Witchers of Nifelheim - Part 3

"...I don't understand" Ursula said, grimly watching the map. Sadness and despair were slightly creeping into her voice:

"..could they have really chosen a different path?.. the convoy leader assured me.. I inquired several times just to be absolutely sure... he assured me they would be taking this path through the swamp..." she helplessly lowered the map, staring down into space:

"Then why...?"




Johan sat next to her, placing a few dry branches in an improvised stone circle, in preparations to ignite the campfire.

"Wow, careful" Ursula stayed his hand, as Johan reached to the sticks with a pair of flint rocks.

Gently brushing the sticks aside and moving the ground underneath, Ursula's gloved hand revealed another tiny streak of orange liquid, faintly running just under the earths surface:



"..we need to be careful where we sat up campfires.. one large spark and this entire area is gonna light up in a chain reaction. The amount of mist produced by so many Fire Veins in close proximity, a good few square kilometers will be instantly swallowed by mist. We'll really loose any chance of finding the convoy then.."


"...Ursula... we need to decide... what we should do next" Johan cautiously said, trying to choose his words very carefully: "Walking through the swamp.. searching for something that may not even be here-"


"We're not lost! I know where we are!" Ursula called in a desperate, high pitched voice. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked at you:
"I'm following the map to the letter... you have to believe me, this is the path the convoy leader drew on the map!... we're not lost" she hung her head, closing her eyes shut.



Johan sat next to her with a mournful expression, trying to gather his thoughts and come up with something to say.



Kaylee sighed and quietly whispered to you: "...its getting really late" she looked up at the night sky, where a single moon was peeking through a few stray winter clouds:
"..we should set up the sleeping tents for now... I'll take first watch over the camp, you guys should get some sleep"

Before Setting Out:
"We can always figure out the lightest material that will hold the pentagrams then just make a bunch of 2nd and higher level spells ready to go. Spell scrolls as it were."

Now:
"We just need to keep following the map and trust that the convoy will get to it's destination safely." Radiance offers as he assists with the camp set up.

Internally: "So, Convoy leader just giving Urusla some made up route because he doesn't trust her and us or Kaznachey devoured the entire convoy then used some high level magic to hide it?. Or is my paranoid conspiracy theorist starting to show again"

Kaylee Brown wrote:"...Ursula... we need to decide... what we should do next" Johan cautiously said, trying to choose his words very carefully: "Walking through the swamp.. searching for something that may not even be here-"


"We're not lost! I know where we are!" Ursula called in a desperate, high pitched voice. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked at you:
"I'm following the map to the letter... you have to believe me, this is the path the convoy leader drew on the map!... we're not lost" she hung her head, closing her eyes shut.

"We do believe you, the fault isn't on your part" Rogue assures Ursula, "There's clearly something else going on here.

Now, you said this was the best route for the convoy, but what about the second best? If something came up, which prevented the convoy from taking their original planned route, which way would they take instead?"

Rain bites her cheek in thought, "perhaps they are already out of the swamp? Perhaps the convoy is moving faster ten expected." She raises her brow, "obviously we aren't lost. Mabye we should follow the convoys path out of the swamp and if we can't find it once we are out, we can worry."

Circi crosses her arms, "Perhaps they were attacked by the keeper of souls. The convoy absolutely obliterated and then devoured." She takes a seat in the snow and crosses her legs, "It wouldn't be the first time such an event has occured. In fact I'm sure it's a regular occurrence in these parts"

Echo quacked, seemingly thinking:
"Mm... I'm not familiar with concealment spells of that magnitude.
But if the convoy leader perceived us as a threat, as Machine Folk Invaders who typically lash out at civilians, it would make sense for him to separate us from the convoy.


He probably felt lucky when we asked to explore the tomb and gave us bad directions on purpose, making sure we wouldn't rejoin the convoy. Thus, ensuring the safety of his people.
It makes sense.

The convoy leader probably gave Ursula some made up route, and went in the opposite direction. I think you're right."




Ursula looked up at Rogue and Rain, then looked down: "...thank you"
She took a moment to compose herself and gather her thoughts, before unfolding the map again.










