RP:Vipers, Vixens, and Vampires
Part of the The Lesser of Two Evils Arc
Hanging Corpse Tavern
This once-timber tavern has been rebuilt in sturdily vitrified blackstone and imbued with powerful protective magics that prevent occult fire and several other potentially harmful spells being cast within its walls. No effort has been spared to make what might otherwise be a bleak interior comfortable. The bar is made of polished stone with an oaken inlay, the space behind filled with a bustle of attractive barmaids, sundry barrels and a dazzling array of coloured bottles that glint in the light cast by a large wrought-iron candelabrum suspended from the ceiling overhead. Here, the one-eyed Steadman stands, ready to take orders for food or drink. Beyond the bar, stout tables are firmly bolted to the floor, though the high-backed chairs are freestanding. The hearth is a true feature, seeming to be cast from black lava into the shape of a colossal, laughing goblin's head, its maw gaping wide and deep, usually containing a merrily crackling fire. A delicious scent of roasting meats drifts in from the kitchens and a winding staircase leads to rooms upstairs. To the south are set cellar doors, usually kept locked unless a special event is taking place. The walls are hung with thick, richly woven tapestries depicting persons and events in the history of Vailkrin and the Vampiric race. There's also a notice-board near the entrance, where one may leave messages. Unobtrusive but ever-present are the security staff, staunch fighters ever ready to toss troublemakers out.
Kasyr adjusts the satchel on his shoulder one last time, the revenant doing his best to mask the expression of unbridled ire painted on his features. For the moment, his trademark trenchcoat has been left behind at a room in the corpse- a generic ensemble of dark clothing and equally 'ominous' robe having been chosen instead. With a slight tug upon the satchels strap, the Kensai simply begins to start towards the door- eyes rolling up slightly in response, "Et bien.. Now to see what gets moi first."
Hemlock Way
Gnarled and ancient, the poisonous hemlock trees lining the street here stretch pale-leaved limbs across the road, locking together their crooked branches to form a naturally arched, covered walkway. Light is scarce, provided only by a sparse scattering of streetlamps. A stone bench rests by the roadside, offering respite for the weary traveler, and to the north lies a shop with a sign depicting a long-bladed sword. At the end of a southern path is a large, free-standing building, the home of a prosperous local, perhaps. To the east, the Way broadens and brightens toward the main part of the City, and to the west can be glimpsed a monumental fountain.
Satoshi pipes up, "Get you how~?" as she appears at the kensai's shoulder, veritably materializing out of Vailkrin's fog like an apparition courtesy of the still-present wispy cloak and her near soundless footfalls. A beckoning gesture follows her words, drawing the mists closer about herself before Satoshi sighs with something near contentment. "I forgot how fun it is to prowl in this fog. Fantastic hunting grounds~."
Kasyr , even with the advantage of being able to feel out his wifes presence, still can't help but whirl towards her due to the sudden sound- right hand have sharply flicked down towards his side, with those Calico ears of his fully perked up. "You don't know what's happening here..do tu? Et I suppose I did not mention where we are going.. Et bien- I'll explain on the way..if it does not explain itself." Which is all the Revenant says for the moment, before he begins to traipse off towards the city Center. On the bright side, he didn't look the same as when he caused a scene with Redhale.
Satoshi fixes Kasyr with a sharp look at his reflexive motion, expression closed and half lost in the roiling mists she's dragging along to blur her outline and paint her into the 'Ghost' Vailkrin once dubbed her. A sigh is heaved once he begins moving and the kit hurries to follow after him. "I've been slightly focused on Frostmaw's welfare, and the only one that'd be bringing me news about happenings here is currently pacing ahead of me and being slightly elusive on details." She manages a vague shrug by this point, not particularly bothered about being in the dark and a good deal more interested in keeping an eye on her surroundings. An agitated Kasyr is generally a fair warning to not be oblivious.
Dark Arena
The arena is filled with various killed and undead as well. Several Zombies seem to be carrying corpses out of the arena, returning them to the masters they served. Many bodies here look disfigured and ill, clearly abominations constructed by Necromancers to serve in the gladiator like battles held here. Several of the other bodies though are completely normal. A battle must have recently gone on here, as the crowds of people step out of the entrance of the area. To your south is the way out, to your north is a path leading to the back of the arena.
Kasyr is somewhat grateful for the thickness of the mist within Satoshis' vicinity, appreciative of any form of obfuscation he can obtain. They were not the only things skulking about this evening- the Kensai having taken note of small group of figures rushing across a nearby rooftop. And really, given his luck with the last group... "Without Ginger et Jolie to keep this place in order, things managed to get worse. Some vampires have, according to the Dark man, been enslaving the weaker willed undead et such. If I had to guess- they are likely trying to gather..numbers. Maybe to try et fill the power void? It would make sense..." As they drifted into the Arena, the Revenant abruptly turns away from the open space offered by the arena grounds, and begins to navigate his way towards the stands- intent upon taking the path that provides more cover. "Numbers wise, it would add up, since there was a skirmish with a fair few from that 'faction'." Apparently, anyways, " The thing is, despite there being a good number of vampires there, not a one displayed any real magical title, except for the one that stepped through a shadow et punched moi in the face. So, I'd say there es at least a mage or few remaining..likely few if they got the Dark mans attention. Et, Well, there's generally no shortage of idiots willing to follow any half-assed scheme..so I'm expecting more fodder." Somewhere, from the midst of the arena, comes a soft groaning, and the sound of shambling footsteps.
Satoshi can't easily miss the sounds drifting readily across the cold air from the arena's center, even if her sense of hearing was highly sensitive. But her only response for the moment is to draw her fogs closer, creating a dense shroud as it begins to glaciate with countless tiny ice shards. "Well," she murmurs, voice low so as not to return the favor of making herself easily heard through the cold, "you did promise adventure, no? 'm not against adventure with you. ....so long as no one's taking a swing at -my- face, that is."
Kasyr gives her a look, before he ducks his head down and continues weaving through the stands. For a little while, the only sound that comes from the Revenant is the subtle swish of his robe against the ground- at least until he reaches the path out of the Arena on the otherside. It's only then that Kasyr begins to speak anew, his voice a quiet, hurried hiss, "No promises, cherie. Anyways- we are going to have our fill of adventure at our next destination. In the, I hope we do not end up in over our head." Curiously, despite their movements- that soft groaning sound that comes from the arena still clearly resonates through the evening.
Abandoned Slave Market
The slave shop appears to have been vacated, the once bustling sound of monetary coin exchanging hands long forgotten as the vendor has decided to move locations for a better profit.
Satoshi mutters to no one in particular, "And he didn't even bring the dragon along~." Still, the kit looks far from worried. Wary, yes, but not worried. She's lost count the number of times she's been ambushed in Vailkrin, and by this point, a stroll through the city simply isn't complete without an attempted killing or similar. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean she's going to let the nearby shufflers mosey along uninhibited, not when it takes no more than a handful of words sung to coax a layer of slick ice into existence over the arena's surface, ice that's eager to rise up in tendrils and latch on to any soul unfortunate enough to lose their footing upon it. Aside from that, Satoshi conjures nothing further in the immediate. Words may be whispered under her breath in cautious preparation, but if Kasyr hasn't even drawn a blade, she's not jumping to paranoid conclusions at every sound herself.
Kasyr briefly turns his head back toward the arena at the sound sound of a 'whumpf', though his attention doesn't remain long, given the ensuing crackle of ice is far from subtle. With a twitch of his ear and a mild smirk, the Revenant simply picks up the pace- quite intent upon jogging through this particular section of the city. ..Really, as ironic as it would be to meet slavers in an area that had been liberated from them. Well- Kasyr is lazy and doing his best to avoid them. And really, he's doing a fairly decent job.
Vailkrin Plaza
This magnificent plaza, also paved in black stone, is adorned with elegant, wrought-iron streetlights to augment the silvery glow of the moon above, lending it a slightly brighter aspect than many places in the Dark Lands. To the west lies a short path leading to a busy shop of some sort, all manner of shady individuals streaming back and forth from it. To the east is a sheer rockface with a steep, broadly-cut stone path winding upward to a towering structure above. Below this stands a massive monolith hewn from the same dark material, but with one highly polished face upon which has been carved an the inscription highlighted in pearlescent moonstone. One might like to pause for a moment and read the inscription. To the north is an official-looking building, with City Guards stationed around it. Placed around the square are several benches and cafe tables, offering rest to those who've patronised the district's shops, with plenty of room left for public gatherings.
