrons, not filled with blood or loaded into catapults, but filled with oil and perched above fires. Lucky for the spellblade, his arrival is innocuous to be overlooked for the time being. A terrible crash signals a change in the battle as our heroes on the ground break through the barricade below, soon followed by lightning, thunder, and fires that roar up to greet them. Things are heating up, and Balder fears that he might miss his chance. "The oil!" He shouts, running to pluck up a log and wedge it beneath one of the cauldrons as lever, and the others move likewise, even as tongues of fire begin clinging to their flesh. With a heave, in quick succession, the cauldrons begin tipping. For Kreekitaka and Hildegarde, their assault on the barricade has not gone unnoticed. "Hold them," a sergeant cries, and two nets come sailing down, reinforced with ghroundium, hurtling to snare each. In the case of Hildegarde, the maneuver is particularly devious, for it promises to trap her beneath a coming deluge of boiling oil. Elones looked at Ashe.

Khitti had heard Aira's inquiry as it was posed to her, but at the moment, she was far too busy dealing with the giant splinter in her shoulder. Her uninjured arm rises to the opposite shoulder, pulling free the wood with a snarl that sounded like something akin to an injured beast. A look is shot towards the high elf, anger flaring in those verdant hues, "Just. Fine.", blood seeping from the wound. Well, that was clearly a lie. She's still dodging the projectiles that threatened the entire group, growing more and more agitated as time went on. The vampiress chooses to steer clear of fire and the giants for the time being and essentially play the role of crowd control. Calling on the full power of Amarrah as she so often did in times of need, black veins crawl up from the jagged scar on Khitti's left arm, quickly overtaking her form. Once green eyes shift to a violent purple as the wisp-like tendrils she had summoned up in the war camp are brought about again. From both hands they lash out, the strands of dark magic plundging into separate logs as they fly through the air towards the party. The vines seep into the wood, effectively connecting Khitti to them like a puppeteer to a marionette. Lithe, bloodied fingers curl into fists, controlling the strings and crushing the logs into shrapnel. It may not seem like the best idea, but getting hit with the smaller chunks would be a far better fate than getting hit full force with a log. Unfortunately for Khitti, however, her magic won't be lasting as long as she'd like. With her focus on the raining logs, the oil and the subsequent burning hell that'll come with it goes quite unnoticed

Linn somehow found him still in the center of the maelstrom of chaos despite his elevation. But up higher and higher he went, the sudden absence of logs enough to take his curiosity all the way to peeking up over the edge to the ambush preparations. That was… a lot of flammables. This made for a plan C that he almost forgot he had. And with Ashe’s song he felt like he could take on the world, both physically and mentally as he became charged with some sort of euphoric energy. Should Linn have made it before the oil pots were tipped, he’d fish out an unusual black and red egg-shaped gem that looked almost like the condensed embers of a fire. He’d send it skittering across the shelf right into the greatest concentration of oil and/or logs that he could see before it would spontaneously shatter into a cloud of blazing shrapnel. The explosion was nowhere what it should have been, maybe only five or so feet in radius, but anything within it would get lit up. And then… he fully hoisted himself up to the top before drawing the fire-enchanted blade at his side. Might as well cause as much chaos as he could up here.

Gunnar looks about at the absolute carnage around him. This surprise attack was a success it seems, as giants, men and elves try to rally as best they can but are, for no better words, stumped at every turn. Fires rise as the flames spread, logs burning have even set those numerous dead bodies that litter the ground aflame. Cries ring over the shouting of orders, and in the middle of the chaos Gunnar Stormbeard can see it all clearly. On this day they have been beaten, and to continue on would mean utter annihilation. Tyr, his closest ally, turns to face him and recive an order. What he is met by is a flaming log that topples the experienced warrior beneath it, crushing his skull as it continues to roll through the war camp and destroy anything in its path. There is a ringing in his ears, a numbness that comes over him. "We must escape.." He mutters, before it settles in. We -must- escape. Unable to see Hildegarde in he chaos, Gunnar's commanding voice booms out. "Make ready! Make ready! We -must- move!" Before he sets about gathering as many as he can to him, so he can soon begin the get the people out of this valley.

