Daka spins around the beast, positioning himself opposite to Shirak and easily dodging the large translucent claws aimed at his torso. "Aha! There's fight in me yet, Shirak." he cries as he whirls his sword overhead before directing it, once again, towards the mass of steam.
"I... I think I am just going to hit it." says Kusanorr after apparently not having hurt the beast with his powers. His impulses tell him to run away, but he just moves to Daka's side without thinking too much. He has never been great at fighting. But three are better than two, at least.
"What are we attacking? I can not see it very well!" he asks as he swings to his foe.
The steam starts to dissolve and the creature's outlines become less visible! Shirak's dagger and Leyafold's attack go amiss, however, Daka and Kusanorr both connect! As their blades cut the thick skin of the beast its blood, also bright blue, pops into view, marking the creature clearly in the light from Daka's bracer (for those that cannot see it). Daka's sword makes a wide but shalow cut, however, the spinal sword of the kasatha sticks deep into the creature's flesh. It lets out a howl of pain that can now be heard by everyone. The sound goes on and heightens in pitch, making the walls chime again. In a second it reaches painful levels!
Daka grunts with pain as the howl reaches its crescendo, resisting the urge to cover his ears, unwilling as he is, to drop his guard for even an instant. Now that he can hear only a high-pitched ringing in his ears, Daka returns with a blood-curdling roar of his own... at least that is what he hopes happened, even his own voice seems muffled to him. His sword slashes down in an attempt to criss-cross the bright blue stream of blood floating in thin air.
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Shirak flinches as he shrinks down to normal size. The sounds of battle are gone, replaced with an ominous, emptiness.
It's just as when we first entered the forest...This is wrong!
"You beast! What have you done!" screams Shirak...or did he?
I could hear myself before. This is different
Shirak brings his dagger over his head and thrusts it toward the creatures blood tinged hide.
Another acorn careens towards the combatants, missing it's mark entirely.
What is he aiming at? wonders the druid.
The kasatha tries to follow your lead and swing again with his wicked blade at the beast, but sound of the beast's roar is too much for him and he staggers aside.
Shirak's dagger sticks in the thick hide and, while probably doing little damage, seems to cause the creature pain. As a result the strong back legs flip up in a horse-like kick towards the druid.
Fortunately the hit passes near Shirak's side and hits the wall, sending chips of stone flying.
Damned thing is harder to hit than a spooked jackrabbit... Time for some teamwork!
Daka starts swinging wildly at the creatures legs, attempting to harry it into a mistake that others may be able to capitalise on.
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Well, I hit it that time. Lets try to do more than scratch it this time.
"كنت لا تفعل أي خير العودة إلى هناك. الحصول على ما يصل هنا ومساعدة قبل أن تصل لي." He hollers over his shoulder.
Upon hearing the undines words, Leyafold shakes a pointed stick out of his branches and rushes toward the beast.
"Gaaah!" Kusanorr tries to scream, but no sound seems to come out of his mouth. It's too loud. What's happening? Is he at least hurt?
"Hey! Can you... can you hear me?" He asks his allies and, seeing they don't, he swings again with his sword while taking a step back to protect himself from the monster.
The beast again evades the strikes you aim at it and the patch of blue blood suddenly stops in midair.
Daka spots the opening Gotcha! and swings his sword in a wide arc towards the patch of motionless blood.
Daka's scimitar flies wide and misses the spot, which suddenly slaps itself into his chest!
"Umph!" Daka steps back, feeling the weight of the beast press upon his chest. Despite the force of the blow, he manages to maintain his balance by instinctively leaning into the powerful thrust, which has momentarily pinned his sword to his chest. "You conniving little..." He curses as he tries to compose himself for another rally, chest burning from the impact.
Is Daka hurt? Why can't I hear them.
Kusanorr moves ahead and strikes once again to the patch of blood. He wonders if he had ever really needed his precious sword before. His parents always told him stories of great battles his ancestors had fought with that weapon ages ago. But apparently they never broke it. he thinks, seeing the blade dangerously bends when it touches the invisible beast.