Satoshi, upon entering the plaza, spares a moment to eye the repairs to the street and nearby blood bank that have been put into effect since her last big visit here, when she had joined present company in faking the death of a pesky dragon. "Undead labor does good work, I'll admit. But the lighting could be toned down," she criticizes in miffed tones as she watches wisps of her conjured cloak burn away under the brighter lights. Grumbling, she draws the vapors in further, condensing them into something more substantial and less likely to suffer from outside influences, while she glances around once more. "It's -that- bad here lately?" The kit's indicating her husband's rushed and wary demeanor as proof, a keenly unsettling affair when he's the sort to casually walk into the gaping maw of an angry dragon.
Kasyr pauses for a moment, his gaze flicking up towards the authorative looking building before them. For a moment, he could have sworn he had seen something within- and yet, further scrutiny provided nothing. With a slow shake of his head, he simply takes a step back towards the feline, effectively ensuring that he remains within that delightfully thick portion of fog she's created, "Red brought in forces loyal to him to deal with it. He's mobilized- en fait. That strikes moi as bad. That one of them, which I can only gather es an elder, managed to get a hit on me, et I didn't manage to kill him? That's somewhat worse." Shadowstepping jackass. "That we're going to be going to nagaville through the 'back door' as it es, in an attempt to sneak over to their library et get a book or few- without hopefully raising a disturbance? That's the big one."
Satoshi chews on her lower lip in a feigned moment of thoughtfulness and reluctance at Kasyr's explanation. Before long however, the expression of hesitation promptly brightens into an eager smirk. "If I'd wanted the safe and quiet life, I would have married a farmer. But I prefer trouble, not cows. Even the bad to worse kind of trouble." Not that she intends to charge into this brand of trouble blindly, but at least there's no true doubt coming from the foxkin as she sidles up alongside her husband and gives him an affectionate bump with her shoulder. "C'mon then. On y va?"
Kasyr nudges his shoulder right back to the felines, before he replies with a certain whimsical air, "As long as things start going bad -after- we get what we came for, I'm happy. I'd rather not sneak into an imperial city, et have things turn sour before we can do anything- et than get hassled out with so much noise that we're get a nice welcoming party on this end, too." Which is to say, the Revenants picked up the pace, and is heading onwards~
Satoshi dogs the kensai's heels with all the dutiful dedication of a proper stalker. Or partner in crime, as is fitting. While he leads the way, the magus devotes herself to feeding threads of magic into their cloud-ish cover and weaving with them a tapestry of precautionary spells. No pointt in them arriving at Kasyr's undesired welcoming party without a few gifts in hand. "A prepared mage is an alive mage~," the old school warning is murmured along the way.
Kasyr rounds the bend towards the blood bank...and then just outright stops. Even despite the obfuscation provided by the felines weavings, he can't help but tense up- if only due to the sheer scale of what's stumbled upon. Then again, caution in this particular instance is likely warranted, given that the area is effectively swarming with what looks to be two seperate 'groupings' of vampires, all of which look relatively well armed and armoured. One group could technically be considered idle- more or less positioned upon the surrounding rooftops, with some of them simply shuffling about the front of the edifice. The secondary group was a bit more difficult to perceive, though assortment of chests and satchels that were being carried out from the bloodbank allowed the occasional glimpse of a carrier. What truly arrests the Revenants' attention is a pair of figures at the midst of it all- the likes of which somewhat defy the standard 'uniform' of the rest. Standing partially within the doorway to the bloodbank was a particularily tall robed figure, whose veritable form could barely be seen save for spider like fingers which extended from his robe... apparently enjoying a riveting (Read: frustrating due to interfering with Kasyr's plans) discussion with a redheaded individual in a suit. "..Uh." That sums up the Revenants feelings on this.
Satoshi, following as closely as she is, can't help knocking into Kasyr when he halts so abruptly. Stumbling back with a faint yelp of protest, the kit scrambles to gather the threads of her spell before it can unravel with the lapse in concentration, even while attempting to take in the sight that's frozen her husband. "Uh..." is echoed quietly, "you don't have a dragon stashed nearby, by chance? Or another route that isn't like walking into one of Cenril's gangwars..?"
Kasyr feels his hackles raise up at the proverbial peep made by Satoshi- not even mentioning that momentary collision. Nonetheless, he's a bit too busy to reply to her, given that he's currently engaged in a particular form of mental math. More or less it boiled down to, 'can I take them or not- and what's the likelihood of those two having anything that can stop me?' but with alot of theoretical scenarios quickly being sorted through. Doubly so when additional consideration was given to the possibility that the fellow he had fought the day before might be nearby. That would be..tedious, at best. "...Merde. I think we might have to just see about getting you a book from the Darkman ..for services rendered."
Satoshi might be a tad more willing to take a gamble with their odds if they were in Frostmaw, or even relatively close to a water supply that wasn't the bank's blood stock, and if her less-than-stealthy golem were available. That's not to say she's utterly against seeing what sort of mess they could cause, but Satoshi has learned a thing or two about caution, prudence, and planning ahead by now, and it's what's keeping her from waltzing into the groups' midst currently. "This is more a numbers game than trouble, really..." Neither an agreement nor disagreement to the kensai's suggestion.
Kasyr can't help but glance about the area again, his attention dwelling upon the various 'guards' presentt, and those vampires that he could see milling back and forth in the blood bank. The kensai couldn't help but look vexed by this point, an assortment of unpleasent possibilities currently running through his head almost non-stop. It's only a few moments of mulling some of these unpleasentries that he tilts his head over towards Satoshi and quietly intones, "Yes, et no. If it was strictly a numbers game, I wouldn't be holding back. But this situation... Either this area es secured by them enough that they don't believe anyone will interfere with them, they managed to get in quickly...or they're stupid. Whilst it could be any of them, I'm leaning more towards first two possibilities, given the sheer number present et the efficiency in their movements. Which places the advantage with them, at least in regards to territory." The revenant can't help but add, "Et, we have a dire bit of lack when it comes to support- so we just have to hope that neither of them can't..pop out of a shadow et put a knife in our spine." Not that it would kill Kasyr permanently, but that isn't what has him agitated. On the bright side, at least the Revenant isn't the only anxious one? By this point, both the robed figure and the well dressed vampire had become a bit more heated in their discussion- the one in the read suit gesturing off in the relative direction of that the skulking mage & Kensai duo lurked. A few more pauses, and there was a secondary gesticulation of an equally enthusiastic nature.
Satoshi said, "I don't know about you, but I put little stock in bravery or heroics. I'd rather keep my head intact by keeping my nose out of where it doesn't belong." Which is to say, the kit's already taking a few careful steps backwards. Goblin raiding parties and roaming gangs of bored vampires are one thing, but organized crime is another, and one Satoshi knows better than to idly waltz into. "Y'know... if Red over there keeps waving this way, they're bound to look eventually. I'm not sure I want to still be standing here at that point."
Kasyr grimaces at Satoshis' proposed course of action, though that doesn't prevent him from heeding her particular bit of advice, "Better part of valour..ou quoi ce soit." He can't help but bite his lip at that point- before he withdraws fully and begins to step away, "So...es this the part where we discreetly move over to the arena et hope they split up..or the part where we decide this es too much trouble, et see about borrowing a book or few from the black library?"
Satoshi glances sidelong at Kasyr with a flat look, saying bluntly, "Not valor. Survival. I -like- surviving. Also," another sideways glance is given, this one a shade more impish, "fair warning, I'm about to do something considerably stupid. Because discreet is no fun~." At that moment, Satoshi does two things simultaneously, the first being to loop her arm with the kensai's while the second is to send the fogs she's woven about them spreading outward. Greedy tendrils of frigid, magic-laden mist claw their way toward the cafe situated near the blood bank where windows, cups, and their contents are seized and promptly subjected to a burst of magic from Satoshi, deepfreezing the collective glass before withdrawing the enveloping cold of both magic and twilight air just as suddenly to leave them rapidly heated. And promptly exploding. The kit doesn't wait to see the reactions (as she's willing to bet not a single person can fight the reflex to either duck or look toward the sound of a glassy explosion) or her handywork, and instead turns and bolts into the fog, intending on dragging the revenant with her.