Rainbow nods to her air mages, barking a word in Pix as the projectiles continue to rain down. Anyone who knows Pix would probably be a little worried about this particular word, since it happens to mean something to the effect of 'detonate', and that is generally not a good thing to be anywhere near. Of course, this wouldn't be any different, as Ashe's song gives them enough power to cause the already rather impressive whirlwind they'd built over the army to explode upward, no longer a ward but an attack in its own right... Just when the nets and burning oil start raining down. The wind roars like a beast unleashed, spreading out from the point of origin and spiralling up and out of the chasm. The giants would have a moment to see their projectiles and oil slowing and wavering for a moment before being catipulted back upward and into their ranks. At this point, the fire mages from above had more than finished their run, the whole edge of the cliff on fire, likely would have been several times if that was even possible, between the several different forces arrayed there. They then wheel down into the valley themselves, working an enchantment on those below to actually draw the heat and flames from them, condensing them into a swirling ball of terrible things, held by their magic. Should those above be silenced, they would then rise back out of the chasm and begin drawing in more, the quartet of mages hovering around it, tongues of flame rising to meet them. Back on the ground, the wave of earth surges forward, suddenly rising several times its original height just as the trees crash into them, the first pair managing to possibly hit some of the Uyeer, but all the rest impacting the wave and simply becoming one more bit of detritus to turn against them as it crashes down across the shield wall and into the midst of the defenders behind it.

Kreekitaka reacted immediately, raising his shield and shifting a little to the side, that first pine slamming into his shield and glancing off to the side. Sure, they were thrown with giant-strength, but Rainbow's enhancements had left Kree entirely immune to pain and his carapace nearly unbreakable. He wouldn't be slowing down at all. The other two were forced to duck out of the way, their legs tucking in underneath them. One managed to avoid the first, the other took a glancing blow and fell headlong off the scorpion. After the first volley, fortunately, Rainbow's earth wave carried them all up and over and -into- the shield-wall, landing on the other side. The de-ridered scorpion abruptly freaked out and scurried off to find cover, not used to this sort of thing and robbed even of the familiar weight of a rider. The other two spun around, Kree faster than his one remaining bodyguard, and lay into the giants they were finally closing into melee range with, claws and stingers and lances flashing in front of them with deadly speed. And then a net descended at the same time as something... strange happened. At the sound of the music, Kree's and Vindicator's eyes both suddenly erupted with silver fire. The place where his feet had fused with the scorpion's back started to swell up, his legs fusing more with the scorpion—and then together into a solid mass as his carapace swelled up even more, thickening and hardening. His--their--muscles bulged as the magic connecting them lent them both each other's strength as well as enhancing it. So should the net hit this new fusion creature—VindiKreetor—his claws would catch it and toss it aside, and then attack the giants with even more fury. Kreekitaka's willpower and intellect combined with Vindicator's animalistic rage and brute strength made for a giant-slaying machine even more efficient than the one from the ball.

Aira freezes for a moment when Orikahn rounds on her, holding up her hands in a surrendered motion. The huntress is on sensory overload as fires burn and various items and people fly overhead. Aira suddenly wishes Kahn had ignored her orders and grabbed her bow instead of the dessert (no matter how tasty) for distance is her enemy at the moment, unable to do much in terms of missile battle, what with only a blade. That, and she lacks certain magical abilities; this feeling of helplessness not sitting well with the runaway. She has no choice but to stay close to Kahn at this point, her attention being torn in all different directions thanks to the chaos and fire. Lots and lots of fire everywhere. “Dragons were much better!” she yells back in agreement. Her eyes flare as that oil begins to come down the mountain and hand reaching out to grasp at Kahn’s back. They needed to get out of the way and now. However, her hand soon falls away as someone in fray unleashes a magic that forces that liquid weapon back up to those who released it in the first place. The huntress is left speechless, except for the few