As the jet of water from Shirak's hand, Kusanorr's sword, and Torcet's dagger converge on the invisible creature pushing at Daka's chest there is a moment of confusion as to the outcome of the three attacks. Then the water falls to the floor and reveals a drenched trio standing around the kasatha's sword, seemingly sticking out from nothingness. A steady stream of blue blood issues past the blade and slowly shapes the contours of the beast. The corridor is again quiet, apart from your breathing and the trickle of water flowing along the cracks between the stones further into the darkness.
Though his ears are still painful, the ringing has subsided, and he can now make out the sounds of water dripping from the clothes of the drenched trio. He pokes at the air with his toe, checking for signs of life. "Ahaha! Well done guys!" He says triumphantly, as he exuberantly slaps the backs of those around him. That was the most fun I've had for ages! He then shakes his entire body (just like a dog would) to dry himself off, splashing those around him while smiling from ear to ear. "Do you suppose this creature is the source of the trouble in the forest?" he asks hopefully, before looking at the darkness deeper into the cave.
Kusanorr stands paralyzed for a few seconds before finally speaking. "Did we... did we kill it? We killed it?" He then drops his sword and sighs relieved. "I thought... we were going to die. What is that? Why can't I see it?"
The kasatha approaches the beast carefully and touches it. "I... it could be, Daka. It would have been more dangerous for the people in the camp. They did not have... those things Shirak did. Was it with the same... higher power of you?" Then he turns to the blue man. "Well... whatever you did... thank you. I think we all did a good job."
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"I doubt that creature has been causing all the trouble. Something more sinister is likely awaiting us further on. As for my abilities, I owe them to my tribe in some extent. However, the majority of them come from nature itself. That would be the Higher Power I attend to.
Turning back to the lifeless being he frowns, "If only it'd been able to understand...Yes, it's life has been terminated. " Daka kneels before it and places a hand on top of the corpse.
He whispers softly, "أنا آسف للتضحية ، ولكن مهمتنا هي مهمة جدا الى العودة الى الوراء ."
Promptly standing, he looks to his companions. "Shall we continue? Or you need to rest?"
"Hmm, yes you're probably right. There is much more going on here than a simple wild beast. Even an invisible one!" He says, turning back to the group "I'm too full of energy right now to rest. I say we continue..." He gives Shirak a thoughtful look "Though you seem to be gifted with the ability to see more than the rest of us. Perhaps we should form the vanguard together?" He touches his bracer with a soft prayer, replenishing its divine light before stepping towards the unknown.
"I am ready to continue too, like I promised. Maybe there is an... exit for this cave, ahead." says Kusanorr as he retrieves his sword and sheathes it.
If the others agree, he follows the group, keeping himself behind Shirak and Daka. When he is away from the place where the creature fell, he looks back one last time. I wonder what was that.
You follow the trickle of water that is soon left behind you as you go deeper into the darkness. An hour or two pass, your feeling of time distorted by the confines of the underground passage and the lack of any sound or sight other than your footsteps and the shiny stones of the corridor. At some point the excitement from the battle drains away and you are left with the building fatigue of a days walk.
The monotony is suddenly broken by the passage ending in a door that appears from the darkness ahead. It seems to be made of wood, and has a kind of opening near the floor, but you'll have to go nearer to get any more details.
Daka raises an eyebrow "Well, if that beast back there was some sort of guard dog, what need would there be for traps?" a moment of silence "But just in case..." he starts whispering a prayer and then draws his sword. He turns back to see Kusanorr and Shirak following closely, noticing their tiring faces for the first time. "Best be on the safe side." he takes a firm grip of his holy symbol and closes his eyes...
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Shirak stumbles as they continue on, "Woah...I seem out of sorts"
Pondering the situation for a moment, "I feel this is wrong. I'll be right back." Shirak hustles back to the statue where they acquired the stone and attempts to return in to its rightful place.
Then he quickly catches up with his companions.
"Thank you Daka, I feel much better!. Hopefully we have an easier go the rest of the trip, somehow I doubt it though."
Watching as Torcet inspects the door's hinges, "How's it look Torcet? Need a hand?"
The door is really wooden, the smooth, dark surface looking like it's not just planks but a thicker measure of wood. This is confirmed by a look at the opening in the lower section, which turns out to be an iron barred window of sorts, a foot wide and high. The thickness of the door is about four inches (10 centimeters), and actual hinges are scarce. It looks more like a wooden barrier than a door that swings open or shut. The bars on the window, however, have felt the passage of time and seem rusted through.
