Aibek followed the others in and began looking around when prompted by Mihara, though nodded along to Azri's spoken thoughts.
Selena bites her lip at Kira's answer. Stretching her arm, she tries to put her hand on the invisible girl's shoulder "Hang in there, it's almost over. We'll make sure nothing like this happens ever again.".
_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_
Selena joins the other in the search of the captain's room, focusing on the scorch marks. "The people that sent this redemption here are the same that poisoned grampa Zhen" Selena says to the Lich "It doesn't surprise me that they managed to do this: but I, too, would like to know the how and why. If this Redemption isn't on fire, I could be able to bind him, and Ginger there could persuade him to cough up something useful."
_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_
When everyone is ready, Selena makes for the great doors to the north and open them.
The officer's quarters reveal the minutiae of his life - training reports, medical reports for wounded troops, supply reports and the like. Only two things of note stand out - a thick silver ring with a large blue stone set it it, and a scimitar of apparently solid silver inscribed in the floing Garundi script.
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As Serena opens the heavy double doors another courtyard, similar to the others, appears. This one, however, is oddly bare. The only notable features are the doubles doors covered in a shimmering field...and the figure in the corner.
Tall, metal glinting in the light of lit torches, stands what appears to be a armoured figure covered in red markings, a badly singed robe over the top. As they turn towards the party you see a collection of holy symbols - Sarenrae, Iomadae, Pharasma and a half dozen others hang on a long silver chain. Floating by one shoulder is a long Elven Curve Blade, suspended by spectral hands. The other arm is grotesque, shining metal rusted and ruined with weeping saws, swollen and engorged to twice the size of it's counter part.
"It has taken you some time to arrive. My welcome. I presume you would like some questions answered before we begin, to sate your curiosity?" The voice belies the figures movies, erratic and twitchy bar the strange, over sized arm.
He looked him over carefully. Finally it seemed someone worthy had presented themselves. He would not ruin it for the others to ask their questions so he kept his simple for the moment.
"Are you the one called Redemption? Are you a swordsman?"
"Redemption? Oh yes, the Ironborn." The figures spasming head twitched to one side, considering. "Is ONE the clothes ONE wears? I suppose it's close enough for our purposes here. I won't object to being called that name. As for swords..." He glances at the floating blade. "When it is needed. I can wield a blade."
"What are you, and what do you want with this temple?" Mihara sternly demands. "What gives you the right to harm and kill these priests and guards?"
"Right? I have no right to do so. They were simply too weak to stop me. Call it survival of the fittest, if you wish. Not that I needed to do this to survive, of course. It was simply a job, but one must honour one's contract when one walks the circles I do."
The voice laughed at his apparent wit, the body shaking with the creature's mirth. "As to what...let us call me a facilitator. I, personally, would have killed everything here in an orgy of fire and been gone days ago, but one of my emplyers goals was...are you ready? To delay the Halfblood's thrust! Hah. Instead of being on your way to the City of Seven Towers to stare longingly at the broken stumps that remain, you're here, dealing with this. If not for me, the item you seek would be long gone with some Sarenrae cleric to your master, and you would like as not be boarding a ship or be gone already. I have, among my other tasks here, bought time."
"Oh, good, that makes this easier." Azri said cheerfully. She'd examined the ring with Detect Magic when they'd first gone into the room, picking it up if it seemed useful and leaving it be otherwise...
...and now faced the cause of their frustrations. "Then you have no complaints if we're more fit to survive than you, right?" Not that survive was the right word for her... "I've found that I quite like my new friends, you see, and I'm actually quite upset at what you've put us through. Shall we get on with it?"
"Very well then," Mihara announces, drawing her short sword. "Let us see where this survival of the fittest leaves you."
Aibek growled, "Survival of the fittest is not about brute strength and slaughter, you did this for pleasure, that it was a job only made your horrid fun possible. You controlled and warped these people, that Ironborn, for fun and to delay us. I'd ask why delaying us was so very important for the one who wants you to 'facilitate', but I think it is time we got past this."
Aibek stepped into a shadow, melding into it while preparing to attack...
Selena just stares as the others ask questions, adjusting her dress. "My friends here are sharpest than me, so I guess that everything that had to be asked was asked." the half-succubus says flatly, examining her nails. "Now could you do a pretty girl a favor?" she then adds, taking a combat stance "When I'm snapping the joints of your limbs and bashing your skull, could you try not to catch fire? Thanks, honey."
Nigrum catches the attention of the others.
"Would you give me a chance to duel him. It may sound selfish but I would like to test myself if only for a few moments. I am not foolish enough to think I could take such a being alone. But I would like to know the extent I have walked on my path."
He had not been defeated in such a one sided manner sense Master Halfblood. If this was an agent of his enemies, he wanted to see where he stood.