Kasyr 's 'head start' as it were, was rather useful for all intents and purposes, as the advancing tide of allies expedited by the magical equivalent of an earthen conveyor belt, and headed by an absolutely livid scorpion thing added a certain degree of urgency to the revenant's decision to catalyze whatever unpleasentness. Thus, it's no real surprise that Kasyr had shucked what few reservations he had remaining about what trap lay in wait at the mantle's and instead thrown himself at the 'wall', managing to plant a foot atop a spike, and with an added boost caused by essentially pushing off the metal with a burst of electrical energy, sends himself cartwheeling over. The difference being that in the process of vaulting over, his free hand arcs out to grab the iron edge of one of those massive 'barriers', and then mirror the same process he had used to vault over, albeit this time using it to shove himself away from it (and therefore Kreekita). For some peculiar reason, the revenant could feel those electrical energies swelling and coming to his call all the much easier- a process which had him launching past one of the giants that had been guarding the mantles. Still, rather then plausibly lose momentum, the revenant instead simply twists in air to avoid the collision, so that he can hit the ground in a stumbling dash forward. Really, Kasyr was now doing his utmost to move as quickly and erratically as possible, to make himself a difficult target, and to avoid engagements. After all, if they sealed off the path behind, they were likely going to seal off the exit, and do something worse, which currently left the Kensai with trying to seek out if there was a secondary choke point. The subtle hiss of boiling oil, and the preparations of those with nets behind him fall unnoticed, the revenant's attempts to outmanuever the dug in infantry also serving to shuffle him away from Hildegarde, for better and worse. In the end, all he's aware of, is that there's fear, and triumph, and anger, and a whole lot of other emotions swirling in his wake, and somewhere ahead, was likely just one more bit of awful. And a likely deluge of soldiers, though at least in that case, he might at least be able to find some sort of commanding officer, and perforate him so many times, he might pass for a colander.

Trajek watched the mountain ridge, and the battle that ensued upon it. The ground battle had been left to the six giants who stood like a wall between the ground battle and the northern exit. Those would have been the giants Hildegarde dispatched had the ghroundium infused net caught her in midflight. His tired eyes went back to the ridge; the seconds it should’ve taken to push the cauldrons over had come and gone. He cursed loudly when the explosion rocked the ridge, and sent only a trickle of burning oil over the edge. The ones lining the edge that were not disabled by Linn’s attack were negated by the mages at Rainbow’s control. But along the ridge had been a line of cauldrons, and as one was sent up, the mechanisms that held all were released. The mages made short work of the few cauldrons that were still left on the southern in, but one still remained. The cauldron near the most northern part, the last remaining cauldron, rocked back and forth, but the oil within tipped it. Oil caught fire, lit by the small flame that had nearly gone out, and surged like a river over the edge and landed where the mantlets had once stood. Hildegarde, the giants, Kreekitaka, and Kasyr would all face what little time they had left on this plan burning alive if they did not move. It was fortunate for the giants that Kreekitaka; he dispatched each with his unforgiving pincers. But even in his new form, the scorpitaur would also have to worry about the falling fire rain that would seer flesh and pop open carapaces from its heat. The southern end of the pass had been neutralized with only the remnants of the log attack to deal with, and with a wall of fire between him and the battlefield, with the battle won as much as it was going to be won, Trajek turned north and retreated from the field.

Elones has very little time to react when the burning oil came shooting back up towards the giants. She roared loudly as she beat her wings up and up and up to get out of the way... still, a little oil got on her tail, causing the child to scream in a shrill, deafening sound as her tail burned. She spat snow on it to put the flame out, but her tail would never be the same. She struggled to steer her way back towards the fight, when she noticed the nets that had been fired back with the oil, too late. They caught her and in a panic she tried to thrash her way free as she soared back towards the giants, caught in the net, to only smack one in the face. This caused her to panic even more so now there was a flailing, screaming baby dragon all up in the giant's grill, biting and scratching and trying to break free of the netting. || Most of the wyverns were able to get out of the way of the burning oil. Several, once the oil was past them, went back to snapping at the giants' limbs and weapons and generally being an annoying distraction. One of the wyverns noticed Elones caught in the nets, and with a shrieking cry, dove for her to get her out of the way.