Kasyr doesn't particularily need much more motivation than that. Whether they or no they're going to stop at the Arena or simply keep running pell-mell, the important thing is that they gain a fair bit of distance between themselves and the Blood bank. Especially since they don't have that especially dense section of fog coiled about themselves. The cacophony of startled shouts, curses and frantic scrambling likely serves as extra, unnecesary, incentive to the dynamic & destructive duo.
Satoshi has no intention of running a marathon and slows in due time, once she feels enough distance has been put between them and the pack of startled vampires. Still, the kit casts glances Kasyr's way, trying to gauge whether or not he agrees on the distance matter, or their course of direction.
Dark Arena Once More
Kasyr , given the -very- real possibility that some form of communication or another has gone out to alert any and all roaming 'groups' in this area, doesn't really have any complaint when it comes to the general direction of 'away' or 'how far'. That being said- there is a distinct problem. Whilst they aren't being pursued (yet), by any forces they left behind, the arena is hardly a safe haven. The various forms of undead that infested that gore stained killing zone are a fair bit more active than when the pair departed, be it a more 'lively' amble through the arena proper or the halting stumbles of the undead navigating the stands. Not that this is entirely a bad thing, given that there is a fair few more bodies glaciated to the floor courtesy of Satoshis' magical 'trap'. "Through?"
Satoshi shrugs in response. Through is better than backtracking yet again, as far as she's concerned. "That library better have a -really- good book... preferably with a dragon guarding it." If she's going to be detoured by a gang of vampires and left to wade through shambling undead, Satoshi's going to insist on some form of additional fun to balance it all out.
Kasyr simply continues to plow forward, that bit of confirmation the only thing he needed to hear. Leaping onto the ice which coats the Arena floor, the trenchcoated revenant simply uses the slick surface and his gathered momentum to transition into a rather hasty slide- the lacks of which proves rather useful for the sake of body checking a zombie. With a pitiful moan, the aberration crumples inwards- a wretched cacophony of crunches erupting from its body the very moment Kasyrs' elbow impacts into its side. From there, all it takes is a brisk lift of his right arm so as to slam the back of his hand into its face- the sheer brute force behind the strike serving to crush its features into a broken fascimile of their former self. That singular obstacle out of his way, the Revenant simply continues to skate across the surface towards the way out- the occasional uneven shuffle on his part simply balance out by virtue of his peculiar sense of balance...and equally bizarre tail.
Despite the immediate benefit provided by the rapid disposal of an undead obstacle, that brutal body check carried with it two consequences. First & Foremost, that terrible noise echoes off the interior of the arena- enough so that a particular serpentine shape draws itself up from where it was resting amidst the stands. Specifically, that beast is a gorgon- one that was recently murdered and cursed with the taint of undeath, it's designated purpose of murder now focused upon the vampiric interloper drifting through the arena. The secondary consequence is far more subtle, and takes place back at the Blood bank. In particular, it affects Theresa, the vampire who was ever so fashionably garbed in the red suit- Given the ties which bind her undead 'minions' to her. To be precise, it is the abrupt cessation of one of those 'servants' that tugs upon her consciousness- momentarily disrupting the remark she had reserved for her hooded figure. With a moment taken to adjust her tie, she simply tosses her head off towards the direction she'd been pointing before, "Something's at the arena, which means I was right. You should have brought Samael. Still, maybe you can see about getting in contact with him? Maybe sending some of your lackeys that way." With a dramatic wave of her left hand, she'd simply bring her fingers up to her forehead and begin to tap, "I'll go see if there's anything left to be salvaged from your... I mean, this mess."
Satoshi loiters at the opposite end of the arena, waiting impatiently for Kasyr to finish his dance routine with the zombie after she's crossed the field's length with no more than a twitch of whiskers to invoke that Wintry method of teleportation she's been refining. One of the side-effects of the kit's useful trick is a hefty dose of disorientation, however, which might explain why she's hunkered down with head bowed and thus oblivious to the gorgon's presence for the time being, merely devoted to chasing away her dizziness with quiet swears while awaiting the Kensai's arrival.
Kasyr has always found the undead a touch tiresome, if only because the ones which lack any sort of independant thought have this nasty tendancy to be devoid of emotion. And, as it just so happens, the gorgon hadn't been raised from the dead so that she could contemplate the meaning of life beyond death- the ophidian monstrosity solely consisting of those instincts which had served her (relatively) well in life, and were now guided by a necromancers desire for death. It's for that reason that the Kensai doesn't take any real notice of the creatures subtle slitherings until they stop being subtle. Which is to say, just after the point it had coiled itself up against one of the stands- given that the ensuing forward 'push' of its body as it uncoiled and impacted into a portion of the wall with the combined force of its mass and bestial strength (further amplified by undeath) resulted in a deafening crack of stone. Kasyr, startled as he is, instinctively turns towards the source of the din- before he instinctively thrusts his right hand towards the oncoming boulder. With that motion comes a sudden sibilant hiss, a burst of caliginous energy surging from the Revenants sleeve, the likes of which quickly weaves about Kasyrs arm to form a wicked looking angular gauntlet. Serving to amplify the Revenants already considerable strength, Kasyr doesn't have all that much trouble in absolutely obliterating the rock... at least in the relative vicinity of his fist. Unforunately, the boulders relative (lack of) solidify has -not- allowed him to return it to sender...or even obliterate it in its entirety. Rather, the core of the boulder is blown out in a spray of shrapnel- while the remnants collide with the Kensai and send him sprawling to the ground under a heap of rubble. By which point the cantrip on the icy floor promptly surges over his limbs and ices him in place. The gorgon, on the other hand, doesn't really have a complex or daring defense mechanism to rely upon. No, it simply ducks down behind the bleachers to avoid the rain of rubble, before quickly 'snaking' its way along towards the only other target currently standing. And given that the cryomancer isn't exactly moving, well, there isn't really all that much stopping it from just doing it's best to surge out from cover when close to Satoshi, the gorgon quite intent upon curling around her, just in case she wouldn't be willing to see eye-to-eye.
Satoshi finds herself sobering up rather rapidly, as remaining in a state of grumbling self-pity while rocks are hurled and decimated nearby really doesn't work for her. In a flash the kit straightens, alert and (relatively) unwavering in her stance while eyes flick swiftly about, taking in the changing scene with a mixed feeling of foreboding and delight. To say Satoshi isn't expecting a serpentine monstrosity to suddenly lunge at her from the stands would be an understatement, and she reacts in a reflex not unlike her husband's response to the boulder by bringing up her bracer'd arm--the other stubbornly ignoring the call--in a futile attempt to block the mass of muscles and coils colliding with her. And so the foxkin finds herself promptly blindsided as thick coils begin binding her, a fact that has her instinctively snarling, squirming, kicking, and even biting blindly at the constricting scales. It isn't until the moment of reflex passes that the vulpine's growls shift from bestial to musical and the gorgon finds its ensnared prey becoming considerably more prickly than she'd been seconds before, courtesy of that misty cloak being reworked into a shroud of icy needles clinging to Satoshi's form and impaling scales wherever they press against her. While an undead may feel little in the way of pain from stabs or cold, with each passing second Satoshi's magic seeps deeper into the Gorgon's dead veins as a creeping frost that crystallizes blood, tissue, and scale alike into solid ice as it progresses. Two can play at the Make You Into a Statue game.
Kasyr crackles. Or rather, the air around the Revenant crackles as a palpable static charge slowly building around the Kensais vicinity, erratic arcs of electrical energy pulsing outwards from his form. Which is about the point that the ice binding Kasyr to the ground starts to crackle and break- that energetic representation of the Revenents wrath starting to take its toll upon his glacial shackles. || On the other hand, the reanimated gorgon serving as Satoshis bindings is proving a bit more..contrary. Even as its body begins to glaciate, as the continued contraction of its body around the feeling causes muscle to tear, veins to collapse and flesh to shatter- the damnable creature remains fixated upon its task. Still, it seems aware, at least to some extent, that its' intention of making an impromptu lawn ornament out of Satoshi is bearing no fruit- its attempt to meet eye contact giving way to a much more simpler form of offensive. It's about this point that its jaw unhinges, and the beast rears forward to try engulf what portion of Satoshis body isn't entangled, and bite down. Hard.