"The second best route.." Ursula traced a curved line on the map with her finger: "Avoiding the swamps entirely, going north, then east all the way to 'Soma Farm Lands', then south along the 'Kraken Way Station', then to Rakshata.

It is the safest route, good roads, perfect for transporting large numbers of civilians and wounded..." she sighed:
"..I was surprised when he insisted that he would go through the swamps... I believed him"





Johan sighed, shaking his head: "... ironically, if we had voted to split away from the convoy and move north from the tomb, we would've probably ran into them"


Ursula covered her face with both hands: "... why did he lie to me?..."

"C-come on, we don't know that for sure.." Kaylee said, coming closer.



"No other explanation makes sense!.." Ursula said with a strained voice: "They couldn't have reached Rakshata before us, we travel lightly by air, much faster than them. Their wagons would be hindered by the swamps bad ground, adding days, if not weeks to their journey.

And all the way, we would be finding traces of their path. Litter, old campfires, stomped ground from dozens of tents.. but... there's nothing... as if they were never here...

He lied to me..." Ursula tightly hugged her knees and hid her face in them.




"...what should we do?.." Kaylee quietly asked, looking around.

Kaylee Brown wrote:"No other explanation makes sense!.." Ursula said with a strained voice: "They couldn't have reached Rakshata before us, we travel lightly by air, much faster than them. Their wagons would be hindered by the swamps bad ground, adding days, if not weeks to their journey.

And all the way, we would be finding traces of their path. Litter, old campfires, stomped ground from dozens of tents.. but... there's nothing... as if they were never here...

He lied to me..." Ursula tightly hugged her knees and hid her face in them.




"...what should we do?.." Kaylee quietly asked, looking around.

"Look, Ursula. Just because the convoy didn't take their original route, doesn't mean they did it deliberately" Rogue says to Ursula,

"When we were on the boats, the fleet didn't expect to see that giant fish in their path. Maybe another big critter showed up, and forced them to take a detour?"

"...maybe.." Ursula heavily sighed and placed her head above her knees.

A streak of light reflected in her dark eyes, and for a moment, you thought you saw a shooting start in her eye's reflection.


Then you heard a boom, as a massive Flare detonated in the sky, just over the tree line, barely 30 meters East of you.


Ursula looked up at it and her eyes widened: "...Holy shit"

Rain looks to the north, "Well we are deemed enemy's of Nifelhime. You shouldn't blame them if they did lie to you. They are simply protecting the convoy." She crosses her arms, "It's not a bad idea and if I were in the same position I would have done the same." She shrugs, "It's a good plan."

Circi looks to Ursula, "If I'm going to be honest I think showing up with a Sinner wouldn't make you fan favorite." She stares at Ursula for a long moment, "Why are you doing this..." She brings her hands together intertwining her fingers, "...your taking a sledgehammer to your life. You're risking it all on this random team and instead of folding and going back to being a regular old Witcher and keeping your reputation, your doubling down on this choice and going out of your way to weave more distrust even though things have been horrid and your tarnishing your repu-" Circi is cut off by the flare as it explodes behind her making her jump slightly, "...unfortunate." she croaks.

Rain pushes herself up, "Well we didn't have a job before, now we do. Shall we get back to work?"

A second week of language taken, showing improvement.

Twilight had mostly kept out of the conversation, knowing she would do more harm then good with her honesty. She kept to her reading material, finishing the study of the language. When the flare erupted, she looked at it.

“Please let this not be too big of a deal.” She mutters as she gets up.

(Twilight's knowledge of the Nifel language has risen to Level 2)
(In addition, Twilight completed 1 of 3 weeks towards level 3 of the Nifel language)
(She now has a moderate understanding of the language)



(Rain's knowledge of the Nifel language has risen to Level 2)
(In addition, Rain completed 1 of 3 weeks towards level 3 of the Nifel language)
(She now has a moderate understanding of the language)



(Kaylee completed 1 of 5 weeks towards magic Category 3)
(Kaylee's knowledge of the Nifel language has risen to Level 2)
(She now has a moderate understanding of the language)



(Rogue's knowledge of the Nifel language has risen to Level 3)
(Rogue can now speak very good Nifel, albeit with an accent)