Hildegarde ’s leap would have certainly been magnificent, had she not been taken by the net of woven ghrondium. Ghrondium was beyond impossible for any mortal man to lift and it was certainly heavy to giants. The weight of the net collided with her moving body; the little ghrondium shaped orbs at the end of the net wrapped around her tightly and dragged her down to the earth with a ‘thump’. It had certainly hurt, that sudden collapse to the earth. As her body lay there for a few moments, the knight groaned with the pain of the collision before pushing against the netting. It wouldn’t break under her grip nor would a blade cut through it. It felt more than heavy. But that was the least of her concerns. Her main concern was the boiling oil that was about to fall onto her… A horrendous death that surely awaited and boiling to death was no pleasant way to go. There is certainly a look of panic in Hilde’s eye and there’s panic in her movement as she wriggles more fiercely for freedom, but to no avail. “Milady!” she hears the familiar voice and is suddenly cast into shade by the looming presence of Mikael. He has thrown his body atop her net captured one. “Mikael, move!” she commands him desperately! “No, milady, I shall not,” he retorts calmly as the first droplet of boiling oil strikes his flesh and elicits a yelping hiss from the giant. “Mikael!” she shrieked the name, uncaring of how distraught or girlish it sounded. “Mikael, please, go away!” she would rather die than have him sacrifice himself for her. “Duty!” he retorted, “I die for my Queen of Frostmaw, and Queen of my--” whatever words he is about to say are drowned out by his hellish shrieking and screaming as the bubbling and boiling oil casts down over him proper. The back of his head, his back, his arms and legs are coated in the stuff; Hilde can see his face contort with pain as he howls with horror. She screams back at him. She screams no, she begs for mercy and for it to end, but no such wish is granted. The Silver can do nothing but watch her beloved friend and most loyal man die to save her.

Ashe was but a small Crow in the storm of destruction raining in... well. Both directions. Of course, the small shape and speed it lent him came at a cost of what he was capable of doing other than flying. And even so: Any child that has ever tried to dodge rain knows it's simply not to be done. Small or no, the poly-morphed Bard was to suffer burns like anyone else caught in the oil. It wasn't until the horrendous screaming overcame the yells and clamour that Ashe became aware of Hildegarde and Mikael. Though far too late to do anything for the giant. Still, always one to think and act quickly, the bird descends on the netted dragon and thumps onto the ground on two, decidedly human, feat. “Hilde!” he roared, grabbing onto the net. “You must retreat with the others.” As he spoke, the net vanished with a anticlimactic pop, and Ashe's knees hit the oil, soaked ground. Whatever she might yell back, he paid her no mind. “Unless you prefer his death to be in vain!” Notably, Ashe would not move, as if he was pressed to the earth by the weight of the world, until Hilde made for the path Gunnar had cut to escape. Once she did (or perhaps if), the Bard would let out a sigh of relief as he made a throwing motion and the net re-appeared with a noisy crash and he returned to his own two feet and scrambled after the dragon.

Orikahn begins looking for avenues of retreat, but he is distracted by the truly awesome display of pyrotechnics above. Likewises, the cat is awestruck and can only watch for a moment until, gathering himself with a brisk shake, he looks to the north. "That looks like the way." He gives Aira a tap just in case she's still watching the pixie fireworks. Trusting her (and hopefully others too) to follow, he follows Gunnar's lead and begins moving for the gap that Kree's forces had managed to tear, but grisly and unfortunate sight prompts him to pause. Was that Hildegarde in a net? Nevermind the burning, melting giant.

Balder gives a groan of effort than turns into an enraged yell as his cauldron begins to tip and, impatient to have the searing contents emptied onto the unforunate combatants below. With a mere three fingers on one hand and a fresh prosthesis taking the place of his other, the giant is frustrated with his struggle. No matter. The sight of Hildegarde's army boiling in the mountain pass will be enough to soothe his resentment, if only for a moment. Ahh, with oil sliding merrily down, it's only a matter of time. The welcome gift of fire sets the deadly liquid alight. With all the light and the heat of the conflagration, Balder must raise his blue iron hand and shield his face again such. Just as it's starting to get good, just as it seems all that they have planned is about to come to fruition, the wind that had merely been a nuisance before turns suddenly into an explosion that actually knocks him backwards and not a moment too soon. Following the initial blast, there comes a surge of flame like a vertical wall, ejected from the valley below as though from the barrel of a cannon and, for the giants on the cliffs above, apparently inverting the terrain arrangement. What goes up must come down; whatever particles that may have escaped the pixies' magical containment now come streaking back from the sky, making the second time today that unnatural rains should come on an otherwise clear day. Balder looks to his left. Where had been a cauldron before, there is now only a smouldering crater and the dismembered, sizzling bodies of the giants that had attended it. Balder looks to his right. Another of his brothers-in-arms struggles to fend off a netted frost drake single handed, and it seems to be going quite poorly for him as frostbitten lacerations streak his flesh. "Up the mountain," Balder calls, "back, back up the mountain!" He needn't call twice. The few remaining giants hurry to push the catapults over the ledge, sending the engines of war tumbling down the walls. With blisters on their skin and charred holes in their beards, the ambuscade falls back, climbing swiftly and ably up the mountainside and away from the hardy forces below.