Satoshi has no further magical retaliation than her cloak turned porcupine, as the brunt of her arcane energy is being devoted to combating and purging the effects of the Gorgon's petrifying gaze before it can take proper hold of her. The worst the kit's gotten so far are limbs taking on a leaden feel before she's figured out to avoid her attacker's eyes while renewing her strugglings. Avoiding said eyes, however, means Satoshi doesn't see those fangs coming until they've embedded themselves in her left shoulder. Or at least one of them has, while the other cracks against the solid ice of the magus' arm. Satoshi's response is a snarl of pain as her own fangs flash out to find the gorgon's neck in a venomous return of the favor. Whether the creature responds or not to having its windpipe clenched and further chill flooded into its veins, Satoshi doesn't care, her intent merely to hang on for as long as it takes for her form to shift into the considerably smaller shape of a fox, reduced size allowing her to slip from the coils and ultimately use the gorgon's head as a springboard to freedom. When landing paws strike the floor of the arena, however, they aren't the dainty little paws of the kit from seconds ago but those of a far larger beast; a behemoth fox, silvery-white fur ablaze with wisps of azure and quartet of tails writhing. Forgoing offensive magic to maintain her defense against petrification, Satoshi has decided to test her vulpine tricks against the snake's fangs. She lowers her slender muzzle to snarl at the gorgon then, lips pulled back to bare needle-sharp fangs in challenge.
Kasyr s' struggle with the glacial trap he had found himself in comes to a -very- abrupt halt, ice and turf exploding out from his vicinity as he tempest of emotions reaches it's peak. No longer bound as he was, there's nothing to prevent the Revenant from rising back to his feet- still crackling with the literal manifestation of his ire pouring off of him in waves. Which is about the point he comes to a rather profoundly disturbing realization- they weren't alone anymore. Or at least, there was something else here now- beacons of emotion that were rapidly growing more and more distinct as they approached. It's at this point that Kasyr finds his attention drawn over to Satoshi, finally registering the peculiar scenario the cryomancer has engaged herself in. With a faint curse, the Revenant simply calls upon his elemental affinity once more- the violent ionization of the flesh upon his arm serving as confirmation that it served him as ever. Within the time it takes to blink, the Kensai's right hand his flicked forward, Gospels guise of a gauntlet rapidly shed in favour of a Katana in response to the motion, if only so that he can can surge forth towards the feral foes position in a streak of lightning. The basilisks' reaction is, at least in this case, rather sensible- given the undead beast rears back at the sudden display of magic, despite the protests its partially frozen body gives. It's not long however before it drops low to the ground, darting in an seemingly random fashion to close the distance upon the vampiric duo- it's frigid, fragile scales providing a symphony of crunches. Which, effectively, places it in a race- given that Kasyr simply gives a "Let's go!" to Satoshi, before he -continues- his dash, quite intent upon getting to the cemetary. It seems that the call he made didn't go -entirely- unanswered. With any luck, they might even reach the area before getting caught off by the 'patrol' of vampires bearing down upon their position.
Satoshi's staring contest of ice and stone is brought to an unexpected end by Kasyr's rapid appearance and departure. Throwing the pursuing gorgon another growl, the foxkin dashes after her husband despite the unwillingness of her limbs to move after a dance with a gorgon. But move they must even if it's sheer force of will, because as far as Satoshi is concerned, if the kensai is making a determined run for it, whatever's behind them is -not- something she wants to meet. After a time and recovery further sped along by the lack of eye contact, however, the gorgon's effect is dispelled by the magus' own magic until Satoshi's keeping pace with Kasyr's blitz with relative ease.
Main Graveyard Area
You now stand in the main area of the graveyard, various tombstones and grave spread out across this place, many of the graves have been dug up, and empty caskets lay about the cold ground. Why have they been dug up you may think, but it's clear this place is hardly ever used to rest the dead, but more of a recruiting grounds for the necromancers that inhabit this town, somehow it feels disturbing to you, unless you happen to be a necromancer yourself? To the south is an old looking temple of some kind.
Dami is laying on a tombstone much like how Snoopy lays on his house. Only, there is a cigarette in her lips, a twisted line of smoke curling up.
Kasyr upon both sensing his fledgelings presence, and then spotting her, alters the current course of his flight so that he's more or less barreling towards her. It's only when he's close enough that he could outright stumble straight into her that he reaches an arm out towards a nearby grave marker, catchs it by the decorative symbol which rests atop it, and swings himself around so that he can take a good look towards Satoshi and what had all followed them. Scratch that, replace good look with quick look, given the fact the shambling patchwork of broken scale and slowly thawing flesh that's still slithering doggedly after them- the gorgons slithers at times turning into drunken crawls due to the excessive internal damage that was caused by its' brief tango with the cryomancer. Not that it's online- given that there's a peculiar combination of figures following along, after it. The shambles of certain of thos figures no doubt identifies them as undead- with the more dextrous motions likely belonging to more vampiric assailants from before. On the bright side, it's distinctly less than before, if only because this is likely still a thoroughly contested area.
Satoshi, despite the image of Kasyr charging at her being rather cringe-worthy, doesn't break her pace until -after- the kensai has swung past using the gravestone. Clawed paws sink into the earth abruptly then, sending the fox skidding forward a fair distance before she has the chance to turn herself around and relocate the revenant. Considering she was following his lead to begin with, she's left with standing and waiting while he surveys their pursuers both near and far.
Kasyr flicks his right arm down, the katana that had been tightly grasped within it slowly reverting back to the more vicious form of a gauntlet. With a careful glance cast over towards Satoshi, the Kensai simply inquires, "So, thoughts...plans?" A pause, and the Revenant tilts his head over towards Dami, "Oh, you know. Was trying to get a book for Satoshi- as it es, we bumped into ..a, er, group engaging in certain activities at the Blood Bank. Needless to say, one of us got involved..et Er. They found us." And if that latter most part wasn't already evident, it's hard to miss the fact that their vampiric pursuers had entered the graveyard and were now spreading out through the area. Satoshis particular pursuer follows suit, to a certain degree, though the nature of its bulky body and its damaged state causes its attempts at hiding amidst the gravestones to occasionally go awry as it jostles over a grave marker. On the bright side, the rest of the lumbering dead don't know the meaning of stealth, and just lurch in through the front gates, "..And that brings you up to speed."
Satoshi gives Kasyr a pointed look, made all the moreso by the fact that she's actually on eye-level with him in her current state. "Don't you make it sound like it's my fault. -I- should be complaining. When I thought there might be some tangled limbs, squeezing, and bites tonight, I didn't think it'd be with a snake~." Which is to say, Satoshi has no plans and simply stands at the ready, idly tracking the gorgon's less than stealthy progress toward round two.
Kasyr said, "The best part es I didn't even say it was you that got us involved, cherie."
Dami stretched her arms out high above her head, and cracked her neck to the side. It wasn't quite clear how long she had been napping here, the vampire wasn't sure if she had 'heard' the call or not. So to be on the safe side, she remained. A good idea on her part, it seemed. "Might as well clean it up.. Why is it I'm always doing this in Vailkrin's cemetery?" To Kasyr, she'd walk up and stand at the opposite side of the tombstone he had swung himself around on, and held it in her grip. Only, she didn't perform a flashy spin or hop of the sorts, no. She simply uprooted the massive block of stone, and slugged it over her shoulder, not quite sure what to do with it. "Judging by their advancement, I doubt we're hidden here. Plans?" In a few moment, she'd be sending stone out across the grounds like a missile, aimed for a Gorgon should Kasyr allow it.
Satoshi said to Kasyr, "Tone said it."