(Radiance's martial arts level increased to 2nd Kyu)
(Radiance completed 1 of 2 weeks towards magic Category 2)



(Circi completed 2 of 10 weeks towards 2nd Dan in martial arts)



(Johan's magic category has increased to Level 2)
(Johan's knowledge of the Nifel language has risen to Level 2)
(He now has a moderate understanding of the language)



(Ursula spent most of her time helping everyone with their training, her skills improved at a lesser pace)
(Ursula completed 1 of 5 weeks towards magic Category 3)

Circi wrote:"If I'm going to be honest I think showing up with a Sinner wouldn't make you fan favorite." She stares at Ursula for a long moment, "Why are you doing this..." She brings her hands together intertwining her fingers, "...your taking a sledgehammer to your life. You're risking it all on this random team and instead of folding and going back to being a regular old Witcher and keeping your reputation, your doubling down on this choice and going out of your way to weave more distrust even though things have been horrid and your tarnishing your repu-"

Ursula deeply and anxiously sighed: "The people of Nifelheim only know a small part of the universe. Their prejudices are born because they don't know what lies beyond their world.

And the opposite it true too. Those of the Machine World, don't know about this place.
Ignorance breeds discrimination, breeds war.

If I could just bridge the gap between our people.. perhaps they'll find we're not so different after all. Perhaps they'll find people who they can get along with, if they only try."


Ursula deeply sighed: "...even if they end up hating me for it.. its something worth sacrificing my life for.
This war cannot continue."






High over the tree line, unnervingly close, a massive transparent Flare was blooming in the night sky. A burning white lotus, its petals growing and turning into razors, as if a dozen burning scythes were blooming over the tree line.


Kaylee squinted in tension and awe: "...what the hell is that Flare? I've been going over their catalogue over and over, there's nothing that quite resembles this"


Ursula squinted as well, her face turning grim: "Every king designs his own custom flare, whenever his rule begins. So when his unique flare graces the sky, everyone will know, a King has entered the fray"


"You're telling me a Witcher King launched that flare?!" Kaylee exclaimed.


"Yes.." Ursula quietly said: "That flare belongs to The King of Rakshata.
I know not his name. Only his title. Widely regarded as the strongest human mage of all Nifelheim, the people dubbed him:

'The White Flame, Dancing on the Graves of his Enemies'.



Ursula pointed at the burning lotus over the tree line: "And that flare.. stand for-


'Commencing Attack'














Your eyes spotted a lone shadow, standing right on top of a massive pine tree, some thirty meters ahead. He loomed over the forest like an overseer, the pale, full moon rising behind him, accenting his dark figure perfectly. A green fiery blade burned in his hands.


The figure jumped and descended the full length of the tree, running vertically over the tree bark and turning into a dark blur. The last three meters to earth, he covered by pushing off of the tree and landing blade first into the orange stream that ran over the snow.




A chain reaction of tiny puffs followed, who's frequency rapidly grew until a giant deafening sound rocked the swamp. In a split second second, every Fire Vein ignited and blew, spewing chokingly large quantifies of mist into the air.


Colossal clouds of mist rose almost instantly into the air, covering dozens of square kilometers and rising just over the tree line.



Visibility fell down almost to zero. You could barely make out every member of your team, as those who stood farther that 5 meters away from you, had faded from your sight completely.


Rapidly approaching footsteps caught your attention. For a moment, you thought it was Kaylee, before that hope was shattered completely.



A purple blur jumped out of the mist, a burning blade already drawn. A split second ticked by and someone impaled Kaylee square through the chest, lifting her off her feet and into the air.

Kaylee coughed, sending a spray of red blood across the snowdrift below. Her eyes wide in confusing and shock.


The silhouette that impaled her, smugly grinned, before twisting in place and gracefully throwing Kaylee off the blade and into the snow, before twirling in place and firing a ball of light square into Circi's face, sending her staggering backwards.



With a playful laugh, the silhouette turning into a purple blur and leaped, vanishing into the clouds of mist once again.




(Kaylee suffered -5 HP, 14 HP remaining)

(Circi has been hit by an unidentified Status Effect. No notable side effects so far.)