Khitti finished dispatching the rest of the logs that had rained near the southern exit. There was now a great deal of distance between the rest of the party and herself. The tendrils die away, her and Amarrah's magic waning, leaving the vampiress weakened as the blood from her shoulder continued to flow. Every inch of her ached and it took every ounce of strength left to finally give chase after the group as they headed towards the exit made by the frost giants that were thankfully on their side. A brief look back over her shoulder is cast, a frown lining her pale lips as she wonders on the outcome of what they had left behind. Pilar? Alex? Were they alright? Balder, Trajek, and their lot had made a very grave mistake. At one point, Khitti had only been doing what was right, helping Hildegarde to retake her home. But now, it was personal. As she makes her way to the top, she manages to catch the unfortunate scene of Mikael sacrificing himself for the Silver. The rest of her energy is summoned up and she joins Ashe's side with Hildegarde, the words 'oh no' uttered sadly. A frown is given to the bard, then she looks to the dragon, "Hildegarde, ve must go. Now." It pained her to see the dragon this way, and despite recent events with another female dragon and the subsequent fear that had ensued from that, a hand is offered to Hildegarde, in hopes that she'll take it and follow along with the rest. "Please."

Linn couldn’t help a wide grin under his mask as the firebomb he made set off a rather spectacular chain reaction with the oil cauldrons. He didn’t have long though before the massive WHOOSH of burning oil came up behind him, prompting a sharp curse as he drew out the darkened violet crystal from a pouch at his side, the inky black within swallowing all light that got too close to the center. From it sprang a blue veil of forceful light that expanded into a makeshift umbrella which shielded him from the bulk of the assault, though a few drops that splashed back off the ground stuck to his armored form, speckling his silver appearance with bright trailing blazes. He didn’t seem to notice them at all between the adrenaline and that lingering euphoria. With the giants in retreat he didn’t press the issue, though the netted wyvern caught his eye as he began running over, leaping over flaming puddles of oil as he went. A booted foot landed in one by mistake and with a slew of cursing he began wiping it across the rock to remove as much of the oil into a blazing scuff as quickly as he could. By the time he was done putting it out he walked with a limp up to Elones, his voice sharp and hurried. “Alright, Let’s get you out of this thing.” Sheathing his blade he drew out a cluster of splinter-like violet crystals that projected a thin trace of blue-white light that he brought to the net like a knife. It didn’t cut. “The hell…?” he mused before setting it aside to try and lift it to absolutely no avail. “The hell.” He repeated much more assuredly. What –was- this stuff?

Ashe simply nodded at Khitti when she joined in the effort of herding Hildegarde away from the battlefield. With the giants retreated and the attack ceased, the danger was mostly over. All that remained was to organized a controlled withdrawal. And the would-be Queen in such a state was not something that needed to become a remembered public symbol. As such, rather than convene with the others, Ashe instead virtually dragged Hildegarde away for the time being.

Gunnar rallies his men, who drive forth and create an opening for all those who need it to gte out of this firey hell. Seeing Hilde is taken up, Gunnar goes about driving the rest of the troops out of the valley and up towards the northern abondoned castle, where he hopes to find refuge they can dig into and defend properly. For now, the paladin waits until all are off the field before he'd take leave. The destruction and death, even the bodies of close allies like Tyr and Mikael are left behind for now, so as to use the best amount of time possible to escape while they have this opening.

Rainbow doesn't need to give orders to her troops to scatter once the rain of burning oil starts up again. They had been in the general area of Kree, and they had all been watching the skies for a while now. A cry goes up, and the pixies scatter, getting out of the way of the falling oil relatively handily, though a bit haphazardly, and with the amount of magic they'd burned through today, there hadn't really been a good way to protect themselves other than this. Unfortunately, in this instance, Kree's Uyeer would have to take care of themselves.