Kasyr isn't exactly in a position to allow or disallow things when it comes to the casual vandalism of the area. Especially not when it involves impromptu projectiles being sent hurtling towards undead abominations. As it stands, the massive stone is hefted and hurled as per Damis intention, though perhaps not to the desired effect. A last minute swerved on the Gorgons part spares it utter obliteration, an uneven section of its lower body tearing apart beneath the brutal force exerted by the terramancers attack. That being said, the beasts fiercely resolute to follow through with its orders- its hands clumsily moving over towards a nearby grave, if only so it can shove itself off and send itself barreling towards Satoshi in a truly macabre fashion, a fine line of entrails and broken flesh being left in its wake as it seeks to impact into the fox and send her barreling away from her comrades. Not that it really has a chance of successfully fighting her, but it's obligated to try. That being said, what Kasyr -is- capable of doing, is stepping over towards Dami, gauntled hand moving over towards the back of the Terramancers neck, "So, if I threw you at those zombies...you'd live through that, right?" ...This is said, seemingly without acknowledgement of the increasing cluster of vampires effectively tightening their perimeter around their permission.
Satoshi pays no heed to the exchange between Dami and Kasyr, save to give the terramancer a withering look for hurling graves at the gorgon. That's -her- prey, thank you very much. Her prey that, in that moment of the kit's distraction, has bodily tackled her with the considerable power of an undead's unrelenting strength. Fox and snake go tumbling in a tangled, hissing mess of fur, scales, and blood to halt with a resounding crash against the wall of a small crypt. Whether it was Dami's repeated presences in this area, the land's age and constant upheaval, or the force of the undead pair's mobile fight, the earth beneath the two is seemingly less than pleased by their combined weight and, with a grinding of stone, opens in a wide maw. The rapidly expanding sinkhole swallows gorgon, kit, a number of graves, countless cobblestones, and a handful of coffins indiscriminately, dropping them into the looming chasm beneath.
Dami 's left eye twitched, she feared the day he would ask her a question like that. "I don't know
" Eying the results of her cataclysmic impact, she couldn't help but to muse over the sheer explosive force at which any projectile left her grip. "But we can try~" Dark spines of that sinful black tattoo started to writhe and twist to life, jutting out with a not-so explosive appearance this time. "If you're going to make a habit of this, can we get me some armor, at least?" Just a thought.. Just because she could turn into living ammunition, didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Kasyr is already musing just how much force would be safe, given that he recalls both the fact that Dami's survived falling of a cliff, and that incident with the not-a-sarlaac before she was turned. With a shrug, and a careless grin, the Revenants right hand hand moves away from her neck...right before his left hand takes its place, with the roving hand simply curling up beneath her stomach. "Remind moi, or talk to the others." Which is about the extent of what Kasyr says before he simply moves to heft Dami up and forward- effectively intending upon sending her on a collision course with not only the clump of undead that were slowly getting closer- but also with one of the myriad vampires that had finally finished flanking the kensai, and were now swarming foward. Which simply leaves Kasyr to dash straight into the first one to reach him- punch his fist -through the poor chumps body, and proceed to use the fellows cadaver as an improvised shield. At least until he frees his hand from the now very deceased generic vampire fellows body, absconds the sword he's not using anymore, and shoves him off into his comrades. Which simply leaves a pack of vampires, versus a Kensai, who was currently armed with a sword and a gauntlet that was amplifying his strength in a multiplicative manner. Things were looking up~
Dami was going to have a talk with him- about how he was going to be handling her if and whenever he pulled this stunt again. The halberd had finally decided to take to it's form, held out wide in her grip, so that she- when flying at the horde horizontally like a spear- could kneecap a few on her way to a hopefully not-so-explosive end. With cheeks flapping in the wind, and eyes tearing up, she could only wonder just how hard he had thrown her? Bodies folded at their mid, a few legs folded backward, and of course, the occasional decapitation, if only by the sheer blunt force of the staff alone. With a palm held steady in front, she'd take to a crash landing, digging a nice long trench in her wake; luckily, the limb to catch any damage, was the palm alone. She was getting better at this! Confused and taken by shock, Dami would only have a few moments to rise to her feet, before the few and frenzied would try and take her.
Kasyr is currently finding the particular situation he's engaged in rather thrilling, if only because how this scenario is playing out currently favours him immensely. After all, whilst they certainly have the advantage in numbers, Kasyr has the whole stronger, faster, better (and probably harder) advantage on his side- something which he's using to simply maintain a tight defensive perimeter (facilitated by the sheer fact that their is a strict limitation of how many of them can attack him in unison). Swords are clashed with enough force to redirect them into their neighbours, fingers are severed from the hands clutching their blades, abd errant blows are redirected towards his trenchcoat to bruise flesh, but otherwise leave the Revenant unharmed. And all the while, a subtle charge of electrical energy is poured into the Kensais blade, the flesh upon the Kensais left arm gradually dissipating into a peculiar wisp of electrical energy. More and more, the flesh is consumed, droplets of blood spilling forth from Kasyrs' sleeve as he gradually prepares for his newest 'experiment'.
Dami rammed the butt of the halberd into the ditch she made, helping to push on up off the ground, and back onto her feet. 'Sucking' all the dirt and grime off her face the same way you would tear off a cobweb, is what she did, taking the new ball of earth in her palm. Pelting it like a bullet at an undead in arms reach, she'd blink in shock while she stared at the gaping hole in its face. From though this hole, she'd not watch too long, the ring of undead and vampire alike were ready to kill. Shoving the un-bladed end of the staff through that still standing, hole-in-face undead, Dami reached to grab it from the other end, swinging her halberd in a perfect circle. While she swung, the body slide to the tip, extending her line of impact, using the crippled body alone. Once a full circle was complete (and a dozen enemies scattered), she'd twist the staff and simply 'snap' the head from the shoulders, flinging the body right back up her trench, and into the core of undead. At the center of this core, was an unusual standing figure, eyes glowing with an eerie flame, unlike the rest. His advance put a chill down her spine; something was amiss with this one.
Kasyrs' left arm is, by this point, a patchwork ruin of flesh- gradual invocation of his ability having effectively ionized most of the flesh upon his arm. Still, whilst his every movement caused more blood to flow, and brought about a unique sort of agony- the Kensai couldn't help but feel pleased. It is not every day he has an opportunity such as this to test a theory, after all- and whilst his defensive style has earned him a slowly accumulating series of nicks and scratches from his assailants, as they grow increasingly aggressive, it has provided him the perfect opening. It's only when the vampires that encircled him moved to attack once more, that the Kensai finishes invoking that gathered energy, the swift movements of his blade becoming nigh imperceptible to those within his vicinity. In effect, the action is relatively simple- the Kensai's pilfered sword sweeping out around himself in an arcing upwards slash- a faint trail of electrical energy to be released within its weak. From there, the very moment the Revenants blade reaches the apex of its swing, the entirety of the gathered energy is effectively released within the created 'stream'. Serving as an outlet to such a copious amount of energy, the arc can't help but expand outwards to compensate, that humble defensive barrier rapidly expanding outwards in an awe inspiring manifestation of ball lightning- the likes of which consumes those vampires which had decided to engage the Kensai in close range. Whether or not the electrical current kills them or not is irrelevant, given the ruthless manner in which Kasyr exploits the created vulnerability- shredding through his vampiric opposition whilst they remained locked in place by the lightning.
Dami winced, looking over her shoulder at the grand display Kasyr had worked out, the entire graveyard lit up in one, nice flash. Blinking away the dark, purple ball in the center of her vision, she was left wide open for the right hook, Al'Gullyn's advance turned violent. It was enough to stagger her, as well as to give her a reason to throw her halberd up defensively. With a metallic hiss, the undead's sword clanged noisily off Sloth's staff, and bounced back, staggering him as well. Springing off the ground with a pogo'd slam of the butt-end of her weapon, Dami launched into the air, and brought the bladed tip down with a devastating slam. Unlike the rest, this one was quick, and with a bit of guile to his step; a simple hop-and-roll put him out of harms way. For now. Keeping a high-top perch on the tip of the flag-pole staff, the Terramancer decided to put on a little display of her own, Kasyr wouldn't one up her that easily. A new channel of energy pulsed at the tip of her fingers, that same set of chains gripped, but with a new hand. Tapping into an almost never used pool of mana, the Terramancer would lift, tear, and rip any stonework she could, and turn it into a maelstrom of mayhem. Tombstones, rock, and scattered debris swirled recklessly in a wide arc, colliding with anyone, and anything in the general vicinity. Al'Gullyn however, kept his proximity close, a skilled blade aimed for the tip of the staff, and the woman that held on.