Kaylee Brown wrote:A purple blur jumped out of the mist, a burning blade already drawn. A split second ticked by and someone impaled Kaylee square through the chest, lifting her off her feet and into the air.

Kaylee coughed, sending a spray of red blood across the snowdrift below. Her eyes wide in confusing and shock.


The silhouette that impaled her, smugly grinned, before twisting in place and gracefully throwing Kaylee off the blade and into the snow, before twirling in place and firing a ball of light square into Circi's face, sending her staggering backwards.



With a playful laugh, the silhouette turning into a purple blur and leaped, vanishing into the clouds of mist once again.

"Kaylee!" Rogue shouts, rushing over to her to check if she's okay. He summons his Witcher shield, and turns to face the others, "Everyone take up defensive positions back to back, we can't let ourselves be picked off one-by-one!

Ursula, why's the King of Rakshata out here in the swamps by himself, attacking us without provocation? Can we lauch a flare to signal we're friendlies?"

Rain summons her poleaxe moving to guard Kaylee, she stands tall the handle of her poleaxe pressed against her chest as she stands ready to block, "Group up!" She shouts in Soran.

Circi covers her head with her forarms, her spider legs come together shielding her liver and kidneys, "She's quick." She croaks, "Sheild yourself!" Circi begins dancing in place, one foot then the next, "We need to get out of this mist! Fall back as a group, keep tabs on your distance from each other keep your guard up!"

Rain continues scanning the area, "We need to move Kaylee back!"

For a moment, there was shock written on Twilight’s face. Before the reason why could be clear, she steeled herself and joined into the formation, drawing her weapon.

She prepared a heal and casted it at Kaylee. She then spoke to no one in particular. “Is this the fighting style of the strongest human mage in Nifelheim? Swordplay, when a spell would be enough? Hrmmm...”

She lifted her weapon into a defensive position. “Guys, maybe it’s empty hope, but what are the chances this is an imposter?”

Radiance stepped into formation. Weapon in retracted form at the ready.

"Anything is possible but the grave dancing sounds more sword and less spell."

He then calls in the direction of the assailant

"We're open to talking like civilized people! Speak with us first then you can decide whether or not to attack!"

C̷O̴N̴S̶U̸M̵E̵ wrote:Circi covers her head with her forarms, her spider legs come together shielding her liver and kidneys, "She's quick." She croaks, "Sheild yourself!" Circi begins dancing in place, one foot then the next, "We need to get out of this mist! Fall back as a group, keep tabs on your distance from each other keep your guard up!"

"The chain reaction from his initial attack'll've ignited trails of the orange glowy fire stuff for miles in all directions" Rogue calls to Circi, "We won't be able to get clear of it easily, not with this guy still out there."

Disgruntled purple wrote:For a moment, there was shock written on Twilight’s face. Before the reason why could be clear, she steeled herself and joined into the formation, drawing her weapon.

She prepared a heal and casted it at Kaylee. She then spoke to no one in particular. “Is this the fighting style of the strongest human mage in Nifelheim? Swordplay, when a spell would be enough? Hrmmm...”

She lifted her weapon into a defensive position. “Guys, maybe it’s empty hope, but what are the chances this is an imposter?”

"You think someone might be pretending to be the King of Rakshata out here in the swamps by himself, attacking us without provocation?" Rogue says, and then shrugs "Neither really makes sense at this point, so let's just keep it open."

Kaylee was on her knees in the snow, coughing large quantities of blood and clutching the wound in her chest. She was having trouble breathing, the cut had surgically went through her trachea.

She couldn't respond, the wound was regenerating too slowly and she began gasping for air in increasing panic.


Twilights spell hit her a few moments later, blue sparks of light dancing over her body, before Kaylee's whole torso glowed blue and the wound in her chest closed and vanished completely.

Still trying to catch her breath, she heavily got back on her feet with Rogues help and summoned her katana.


"..thanks!" She exhaled, falling in formation and staring into the mist, trying to spot any sign of movement.
Johan and Ursula joined the formation shortly after, forming a large circle with them staring outward, blades drawn.