"No." Mihara interjects sternly, looking Nigrum directly in the eye despite the near two-foot difference in their heights. "There is too much at hand here for such ego stroking. I'll gladly duel you myself when we have some time on our hands, if you wish to gauge your newfound skills, but this is no time for such matters."
"Oh no, please, let him come dual me! It will be no end of entertainment." The figure laughed again.
"But for the other questions...alas, my employer I will not tell you. Beat me and there is a clue on this body, however. There! You can all win a prize. And no, I'm fine with you winning. My job has been done, and once this body is done I shall go and spend my hard won reward. And while your shadowry didn't ask before so rudely vanishing, I don't know why I was hired. I care not for why. It is to do with Khalharum, that much I know, but that is all."
"However," he added, "I do object to being called 'cur' when fighting a nogitsune spawned fox pup and a werewolf's failed get. If you're going to call someone a dog, you should really look for the people who will smell like damp fur after a shower..."
Nigrum draws his sword.
"You will find ego has nothing to do with it."
He said that both to his allies and enemy. His killing intent rising.
The creature's head tilted. "Oh, I see. That's why you kept yelling at the poor puppets. It is quite quailing, isn't it? Well, that's fine - this body can respond how it will. I have better methods of killing you all. And since that's how you wish to do this..."
The Oracle's mutated arm rose, a small ball of frost appearing between his fingers. In an instant it was melted, turned to steam and ignited before being hurled at Nigrum.
As the small ball of flame hits Nigrum, it ignites.
The other, more normal hand made a gesture. each of you suddenly feels fear and doubt as to whether this strange, terrifying creature can even be beaten. He'd subdued a temple, defeated it's priests and guards, what hope did you all have...
Nigrum closes and places himself in position to have a wall to his back. Swinging Tsui at the thing.
In the shadows, Aibek raised eyebrows at Nigrum, not understanding why such a thing would seem a good idea right now, but refrained from raising voice while shadowed when Mihara and Ayreth had already spoken.
Shaking off the comments about being a failed get, Aibek moved focus to Redemption, watching their every move. As fear began to try to pull at Aibek, the witchwolf's mind's natural tendency to anxiety and doubt crept forth and Aibek felt only barely able to shake the feelings off.
Aibek rolled footsteps, silently shifting a few steps silently in the shadows, focusing on Redemption. Aibek knew that everything was needed for this, that for all those people...everything must be used. Aibek kept eyes on Redemption while pulling together all focus. Standing in shadow, with claws and mouth already shadow encased from the previous fight, Aibek held back to ensure everything could go into this as those people deserved that, and Aibek didn't want to hang round this controlled ironborn long...
Before Nigrum can take more than a couple of steps, he freezes in place - a spell on the ground activating him and holding him tight.
"Yes," the caster laughed, "Most people stand around in an open courtyard waiting for six people to show up and attack them without doing anything to defend themselves or prepare."
Before she can say to Nigrum that it isn't the time to play at "Who has the longest sword?", the possessed Ironborn casts his spell. While she can't avoid to be filled with dread, the half-succubus manages to note the strange movements Redemption did. "G-guys? He made two completely different movements with each hand, and the voice was different!".
Fearing that the enemy set other traps, the haf-fiend opens her wings and flies barely above the ground, landing close to Redemption. Still shaken, she tries to restrain the caster, but barely manages to touch him.
Unlike some undead, Azri wasn't totally immune to the powers of mind-affecting things... probably because she still had a mind. On the other hand, she was harder to affect with such powers than normal, and the force of her will broke through the spell.
A moment later, Azri hurled her first hex through the air, aiming to rip down the opponent's ability to protect himself from the curses that were about to start flying his way.
When she was finished laughing, Azri just glared at the man. "I must say, I'm going to enjoy this." she growled. "I'll focus on doing what I can to limit his options."
Mihara refuses to acknowledge any more of Redemption's taunting, and instead leaps into action. She puts her Kitsune talent through good use, appearing from behind Redemption, short-sword raised and striking down from the air.
Many thanks for providing a convenient distraction, Selena.
She takes aim at what she figures is a crucial joint in Redemption's iron body.
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Ayreth gathers her cloak and holds it tightly to herself. "לרוץ כמו הרוח" she says. As she does so, Emmitt jumps down out of her cloak. And then they both run out the door.
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= Run like the wind.
Round 2
Redemption slipped out of the way of Selena's grab but the blow from Mihara landed hard. Azri's hex landed as well, although Redemption only staggered for a moment.
Grunting, the creature moved to one side and grabbed the Curve Blade with that mutant hand. Apparently not really looking the blade swung, one handed, in an arc at Selena.
At the same time the normal hand came up and pulled down part of redemption's metallic face. A blast of flame roared at Mihara. With no gesture or incantation, you guess it is an ability, not a spell.