Kasyr final strike is the most violent, give that he promptly expends what residual bits of energy remain unused from his display, discharging it in such a manner that when he thrusts the sword into the final vampires gullet- the sword is effectively shot forward in a manner reminiscent of the Kensais scalpel. It's in this manner that the vampire is effectively launched away from the Kensai, that unnatural durability that comes naturally to the undead the sole thing which prevents the sword from -immediately- shredding through his neck. Immediate being the keyword, given that it manages to finish shearing through the fellows neck whilst he's in the process of falling straight into Damis' catastrophic cyclone of earthen debris. With that resolved, the Kensai finally begins to take notice of his wounds again, a grumble and a wince elicited due to the sorry state of his left arm. Allowing a slow sigh to escape from his lips, the Revenant procures a cigarette for himself, a keen eye focused upon the chaos currently being wrought by Dami.
Dami glared, the raw force of the swordsman's swing narrowly missing her heel. Like an acrobat, she perched at the tip of the staff, both leg and thigh muscles (thankfully toned and strong with -her- workouts~), kept her high-and-above- distance easily held. Dami was skilled in close quartered, and hand-to-hand combat; however, hand to sword, was a different story. There wasn't too many situations to practice the art, unless the immediate situation was real, so naturally caution factored in any reckless attempts to learn something new. On his next slice, Al'Gullyn pumped a raw chunk of dark, kinetic energy into his blade, swinging flat out to erase her little 'post' where she sat up top. It did just that- the staff bouncing loose from under her, sent tumbling yards away- simply because she allowed it to. Arms out, and back arched, Dami soared over the undead in a graceful arc of acrobatics, landing a step away, right behind the swordsman. Using the vampiric gift that Kasyr had blessed her with, Dami dashed in, ducked low, and rose with the mightiest punch she had ever delivered. Off balance, and recovering from his powerful swing, there was nothing Al' could do. The beginning of the man's spine shattered, the fist driven to it twisted once, while a devastating crack of earth beneath their feet sounded out. That crack announced the release of her punches force, a tectonic blast of momentum and energy fed to the edge of a balled fist- a signature move she loved to exploit. If there had been any surviving vampire and-or undead lingering about, the death of her earthly cyclone drug them down with it, a pile of boulders resting atop bodies and carnage alike.
Kasyr allows a whistle to escape his lips, the Revenant falling quiet not long after- the cigarette to quell any comments that might have ensued. Still, as impressive as the display was- it doesn't prevent Kasyr from taking note of peculiarity as to that particular 'undead' that Dami had fought. Unlike the others, it had registed with his empathy. The thought was altogether a curious one, given that it implied to the Revenant that at least some of the undead might be willingly aiding this dissident faction of their own volition. Not that it would change anything. With a shrug the Revenant ceases his musings, Instead focusing upon the invocation of a particularily favoured cantrip of his- the creation of a small flame to light his cigarette.
Dami fell to a knee, while the body before her fell limp all together. A ghastly energy, the same energy in those eyes, seemed to wrench free, and tear from the body, its very spirit ejected from it's crippled, and permanently dead host. Well, not permanently dead- just useless to anyone who chose to rose it again. Kneeling in the center of carnage, Dami too dug around in her pocket, fishing out a bent, gnarled cigarette. She'd wait for Kasyr to light this one, too lazy after -that- little ordeal to try it herself. "Definatly getting some armor before 'we' do that again.." Chuckling, she waited.
Kasyr can only assume his wife is alright, if only because of that particular connection he shares with her- and so, he simply makes a beckoning gesture towards Dami, before retreating further into the graveyard. He had a book to collect for his and Satoshis' anniversary, after all, and he could certainly argue that the dissapearance of one book from the black library was fair payment for services rendered.
Dami rolled her eyes. "Prick." The words hissed carelessly from her lips, while she pushed off the ground, and staggered into her exhausted tag after Kasyr. The weapon had burnt away into a charred hiss, and naturally rested back on her spine, a cocky insult probing at the back of her mind. "Wait up!" Dami barked while she climbed over stone and body, obviously not a care in the world for the graves she had defaced. Morals were lost with the first body.
Meanwhile, in....Dimly Lit Reading Room
This room is slightly better lit than the library due to a larger amount of candles placed strategically around the room, yet the room is still dim compared to what human eyes would be accustomed to. The wax runs from the candles onto brass and carved out skull holders fixed into the cold stonewalls, casting eerie shadows throughout the room giving the place a very chilling atmosphere. Scattered around are large black oak tables and finely padded armchairs for people to read from the libraries dark literature. Some tables have their own candles illuminating evil passages in leather clad books whereas some tables have long since been abandoned to the spiders. Large intricate webs cover these tables and the books on them while their inhabitants cast fearsome shadows upon the walls. The air in this room is again stagnant and unclean and seems particularly unwholesome. Dead centre in the room is expertly preserved skeletal remains of a dragon in a pose that would suggest it is about to take off from the ground as its skull's mouth opens wide baring all its fangs for a moment you can almost hear a terrifying roar. You could stay here to read or go back into the library.
Without any emotions to hamper its' 'cognitive' processes, alongside a relative disregard for its' own wellbeing, the Gorgons' solitary reaction to its impromptu introduction to the deluge of stone and earth is to cling to the Fox- doing its utmost to try and keep Satoshi from being able to maneuver away from the mass of debris that is currently raining down in their wake. To add on to this there is an additional threat, as though the creatures ruined body might not be enough to fully halt the vulpine cryomancer, it is still quite intent upon biting and tearing into whatever portion of Satoshis' body it can get its teeth into.
Satoshi, for the briefest of moments, doesn't fight the gorgon's serpentine embrace, because while the snake may be running purely on violent instinct, the kit's thinking ahead of the blind panic that bloomed at the start of their fall. And so instead of squirming, Satoshi curls inward, making herself as small as she can to avoid the worst of the hail of rock, wood, and snake bites while likewise allowing the coils to gather around her. Something she puts to use when the stone ground finally rushes up to meet them, for Satoshi's--relatively--safe from the impact with the thick coils of a gorgon cushioning the fall for her. Her snake-ish shield becomes doubly useful when a coffin crashes down beside them and promptly explodes from the collision, sending wooden shrapnel and decaying former-occupant bits everywhere. Honestly, what's a few more scratches, and some broken pieces of the serpent's spine, anyway? It's the serpent's fangs Satoshi's overlooked however, and she's not appreciating the fact that they're currently buried in the side of her neck and only prevented from tearing most of her throat out by the kit's thick ruff of fur there. Satoshi's response is a return of the favor as she uncoils with violent force against the battered bindings, lashes out with teeth to latch onto the nearest available piece of the gorgon, and begins tugging and tearing in a similar blind desire to shred flesh.
The gorgons' impact with the ground is met with a marked shattering noise, bones that had already been made brittle from the frosty ministrations of the cryomancers art and the subsequent violence of the undead serpents actions now finally giving way under the abrupt shock that is -landing-. Thus, whilst Satoshi doesn't particularily need to concern herself with the shrapnel that finds itself buried in the reanimated monstrosity that has her 'bound', there is a distint peril posed to her, in the form of the creatures skeletal structure for what remains of its lower body effectively exploding under pressure. Still, stubbornly following its orders as before- the thing continues to maul at the portion of the fox that it's managed to seize upon, wrenching its head back and forth in an attempt to shred it out. It's arms are finally put to use at this point, moving to grab at any part of the cryomancer that they can, in an attempt to provide additional leverage for the mauling attempt.
Satoshi refuses to be outdone when it comes to mauling, and in the form she's currently adopted, she's well suited to the job rather than slinging spells. In a flash, jaws find the joint where arm meets shoulder on the gorgon and seek out the socket as paws press against scaled chest in a clawing kick, determined to rend the gorgon's limb free and escape its constricting hold with the same powerful shove--and with Satoshi losing a fair chunk of flesh where her foe's own fangs were embedded in her neck. A limping dance over broken stone carries the fox to a safe distance, hidden in the combination smokescreen of thick dust and pursuing fog, so that she can momentarily collect herself. It's during this time that Satoshi takes note of her surroundings, not quite able to suppress a short laugh at where she's ended up. "Beat ya to the library~..."