(Kaylee was healed for +5 HP, max 19 HP restored)





"We can try launching a flare but I don't think it will help" Ursula said, vigilantly watching the mist:
"A king would leave his city if he perceived an immediate threat to his people.
Most kings are very cautious and calculating. If he attacked us without warning, it means he's convinced that we are a threat to his people and must be eliminated"





Ursula was speaking in Soren. She paused to breathe and looked left and right. The heavy mist was muffling her voice, making all sounds a little more dull:

"...even the strongest mage is bound by laws of magic. It would take hours to cook anything above Level 2 and would require the mage to remain stationary, inside his pentagram.

Its ideal for defending, when you know the enemy is coming directly at you.
But if the enemy is moving too fast, or in an unpredictable fashion, preparing a high level spell against them becomes near impossible.

By the time you've set up a pentagram, the enemy already moved out of its firing range.





That's why when chasing an enemy over long distance, there's no choice but to strike without high level pentagrams."

Ursula grimaced: "We've been traveling by flight for most of the trip. From a sea pony's perspective, who's bound to the ground, our movements would seem way too fast.


He had no choice but to wait for us to stop and set camp, then strike immediately, before we had time to set pentagrams.
The good news is that he had no time to set pentagrams either, so we don't have to worry about being hit with anything above Level 2.

As for him possibly being an imposter.."





Ursula grimaced even more:
"Frontline Witchers are obligated to maintain a certain rank in martial arts, especially mages.
Mana inevitably runs out, but a Witchers blade has "infinite ammo".

Each frontline Witcher must be sufficiently versatile and self sufficient. In the event that he is cut off from the rest of his unit, a Witcher, especially a mage, must know the basics of self defense to survive...




But, that aside...

He's holding his own against eight opponents at once, giving us pause and still holding tactical advantage.
That's about what a king is capable of"






Ursula barely had time to finish her sentence. A purple blur suddenly materialized right over her head.

You're not sure how he managed to get so high above you, but by the time you noticed movement above, it was a split second too late.


The figure waited until the last possible moment, before he summoned his blade, seemingly aware that the dancing bright flames of his weapon would give away his position.



With a wide arcing strike from above, the figure cut through Twilight and Ursula's chests with a scythe. The strike went just above their raised weapons, bypassing their defense completely and leaving a wide, deep cut.


Carried by momentum, the figure crashed into Twilight and Ursula pinning them to the ground, before quickly recovering and leaping backwards.



A young womans laugh rang out, as the figure bounced backwards like a ball and vanished into the mist once again. But not before dissipating her scythe and launching another bright ball of light into Radiances center of mass.




"Funny guuuuyy!~" a young womans voice rang out of the mist and giggled.

She spoke in clear Soren, with a slight hint of an accent.
You can't see her at all, but her voice vaguely indicated her position. You estimate she's some 7 meters away from you, mingling just where your visibility completely fades down to zero.





(Twilight suffered -4 HP)

(Ursula suffered -4 HP)



(Radiance has been hit with an unidentified Status Effect. No notable side effects)

(Circi is still afflicted with an unidentified Status Effect. No notable side effects)

Kaylee Brown wrote:That's why when chasing an enemy over long distance, there's no choice but to strike without high level pentagrams."

Ursula grimaced: "We've been traveling by flight for most of the trip. From a sea pony's perspective, who's bound to the ground, our movements would seem way too fast.


He had no choice but to wait for us to stop and set camp, then strike immediately, before we had time to set pentagrams.
The good news is that he had no time to set pentagrams either, so we don't have to worry about being hit with anything above Level 2.

"Fine, if the air's our only asset, we'll just outfly them! Cast healing spells on the wounded, and then all pegasi grab a passenger and take off!" Rogue says, casting Heal on Ursula.

Radiance casts heightened senses and starts following the sound they make. Based on how fast they move he calculates roughly when he needs to swing in order to hit.

"Those unknown spells might not be worth risking via flight." Again he calls out "Kill us without conversation and you lose your only chance to enter the machine world safely and peacefully!"

Rains wings flutter open, a few loose feathers falling to the ground, she takes to the sky above the mist she dives her pole axe into the surface of the mist as she circles around the party.