"Normal door or no, we still need to get through. I say we just break it down!" Daka moves up to the door and gives it a solid kick...
"But then again... Shirak, if we could break these bars out" He gestures towards the base of the door with the point of his scimitar "would Leyafold be willing to look on the other side for some way of opening this?"
Kusanorr smiles when Daka touches his wooden ankh and the remaining pain in his ears goes away. "Did you do that? Th... thank you!"
Then, the kasatha kneels and tries to observe what is behind the bars, pulling them to see if they can be removed.
"I am going to see if I can go to the other side. Be careful." He concentrates on whatever he can see beyond the gate and suddenly feels something ripping, both in his body and in the floor. A pitch black hole appears below him and he suddenly finds himself somewhere else.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
Daka's foot hits the wood with a dull noise that shortly echoes through the darkness. The "door" does not seem to be damaged in any way by the contact though.
The bars leave rust stains on Kusanorr's hands, flaking a little, but hold for the moment. Then the kasatha falls through the floor and a moment later his voice can be heard from the other side of the barrier.
"Well done man!" Daka shouts, a little stunned by the Kasatha's newest trick "We can hear you just fine... How does it look from that side? Any sign of a lever or other mechanism to open this thing?" Daka starts looking around himself as he asks the questions.
"It seems bigger than where you are." says Kusanorr. "Nothing... dangerous, but I am not sure if there is... anything to open the door. I am searching, maybe you could give me... that shining thing?" He kneels in front of the bars again and smiles at his partners at the other side. "It would help me to see better."
Daka raises an eyebrow "What sound Shirak? I hear only us.". He smiles back at Kusanorr "Sorry, sometimes I forget how bad other peoples eyes are..." he retrieves a piece of chalk from his belt pouch and mumbles a prayer. The light from his bracer fizzles out just as the chalk bursts with divine light "Here you go." he says, kneeling down on the other side of the bars to hand Kusanorr the shining chalk "You can even draw little arrows towards anything you find interesting." he adds, jokingly.
Amazingly, the cavern you are in is so big that you do not see anything else apart from the same rough floor in your circle of light!
Daka gets back up, dusting himself off before returning his attention to the walls. "Whoever made this thing must have had some way of getting through..." He starts pulling and pushing at the rocks in the wall, whenever he spots a larger one than the rest, he moves to inspect it in the same manner "Although it is made of wood. Perhaps we could burn through it?"
"Thank you, Daka."
"There is still nothing." says Kusanorr, moving the chalk in all directions with his arm extended. "But the... passage you are in seems to be only one of many. This wooden thing blocks them all. And it goes into the floor. I will try to find... like an order." The young kasatha walks around and inspects the other openings in the floor, looking for a pattern or anything that could help his friends going through.
"I think... I could try to get you here, but it would tire me a lot."
Daka's search does not yield any results - the stones on the walls seem normal and do not succumb to pushing or pulling. Torcet, however, notices some wooden fibers on the floor and walls right next to the "door", as if they have been clipped from the main body of wood by something with rough edges.
On the other side Kusanorr tries to examine the other windows, but most are beyond his height. The ones he can reach open into the wall - there is only stone on the other side. He notices that the windows could form some kind of bent line across the wood.
Daka gives a heavy sigh, giving up on his search for switches "If there is a way to pass, I can't see it. He shakes his head as he approaches the barrier once again "Perhaps if you took half of us through to the other side and rested for the night, would you be able to take the rest of us in the morning? he asks through the door.
Maybe... just maybe. He places his hands through the window, gripping the bars tightly, and with a grunt, attempts to slide the door up.
"Well... if there is no other way... Be careful, I am coming back." Once again, Kusanorr opens a portal to the other side of the barrier, appearing next to the others. He starts feeling a small emptyness inside him, but he can go on with ease.
"I... I do not know if this works with others. Who wants to start?" He leads whoever volunteers close to the window and grabs his hand. "Now!" The kasatha smiles satisfied when the portal opens in front of his companion and he appears beyond the door. He repeats the process, but, when there is only one left to go, he is clearly drained. "I am almost done." He says to the others while teleporting the last person and then himself.
Having overcame the obstacle, he drops to the floor, exhausted. "We did it! Umph, can we rest for a while?"