Not a single sound emanates from the gorgon, save for the gruesome sound of flesh giving way under strain- and the accompanying pop of a limb being dislocated and then dismembered. It's remaining arm futilely snatchs out in front of it- a failed attempt to grab hold of the fox before it simply proceeds to open and close. For a moment, it seems as though the beast was lost in contemplations- and yet, a keen observer would notice the lazy manner in which its tongue flicked, and how its body readjusted itself. Between what it could taste, and the faint sound of laughter, the Gorgon's more than able to determine Satoshis location, and it's certainly not about to allow the fox to enjoy any form of respite. Thus, it's no surprise that it lurches forward, dragged its broken body towards the foxes position with its one remaining arm- a nauseating trail of innards spilling out in its wake as it tries to reach Satoshi once more.
Satoshi hears the sickening sounds of the gorgon's approach long before she sees it, although the image of a thoroughly shredded serpent dragging itself menacingly toward her does little to make the squelches of intestines and cracks broken bones any less unpleasant. Nonetheless, the foxkin can't help folding her ears back at the sight and baring fangs in a half-smirk. "You're literately on your last leg, y'know," she observes, not expecting a response and not waiting around for one. With a flick of her tails, the kit disappears into the dust cloud while the sound of claws scrabbling over debris drifts off toward the center of the room. The noise continues a moment, coupled with a series of scrapes and a sharp crack before all falls silent once more.
It's about this point that the sound of a titanic impact resounds through the area- the sound of the earth above -shattering-. It's that noise which has the gorgon hesitate, eyes briefly darting upwards in search of any other foes it may be required to...confront. It's the overall lack of impending violence that sets it back upon its' course, the undead ophidian renewing its' painstaking stalk into the billowing dust that had since filled the room. Which is about the point where Al'Gullyn plays his particular gambit. Having been recently 'liberated' from the undead shell he'd been infesting, courtesy of Damis tectonic sucker punch, the vampiric elder had found himself without a proper host to anchor himself to. At least, until his essence became aware of one last possible host body. Though fragile and broken now, the gorgon still held potential, especially considering the intricancies of the elders ability- and would perhaps allow him the opportunity to at least rid his sire of -one- of the individuals that had apparently chosen to oppose him. The gorgon really has no say in the matter, it's broken body simply serving as a 'temple' to the palpable darkness which engulfs it both within and without, effectively wreathing it in the tenebrous outline of a man. That accursed energy that weaves through its body is hardly for show either, given the peculiar manner in which the beasts body soon finds itself reinforced. Within moments, the gorgons body is able to drag itself off the ground, its' lumbering gait resumed- Al'Gullyn awaiting the first opportunity to lash out at the beast that had dissapeared into the ground.
Satoshi is definitely not a beast that has disappeared into the ground. In fact, this particular fox is well -above- the ground, and waiting oh-so-patiently for the gorgon's noisy progress to reach the desired location below where she crouches in wait. Once the spot has been occupied, Satoshi's jaws snap out in a swift bite, instantly severing the last bit of material that's been holding the spinal column of the room's dragon skeleton in place. With a thundering groan the long dead saurian's head plummets to earth, gaping jaws aligned to come crashing down on the gorgon in what Satoshi's hoping is a well-deserved meal for the old dragon, and the last she'll see of her scaly stalker. If the massive skull isn't enough, the rest of the damned dragon's remains are soon to follow after Satoshi's interference disrupted a once careful balancing act.
Al'Gullyns' head snaps up the moment that groaning noise becomes audible- forcing the eyes of the gorgon he's puppeting in the sound of the disaster. With the sorry state of his host, however, he's unable to properly vocalize just what the situation makes him feel, instead resorting to a desperate attempt at scrabbling clear of the skull. An illfated attempt, too, given that Al' fails miserably- the skull crashing into the gorgon with enough force to crush it to the ground. Worst of all, the vampiric elders possession of the beast empowered it just enough so that it could survive the initial impact- effectively granting him the 'priviledge' of having his current host body be decimated by the avalanche of bone that follows. Satoshi's rewarded in her efforts by one horrific shriek, before the ghastly darkness that was emanating from the gorgon fades away- the elders essence destined to return to his body.
Satoshi picks her way towards the remains of the gorgon to give it a wary sniff and ensure it's in a -permanently- dead state before, with an irritable huff, she stalks off toward the room's doorway. " 's what you get. Only my husband's allowed to bite me." Half-joking remarks aside, the fox contents herself with taking up a sentinel's position before the doors then, not overly worried about her various injuries and more intent on waiting for said husband's eventual arrival--once he's cleaned up the mess in the graveyard, that is.
Kasyr s' means of entry is far less disasterous than the manner the fox and serpent duo 'chose', the revenant having simply dropped down through the area that served as the 'proper' entrance to the Black library. Dami, despite the fact that she's normally shadowing the Kensai, is nowhere to be seen- no doubt having been sent of on some errand or another by Kasyr. As of such, the kensai is alone when he ventures deeper into the library, in search of his wife. "Hellooo~"
Satoshi catches the sound of the kensai's approach and promptly shifts from her place near the door to that of an armchair, abandoning her current form for her proper one in the process. And so she's arranged herself to be casually lounging sideways across a large chair once Kasyr makes his appearance, the very image of regal relaxation--minus the healthy coating of dust and blood decorating herself and the furniture--amid a sea of destruction. "Hello~."
Kasyr takes one good look at this area, before his ears flatten back against his head. "...Right. I'm glad we're not on retainer, et tout cela." A few more moments are spent surveying the destruction, before the Revenant simply shakes his head and turns his focus towards the feline, "So, I suppose this es about the point where we idly borrow a book. You know, if borrowing was forever, et all that."
Satoshi stretches, grimacing slightly as various wounds are tugged with the motion. "A book sounds good, after that bit of exercise. And..." she glances over her shoulder at the ruins of the dragon skeleton, "I think I need to find a dragon soon, and see about borrowing its bones. In the forever kind of sense, too." While Satoshi doesn't feel -guilty- about destroying the centerpiece, she had been fond of that bit of unique art and rather dislikes damaging a library in any way.
Kasyr casually adjusts his trenchcoat, so that his arms are effectively withdrawn into the sleeves- before he simply takes hold of the satchel upon his back and starts to Saunter towards the room that -wasn't- demolished, "Hey, you can always 'gift' it to Vailkrin when this whole..situation has died down a little. A sort of..welcome to your time in office, don't kill yourself, gift to Red- oui?" A shrug, and the Revenant pauses to glance back towards the Feline, "Et whilst this does partially defeat the purpose of getting tu a gift- I really wouldn't know what tu have et haven't already read."
Black Library
As you climb down into this room its immense size is the first thing that strikes you. The old wooden ladder creaks un-nervingly as your foot rests on it. This dimly lit room is huge and filled with dusty ancient bookshelves. On examination you can see the shelves are carved from solid black oak, strong sturdy and known for its arcane properties. Lining every shelf is thousands of books all colors shapes and sizes. All the books appear to be about necromancy and black magic and thus the whole subterranean chamber is filled with a most ominous evil aura that seems to sicken right to the soul of any who enter. The smell here is of stagnation for not much fresh air reaches this place; it seems to invade the nostrils like some strange miasma adding to the sickly sensations the room seems to invoke. On the walls hang various ornaments from candle stick holders that bring a tiny tinge of light to certain areas and preserved skulls of all kinds of creatures from Human to Dragon, Drow to Centaur and things even stranger than that. Faint but heavy footsteps can be heard against the cold stone floor distantly so it would be wise not to stay too long without sound reason.
Satoshi rises from her chair to follow after the calico, shrugging onesidedly. "I'm sure there's plenty of dark and interesting books here I haven't sunk my claws into yet. I think Spooks'll like a new dragon skeleton gift too, and I'll give it a bouquet of those chaos plants for old time's sake~."
Kasyr isn't quite sure of the reference there, but mention of the chaos blooms is enough to elicit a frown from the Kensai. "Eh. As long as it doesn't create a new breed of monstrosity roaming this place. It es already tiresome navigating this route some days." A pause, and Kasyr then simply makes a beeline towards the nearest source of books. Specifically, the Kensais' searching for the section back when he was interested in learning about Vampirism and demonology, in an attempt to ascertain more about his situation. If anything, it might prove interesting- and at worst, there was likely a good many tomes of interest (for the morbidly inclined) nearby.