Having neatly obliterated the shield-wall and the giants holding it in place, Kree turned to face the cliff walls and—oh. Fire. Coming down. It was like the Fifth World was falling out of the sky. Still immune to pain, carapace reinforced enough to let him take the first few drops, he surged backwards up and out of the oilstorm, using all of that magically-enhanced strength he was gifted to propel himself up and out of the bottom of the valley, to the north, away from the heat. He had absolutely no idea what Rainbow had been doing, but clearly she'd gone overboard again. He made a note to speak with her next time—not as many mages. Maybe no mages. Just the support thing that she did for him. That was the best thing she had for him. His carapace, being extra-thick, was insulation against the heat, but the two uyeer behind him weren't so lucky—the first, the one who'd been K.O.'d by the javelog, was baked. Raiez ought to bring her butter. The other had to jump from his scorpion and managed to leap onto Kree, though one could hear him sizzling—he'd need healing after this if he was going to make it. It's a shame about Hildegarde, he thought to himself as he dodged backward. Hopefully she makes it, because otherwise I'm going to have to start all over with that shop!

Aira is still transfixed with the fireshow above when she receives a smart tap from Orikahn which snaps her out of her trance. Forcibly shaking her head she nods and follows Kahn and the others on the path which has been cut. Something catches the huntress’s attention, though and watches as that net that had come crashing down encases Hildegarde. Ideas of how she could go to the Silver’s aid dash through her mind, but before any of them can come to fruition, there’s the familiar figure of Mikael looming over Hilde and moving to shield her body with his! Aira’s hand comes up to cover her mouth which had fallen open in abject horror, knowing full well what he was doing before it even happens. She quickly squints her eyes shut but it doesn’t help the screams and wails that echo around the valley. Eventually, she does open her eyes and looks up to the source of all the attacks. Aira is treated with another surprise and lashes out a hand to grab at Kahn’s arm pointing up at Balder. “That’s the one that came into the prison wanting to execute you. That’s the one I shot,” she hisses loudly enough so he can catch her words. Momentarily, Aira halts and surveys the scene around them. What had happened here? What had happened back at the war camp where those she loved and cared about were left? Swallowing hard she finally forces her feet to move once more, hugging her arms across her bare midsection, and hoping no one would notice her slight trembling.

Kasyr is in the process of swerving past another giant, when he takes note of Trajek, who merely seems to be observing the debacle which has unfolded- and yet who seemed to exude a sense of ..anguish and..something more difficult to place. Even as he turned away, Kasyr continued to push forward- some intuitive part of the swordsman placing the man's role as an officer, or tactician of some sorts, observing the simple outcomes of his strategems. Useful, if only he could be cap- the thought ends as abruptly as it started, a wash of heat and a horrific wail ripples out through the air, alongside a few sharp stings of something which sizzles on touch, and coaxes the Kensai to fall towards one of the walls of the path, hunched over in his coat, and staring at the source. It's hard not to hone in on that gruesome sight of Mikael's melted body, really, nor the pained shrieks which ran through the air, accompanied by the cloying stench of burning oil and flesh. Scents and sounds, and sights which were all made the sharper by the emotional agony which seemed to cascade off Hildegarde, and a more poignant swell of emotions that had seemed to swell in Mikael before they had become overwhelmed by agony. Kasyr, for the first time in this entire debacle, finds it hard to stare in the face of this travesty. And he could place why- exactly. It wasn't the heart wrenching misery in front of him, there was always something bleak there that helped numb that inevitable element. No, what made it hard to look at was the guilt and the anger. On a certain level, he recognized where it was his fault. He'd stayed behind, when he could have taken to the air, even to have wrought havoc, or even revealed intel. Instead, he'd finally in step with the same Noblesse Oblige folly he'd critized her of believing too much in, followed in step, and fallen near flatfooted into a trap he'd predicted, as filthy and underhanded as he could have expected. And even -then- he'd managed to compound his failure by failing to even properly keep an eye on her. Something bleak churns inside the Kensai's gut, and he simply begins to pull away from those gathered, searching out for the first moment he can split off from the rest of them.