Circis legs ground themselfs and begin lifting her high off of the ground, she looks to Radiance, "Tell me where she is. I'll stop her." She scans through the mist, standing herself ready for anything.

After the slash, Twilight falls to the earth. For precious seconds, she laid there, as if something was dawning onto her.

“Can it be...”

After that, she forces herself up. She spoke in a low tone.

“There’s at least two of them. They have different weapons, that’s the giveaway. I guess one did the show of smoke while the other got in position. Now they alternate attacks. If anyone has a restriction ability, prepare it to keep them down.”

Her tone became suddenly more demanding. “And under no condition are they to be permanently harmed or killed, understood?”

Disgruntled purple wrote:After the slash, Twilight falls to the earth. For precious seconds, she laid there, as if something was dawning onto her.

“Can it be...”

After that, she forces herself up. She spoke in a low tone.

“There’s at least two of them. They have different weapons, that’s the giveaway. I guess one did the show of smoke while the other got in position. Now they alternate attacks. If anyone has a restriction ability, prepare it to keep them down.”

Her tone became suddenly more demanding. “And under no condition are they to be permanently harmed or killed, understood?”

"That could be tricky, they might not come willingly" Rogue suggests.

Ursula recovered rather quickly from her fall. The healing spell helped, closing her wound in under a second. The after effects of the pain lingered however, broadcasted by her strained face.

Unfolding all four of her wings, she scooped Rogue off the ground and began slowly rising into the air, flapping her wings as hard as she could.



(Ursula was healed by +5 HP, max 24 HP restored)



Johan momentarily lowered his katana and sent a cloud of blue sparks towards Twilight, until the wound in her chest had fully vanished.



(Twilight was healed by +5 HP, max 17 HP restored)


"Twilight I've only seen a scythe" Johan called, standing back to back with Twilight and raising his katana again:


"The King of Rakshata will exploit any weakness on our part, so we can't make any mistakes, or we will die. That's why we can't jump to conclusions.
We need to objectively analyze everything we've seen. Everything she did so far.

She's swinging that thing way too fast, the mist isn't helping either.
I can't tell if she always held a scythe in her hand, or two different weapons."



Johan wearily squinted into the mist:
"At any rate, I agree, we cannot kill her. Adding the 'Assassins of Kings' to our resume would be... very very bad, for our peace negotiations later on.

We need to paralyze her with Strength Sap, its harmless, no pain, no physical damage. The opponent simply falls asleep. From what I understand, the spell was specifically designed for situations like these. That's our best shot"



"Copy that" Kaylee exhaled and gathered her palms together. A large, purple ball began materialized and rapidly spinning between her hands.
She's cooking a high level paralysis.



"Circi cast those tendons on her!" Ursula yelled from above: "Stop her from moving!"




As Radiance cast Heightened Senses, the magic drained his Mana by 5, a yellow swirl surrounded him just like always, but nothing else happened. The sharpness of his senses didn't improve, not even a little bit.

"Radiance - Heightened Senses doesn't work in the Fire Vein Mist!!" Ursula yelled from above: "Neither does Scan!"




A few meters in front of Radiance, the long shaft of the scythe audibly ignited and materialized into reality. The silhouette of the weapons holder came into view. She was grinning:

"...a cornered fox will say anything to survive" she replied to Radiance and suddenly swung forth her scythe.

Radiance reflexively swung his blade in a counter.




To your horror, you heard Circi's involuntary shriek in response.

Radiance had cleanly cleaved off one of Circi's spider legs, making her loose balance and fall to the ground. Thick, black blood sprayed out of the injured limb and a few stray drops landed on Radiance. Not a second ticked by, before the black blood began eating away at his skin like an acid.


(Circi suffered -4 HP damage, 27 HP remaining)

(Radiance suffered -2 HP damage, 43 HP remaining)




A ringing laugh echoed just behind Radiance, as the purple blur rushed forth, taking a very wide swing with her scythe and slashing Radiance's back, just through the base of his wings.


As the purple blur bounced back into the mist, Radiance's wings unfolded on their own and hung uselessly down to the ground. The nerves that connected them to the spine had been cut and regenerated way too slowly.