Satoshi said to Kasyr, "I don't intend to let that happen, just wanted to remind him of the first time we met~." Smirking, she sidles past the revenant and gives a brief tug on an ear along the way toward the nearby section she's found ancient tomes on elementals before. A few books' spines are stroked thoughtfully as the kit paces down the aisle, squinting at the handful of titles she's actually able to translate. "Last time I poked at these books, one of them bit me... Speaking of biting, what happened with your half of the mess after mine brought the dance below ground?"
Kasyr offers an aloof shrug to the Kits' question, right hand casually gesturing straight up, "Eh- There wasn't even survivors this time, Cherie. I suppose they got cocky with the numbers 'advantage'." Once stated, he simply places his hands into his pockets, before he casually starts after the feline, "Technically, a job well done, all in all? I imagine Vailkrins former minister of finance turned leader es likely spinning in her grave a little..but, eh."
Satoshi peers closer at a silverbound volume that's caught her eye, while talking over her shoulder to the swordsman. "Aha, so long as there aren't any graves in the near future for Vailkrin's former governor and minister of foreign affairs, I don't particularly care who lives and dies." A cautious nudge with a claw is given to the book then and, alert for any violent retaliation as seems so common for the haunted library, she watches it wobble slightly on the shelf and fall still once more. The kit frowns thoughtfully. "Not gonna bite me, hm~?"
Kasyr looks thoughtful for a moment, "I'm not sure there's enough graves in Vailkrin to bury all the people it would take to achieve that feat, madamoiselle. Not as long as any cattish curiosity on our parts es tempered with equal parts caution et cleverness." And a fair bit of just raw strength in their respective 'arts', but that's besides the point. By this point, the blood that the Revenant has so deftly managed to evade has -finally- found it's way into the library, a gruesome stream of sanguine having effectively trickled down from the battlefield above, pooled at the bottom of the pile of debris made by Satoshi and Serpent..and only now starting to accumulate near the Kensai. "..I think you're fine, Cherie."
Satoshi retorts, "I wanted to be certain. There's a fire-spewing book in here that has a nasty habit of changing its appearance. I'd rather not bring that home with m- ...new friend, dear?" Her chin is jerked toward the pooling blood she's scented and the slick trail it's left in the dust getting here. Has he gone and abducted one of her liquid-calling spells without her knowing about it? Kasyr's at least eyed warily a moment as Satoshi debates that possibility.
Kasyr grimaces, even as rivulets of blood slowly begin to clamber up his pant legs- gradually gathering in number and sheer size. Satoshis' remark only warrants a roll of eyes on the Kensais part, before he idly adds, "J'en sais pas. This seems to be occuring with a certain frequency, these days." And indeed, the trail of vitae is climbing straight towards the section the Revenant figured it would, coiling around his body until it reaches his left sleeve, by which point it starts to flood inwards. It did, after all, have a substantial bit of flesh to repair. "Spews fire though? Vraiment?"
Satoshi nods absently in response, rather absorbed in watching the blood's determined progress and, when it disappears beneath the kensai's clothing, sensing it with the use of her magic. After all, it's a curious thing and Satoshi adores curious things, further so when it's also bloody and has to do with her husband. "Ah, erm... frequency? As in, this isn't the first time? ... what is it even -doing-?" For as far as Satoshi can gather with her arcane affinity to the element, the blood has decided to get under Kasyr's skin in more than just the irritating sense.
Kasyr sighs and extends his left arm out just enough for his hand to poke out from his sleeve, effectively revealing the answer to her question- given that the blood is currently being 'expended' by the Revenants gift so as to repair the damage caused by the invocation of his particular ability. The damage, being the relative lack of flesh on his arm, "Not the first time. It's happened a few. It seems to just pool around moi if there's nothing to..er..fix, je suppose."
Satoshi leans forward to get a better look at the blood at work. After a short time observing, she can't quite resist the childish urge to reach out and give it a quick poke, momentarily forgetting she's jabbing at an open wound. "It... fixes the damage, then?" That's definitely not one of her spells nicked, she can be certain of that.
Kasyr can't help but grimace as the blood that's currently upon him moves in unison pushing up towards the region that Satoshis poking at. Not that it manages to achieve much, but it seems effectively 'prepared' to start working at that region, as though expectant of some form of additional damage being made. When no further wounds are wreaked, however, the blood simply resumes its workings, those portions which are effectively 'used' up, simply seeping away towards the ground. "Yes. It specifically seems to do it when I'm not killing someone, since, it only ever starts to move around when the dust settles, et all."
Satoshi said to Kasyr, "Have you tried to see what happens if you make it stop...?" Yes, yes she's mulling over various things she can do to the blood to test out why and how it's doing what it's doing, but at least she's holding herself back from trying to swipe some of the substance outright. If only because it's mending her husband, and his injuries come before her inquiries. "Is it -yours-? Or someone else's?"
Kasyr tilts his head to the side,"The closest I've gotten to making it stop, es ...er." This sounds incredibly stupid on Kasyrs part, "Getting into a bit of a staring contest with it, et..sort of..wanting it to stop? Et all that had it do was sit there et bide its time." The Kensai frowns at that, before offering a careless shrug- the sloosh of blood flowing out from his sleeve accompanying the motion. As if on cue, all the blood that had accumulated upon the Revenants form begins to flow downwards, effectively amassing in a puddle at his feet, "Et that is ..er, basically all the freshly spilled blood that had been coming this way. It's not mine. At least, I am guessing most of it es not mine." The Kensai honestly doesn't know if his own blood -can- come back to him, given the majority of his wounds were caused by bits of his flesh outright turning to energy.
Satoshi follows the blood's path, crouching down to deliver another poke to it as it puddles. "I'll admit, that's just plain weird. Useful. But weird. It reminds me of something, but I can't recall what..." Shrugging, she rises to her feet once more. A lingering moment is spent eyeing the crimson pool a bit longer before the kit shakes her head, at a loss, and goes back to the silver book she'd been inspecting.
Kasyr idly taps his foot in the sanguine puddle, the action resulting in naught more than some errant splashing. Beyond that, the Kensai simply sticks his hands into his pockets and steps out of the literal bloody mess he left behind, "Et bien madamoiselle, I do believe are you satisfied with your choice?"
Satoshi murmurs, "Yes. Yes, I think so." With a careful hand the kit slides the tome off the shelf and hefts it, testing its considerable weight as she eyes the gleaming, metallic cover embossed with the runes of an arcane language. Even the book's pages are gilded in silver as Satoshi flips it open to skim over a handful of pages. "For ancient beings that are the core of all things nature, there's a surprising lack of good text on elementals. You'd think they devoured anyone that tries to study them..."
Kasyr said to Satoshi, "Or burn, or freeze... You know, the possibilities are endless." A casual shrug, and the Revenant simply begins to meander towards the ladder leading up and out, "On y va?""
Satoshi is in the process of stowing the book away in her satchel when she glances up at the ladder and promptly scowls. "I... hate ladders." A rather pointed glare is directed at her useless right arm then. It's the little things made difficult, like climbing a ladder or unrolling a scroll, that irrate her most about the lingering disability. As if in response to her vexation, however, the mists still clinging to the kit shift about suddenly, condensing and reforming into a phantom limb originating from her tattoo and poised over her shoulder with palm offered expectantly.
Satoshi said, "I didn't know fog could be such a gentleman..."
Kasyr raises an eyebrow at that particular development, before he simply steps to one side of the ladder and gestures up, "I was going to give you a boost, but I suppose ladies first still applies, cherie." A pause, and the hybrid can't help but add, "I am going to enjoy the brief sojourn from Vailkrins shenanigans." Even if that sojourn is likely only going to last a few days.
Satoshi sidles past the kensai toward the ladder, casting a wary glance between it and the fog-born claws still waiting patiently. It's a good thing she's self-centered enough to view herself as the lightest and most delicate creature in existence, else she wouldn't be willing to trust her weight to something as intangible as mist. Still, the kit seems properly wary when she climbs the first rungs, but when the mist doesn't falter, she carries on with a notable swagger to her climb. "You just wanted me to go first so you had something good to look at while following~," the magus calls down to Kasyr, giving him a flick of a tail along the way.
Kasyr isn't going to deny that, and instead just offers a boyish grin up at the cryomancer, before following in suit~