Elones watches the human try /watches as the human tries to break her free of the net. Then her body started to glow and change... after a few moments, a young thirteen-year-old looking child lay in the net. "It's a metal," she answered, "not one I've seen before." With her fingers she tried to fine some sort of opening in the net to get out. "I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's heavy. And it smells weird." She frowned a little, pulling on the net. Her wyvern friends were still in the air, screeching, wanting to help but basically only making sure everyone was out of the valley before they went home.

Orikahn commends himself for quick thinking as he plucks a shield from a fallen warrior and improvises it as an umbrella against the occasional pit-a-pat of burning oil, and he's sure to offer shelter likewise to others, if he can find any to salvage, beginning with Aira. "If I never see another war, it will be too soon," he reiterates his sentiments and makes his way north to whatever refuge may greet them.

Linn had gone back to the ‘cutting’ idea seeing that the net barely even budged when he lifted with everything he had. An invisible blink as Elones shifted to a humanoid form before he nodded. He had seen similar things a couple times to know that deal. The hurried nodding continued as she spoke. “Definitely metal, but ‘heavy’ is an understatement! It’s also… incredibly tough. Taking a swing like this…” raising his arm with the crystal he brought the projected line of force down on the net for it to strike like a solid blade. “Is not something I’ve seen a lot of metals do.” Leaning in he inspected the strike before trying to pry it apart. There was a cut, however small it was. “One second…” He pocketed the darkened crystal in his other hand to retrieve another violet splinter, this one wrapped in what looked like vivid cherry-red thread. Should she have a magical sense she could tell the tools he wielded were not just enchanted; they were the very stuff of magic itself, crystallized into a physical form. From the needle blasted a focused jet of flame that quickly brought the metal to white heat right under the fire. Another swing with the other cluster. Another swing. Another. Slowly the net began to separate under the combined assault of focused fire and force. “Progress!” he called out ecstatically as he went.

Khitti eventually aided Ashe is leading Hildegarde off. The vampiress was silent the entire way to the mansion a little further north. She knew that place well, and it didn't sit well with her that they were now intent on taking refuge there. Numb from the pain that coursed through her small frame, whether it stemmed from the overuse of magic or the fact that she still had a gaping wound on her shoulder, she continued on with the group. Dark eyes stare blankly at the road before them, that tiny, angry fire inside the dark ranger remaining lit and ever growing with every passing moment.

Elones glances at the cut wire and smiles. "...if you can manage to cut one more," she said, "I can probably wiggle out without a problem." She looked up at her friends and chuckled. "You may want to cover your ears," she warned the human, taking in a deep breath. And then she roared. LOUD. And long! Once she was done, the wyerns made screeching noises and they flew off in different directions. Elones obviously told them she would be fine and they could go home.

Linn nodded as he continued swinging and torching the net. By the time he had cut a slit wide enough for Elones to crawl out through he fell backwards onto his rear, grabbing the face of his helmet and pulling it right off along with the rear half to wipe a profuse amount of sweat from his brows. At her warning he glanced at her with a curious ‘huh?’, only clapping his hands to his ears as she took her breath to brace for the noise. Once the coast was clear he’d head back to the net to try and open up the gap for the young dragon, though at this point he was rather weak and would have difficulty getting it open wide without much assistance.

Elones was able to push herself through for the most part. Until her dress got tangled in the cut wires. "....stupid thing," she muttered, pulling on it, "why human insist on wearing these is still beyond me..." RIIIIIIIIIIIIP The skirt of her dress tore and she was free - although her dress was ruined. She frowned, brushing herself off. "I don't think I did much in that battle," she muttered to herself, "the giants pretty much ignored me until I landed on that one's face..."

Linn winced as Elones’ dress ripped on the wire net. Her other comments on humans and their clothing was met with a somewhat awkward silence as he turned his attention to the net itself. “So long as we won…” A beat. What –did- happen down there in the pass while he was busy making chaos up here? A hard blink as he rubbed his eyes before picking his tools up again to work at cutting one of the ghroundium weights from the net. The curiosity of this material was getting the best of him. “I was honestly hoping to light more on fire up here than I did. It looks like they still poured a lot of the oil despite my little games up here.”