"Whoa!" Mihara gasps, kicking off her foe's metallic shoulder and pirouetting out of the fire's way.
"A foolish attempt at best," the Kitsune taunts, before springing back at her foe.
"Hyaah!"
Then, feinting as though those were her only two attacks, Mihara flashes a canine grin full of shiny fangs, and goes in for a third.
Ack, she'd have to keep cackling to keep the Evil Eye curse going. Well, she could manage that. Keeping back and out of the way, Azri focused her powers and send a more powerful curse towards their foe. She just had to try and time these right, get through his guard... and there!
"Let your luck be gone!"
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Aibek winced at the damage caused to the others, gritting teeth in muzzle while focusing on the one they needed to stop. Aibek pushed thoughts aside that a this or that family member would be better suited, and just did what this Aibek could go best.
Quietly racing forward in the shadow, Aibek leapt to attack, striking through felt the second claws not going through and risked the mouth - in for it all at the moment - before jumping back, crouching in the shadows, to aim the next attack and watch what the ironborn and the facilitator using them would do next.
"Ayreth! Ayreth! Where are you going!" Selena turns, giving her back to Redemption. A second after, she feels something warm dripping from her side. "What?...aaah" she staggers, as her hands cover in blood when she passes them on her side. "" with a shriek, she takes a step back, frantically searching the folds of her dress for the healing potion, drinking it avidly. When the wound starts to heal, Selena looks back to Redemption with eyes filled with hate "You. Will. Regret. That."
Round 3
Mihara's blade and bite chewed through the thick metallic skin. Aibek's shadow-infused claw and bite also punched through the Oracle. Redemption grunted in pain. The wounds on his torso leaked blood where the damage had found the Ironborn's flesh beneath. A gash on the arm, however, leaked a gruesome black ichor.
Azri's Hex slammed home, staggering the creature back as the magic took hold. He created another small ball of fire and hurled it at Azri. "You have a very annoying laugh!"
The other hand gestured at Mihara. "And you! Drop the stabby thing!"
Mihara gasps in pain as her shortsword becomes burning hot, hurting her hand. She drops the offending object, but not before significant is done.
"I'll see this temple freed from your influence even if it kills me!" She snarls through her burns.
Azri smoothly dodged the fire as her next hex took effect, and she simply laughed again as she continued to fling curses his way. "Is this not what you expected? Is it not why you are here?" she asked as she focused her Evil Eye again. She wasn't some great sorceress (yet). She couldn't carve through enemies with ease, nor heal those who were wounded. What she could do was weaken foes to help others take them out, and she'd gleefully fling as many curses as she could at those who stood in their way. Simple, practical, reliable - that was the hallmark of a useful ability.
With a silent movement, Selena closes in on the ironborn and tries to restrain his movements, hoping to prevent him from casting other spells.
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Emmitt sneaks back into the room, keeping an eye on the situation for Ayreth. He conveys his worry for Selena's well-being and then some relief when she is healed by the potion.
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"You're not getting away so easily!" Mihara declares. She quickly dashes between two air currents and resurfaces behind redemption, timing her attack as Selena approaches.
Aibek watched Redemption shift and the others follow. Focusing on target, Aibek tried to see what else the one who controlled the Ironborn had planned for them. Aibek raced in the shadows once again behind Selena and Mihara and struck Redemption from the nearside with everything before jumping back again.
Round 2
Round 3
Nigrum breaks free of the magic as it weakens.
"Honorless Scum!"
For the first time sense entering the temple Nigrum shows anger.
Selena grabs hold of the Ironborn and Mihara and Aibek's blows strike true. With Azri's magic weakening the construct he sinks. "NO! This body will obey a while longer yet!"
Despite Selena's hold Redemption's twisted arm whips around. There is the sickening sound of breaking steel and shattering bronze as the tortured limb warps unnaturally to try and reach Selena.
The unatural flailing fails to find it's target, however, and the creature howls in rage.
"Aha!" Mihara exclaims, spotting the offending unholy symbol. She lunges for the item and attempts to snatch it off.
If successful, she tosses the item to the newly freed Nigrum. "Sunder it!" She calls out.
If unsuccessful, she instead shouts. "The symbol there! Break it!"
The voice that had once taunted you all snarled in rage as the symbol flew across the courtyard. At the same time the second, more mechanical voice growled. The Ironborn's eyes flashed for a moment. "Get. Out. Of. MY. BODY!"
A second, petulant cry from the first voice responded, "Fat chance Rusty! It's mine now!" The freakish arm lashed out at Mihara in response to her stealing the holy symbol.
But once again the flailing limb doesn't come close. "HEAT! GIVE ME YOUR HEAT, DOG!"
Nigrum dearly wanted to cut the metal man in half for his shameful trick. Still he would not dishonor his comrades who bleed with him, he was better then that. He brings down Tsui on the symbol.