(Radiance suffered -4 HP damage, 39 HP remaining)





By Rain's rough calculation, she rose over 20 meters into the sky, before she emerged out of the mist. From up top, you had a clear view of the area. The white lotus still burned in the sky, with a full moon hovering somewhere behind it.

And in every direction on the horizon, there was only a massive cloud of mist.
It was hard to tell from this angle, but you estimate it stretched some 7 kilometers at least, in every direction.


As Rain dived back into the cloud, her poleaxe drawn, Ursula and Rogue flew past her in the other direction.
Ursula quickly stopped and flew closer to Rain, still carrying Rogue:

"The opponent knows of our plan! She disabled Radiance's flight capability! Do we pick him up and try to flee, or go back and fight?" She called, desperation and fear ringing strong in her voice.





Down below on the ground, the purple, shadowy blur was twirling and skipping from one foot to another, juuuust on the very edge of your vision. Swinging her green, burning scythe, you could only make out a silhouette, as she danced somewhere around you, in a very large circle.

A few moments later, you heard her hum.



It was a strange melody, equally beautiful and unnerving at the same time. Whatever her reason, it was beginning to take its effect, as Kaylee rushed towards Circi, trying to avoid the sprays of black blood from her cut off, slowly regenerating appendage.

The stronger the humming became, the more pale and horrified Kaylee became. So bizarre and out of place was this tune.



And the purple blur continued to hum. You can see her silhouette, some 5 meters away from you, as she danced a wide circle around the party.





(Radiance is still afflicted with an unidentified Status Effect.)

(Circi is still afflicted with an unidentified Status Effect.)

Kaylee Brown wrote:A few meters in front of Radiance, the long shaft of the scythe audibly ignited and materialized into reality. The silhouette of the weapons holder came into view. She was grinning:

"...a cornered fox will say anything to survive" she replied to Radiance and suddenly swung forth her scythe.

Radiance reflexively swung his blade in a counter.




To your horror, you heard Circi's involuntary shriek in response.

Radiance had cleanly cleaved off one of Circi's spider legs, making her loose balance and fall to the ground. Thick, black blood sprayed out of the injured limb and a few stray drops landed on Radiance. Not a second ticked by, before the black blood began eating away at his skin like an acid.

"Woah, no friendly fire! Stay in formation and don't let her get between you!" Rogue shouts down to them.

Kaylee Brown wrote:As Rain dived back into the cloud, her poleaxe drawn, Ursula and Rogue flew past her in the other direction.
Ursula quickly stopped and flew closer to Rain, still carrying Rogue:

"The opponent knows of our plan! She disabled Radiance's flight capability! Do we pick him up and try to flee, or go back and fight?" She called, desperation and fear ringing strong in her voice.

"Do we still have enough fliers to carry us all?" Rogue asks, "If not, I'm willing to stay behind, that'll free up a space. I'm the only one here not looking for family or friends, so it seems right that others should make it instead of me."

Kaylee Brown wrote:And the purple blur continued to hum. You can see her silhouette, some 5 meters away from you, as she danced a wide circle around the party.

"We need to end this quickly, either by taking her out or getting out of dodge" Rogue asserts, "Or perhaps both..."

He then whispers to Ursula, keeping his voice down to avoid their opponent overhearing, "We do a feint, it's the only way to beat a foe using fog of war tactics like this. We all start retreating as if in panicked defeat, and the enemy gives chase to press the advantage, only for us to lure them into a trap. Her visibility has to be as low as ours, so if we relocate the battlefield, she's at as much of a disadvantage as us."

Circi regains herself, "Goddamnit! That's not a fucking toy, you can't just swing it around with other people around!" The Sinner Roars in anger, "I have had about enough of these games!" With a deep breath she takes a moment to focus on the shadow. She throws her hand out, "Tendons grasp." She growls, she throws her second hand out, "Spinal chain." She takes a stance ready to take off she cocks her leg back ready to unleash a powerful kick into her targets chin.

Rain looks to Ursula, "we need to get out of this mist, even if it's into the forest we have a better chance against the king." She glares into the mist and sighs, "We need to start pulling the party out and into the sky and out of the mist. At least then we'll see her coming."