I thought I had it bad when I got beaten up by firewood that one time.
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Baleon grits his teeth in frustration as the sound of fighting echoes back from the original cave in. "Dammit! He shouts, and hurls himself back through the passageway, squeezing past Arloric to join the party and face off more of the cockroaches.
Baleon holds his ground, waiting to spring ahead once the way is clear
Baleon rushes past Uriel and leaps past the cockroach into a flanking position and swings at the vermin.
Baleon Follows Uriel into the tunnel, sword held low at his hip.
"Right behind you." Baleon nods to Uriel.
Baleon maintains his stance, gritting his teeth and digging his heel into the dirt as he readies himself to spring into the tunnel.
Baleon stands at the ready, his sword prepared to swing at the first hostile creature that emerges from the passage ahead.
Baleon moves up, trying to close toward the sound of fighting.
"I did, in part." Baleon says, replying to Aberus' question. "We've known each other for several years, and we both know how horrible it can be to be caught unaware by the horrors above." He gives a meaningful nod to the druid. "So I prepared him as best I could."
Baleon listened to the conversations going on around him, temporarily content to help support Aravashnial in silence. He regarded Aberus as the cleric took to engaging everyone and forming a plan. Man has initiative. Good. He smiled, recalling his first meeting with the younger priest some months ago. At the elven wizard's pointed declaration, Baleon cocked an eyebrow, his eyes darting between Aravashnial's pointed finger and Horgus' dagger slit eyes. This seems... Hostile. He thought, trying to fathom Aravashnial and Horgus' mutual animosity.
At Arloric's mention of Anevia and her wife, Baleon's expression visibly softens. His gaze trails after Anevia and Ithilwen as they disappear into the gloom to follow Alexa. He looks at Aberus. "We should start moving along behind those three." He says, nodding to the maw of darkness that has since swallowed Alexa, Ithilwen, and Anevia. "Uriel," Baleon says, regarding the younger paladin. Baleon had, up until last night and today at least, very little interaction with the fire-haired aasimar, though they ran in similar circles. The man's reputation as a ferocious knight preceded him, and Baleon both admired and feared the stories of the warrior's tenacity and fervor, as well as his rumored ancestry from Ragathiel himself. "You should probably take point ahead. Aberus, Arloric, and Sir Gwerm," Baleon says, nodding to each man in turn until he comes to the nobleman, to whom Baleon offers a stiff bow of his head before continuing. "You three should take the centre where you will have the most protection. Aravashnial and I shall form the rear guard." Baleon loops an arm around the wizard's shoulder to better guide him.
Baleon's fingers trembled as he clasped the silver teardrop scale. As the party around him begins to form a plan, he grits his teeth, and tightens his grip on the scale, almost cutting his fingers against its sharp edge. Arloric voices breaks through Baleon's stupor, and he turns toward the younger druid as he says:
"You're right. We're not dead yet. They might not be either." Baleon pockets his scale, strides to Aravashnial's side and begins helping the wizard to his feet. "We will find them, Arloric. Besides, you and I, we've faced bad before." He chuckles. "Let's help get these ones moving while Alexa scouts ahead, huh?" Baleon nods toward Aravashnial and the hobbled woman. "Hope you'll beg my pardon, sir," He says to Aravashnial. "My name is Baleon. We'll get you back to the city and find someone to help you." As he is helping Aravashnial, he asks aloud: "I don't suppose anyone here would know anything about these tunnels? They wouldn't be man - made, would they? Perhaps they lead back up into the city itself?"
Baleon readies himself even as the maggot smacked head-first into Ithilwen's backside and fell back, shaking its bulbous head and mandibles. The paladin raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Well, that's one way to do it..." He said, heaving his sword up as Uriel flew past like a streak of copper fire to descend on the monstrous larva with his own blade. Hearing Aravashnial's shout from over his shoulder, Baleon turned on his heel, and leapt for the other squirming grub.
Wrenching his blade free of the maggot's twitching carcass, Baleon spits - clearing the taste and scent of the maggot's ichor from his mouth - and stumbles back, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. A shout to his right brings him wheeling about to see Alexa contesting another of the grubs, despite having to fight through stream after stream of bile. With a wordless roar, Baleon hurls himself behind his sword again as he cuts for the vermin's mid-section - aiming to split the oozing mass in two.
If Baleon kills the maggot: Baleon's blade arcs down and halts midway through the maggot's torso. The wriggling mass writhes and squeals, clawing to escape the blade's bite.
Growling, Baleon heaves both blade and maggot overhead before swinging away from the group, and sending the squealing the maggot plunging into the darkness, where the sounds of its death throes gradually fade into the gloom. Baleon then steps in front of Alexa, sword poised to swing at the next grub between him and Ithilwen.
Baleon swings for the nearest maggot.
Baleon responds to Aberus' command by grabbing his great-sword and interposing himself between the twitching spider and the two wizards. He stands with his sword leveled at the ready, watching the twitching arachnid and ready to swing if it lunges for him, Aravashnial or Telerin.
"Watch out!" Baleon cries as he tries to leap away from the falling rocks.
He rights himself, and starts at the sound of the scream. He rushes to the woman's side, eyes casting about for material to make a splint. "Stay still! We're going to try and make a splint for you."
"Arloric? Yes, I'm here too," Baleon steps toward Arloric with a lighted torch in hand. "Are you all right? You seem to be all right." He says, looking Arloric over, before looking about at the others. "We seem to be underground... Beneath the city - no doubt the fight goes on above." He replies to the copper haired knight. "You... All of you were at The Defender's Heart the other night..." Baleon's voice trails off at the dark haired woman's cry, his heart sinking as she claws through the rubble. He turns back to Arloric, his brows furrowed and his frown forming creases in his cheeks. "We need to see if there's anyone else down here." He says, turning on his heel to kneel at Dorne's side. Setting his torch next to him, he sets about hefting some of the heavier rubble out of the way of her search.
Also, here's my character pic:
Baleon sighed at the sound of human voices, and he had put out a hand to push himself up from the rocky ground and made contact with something soft. Hmm? What's this? He thought as the soft mass trembled beneath his palm. "Ow--let me go!" A woman's voice shouted from somewhere next to him. Baleon leapt away, and went stumbling down over a loose rock. "S-sorry!" he blurted as he climbed back to his feet, leaning on his sword. He turned, searching for the source of the two other voices, and trying to ignore the red flush creeping into his cheeks. "Telerin? Was it? Yes, she - she's over here, follow the sound of... Does anyone have a light?" Baleon called. Then checking the strap over his shoulder, found his backpack still clinging to him. "Just - just a minute, I'll have something in a moment..." He says, as he swings his pack onto the ground and searches through its contents, eventually pulling out a torch and flint & steel. He immediately starts trying to light his torch.
Baleon gasped as he woke, his eyes shooting wide and darting side to side. Pitch Darkness. Dry throat and lips. He coughed, tasting stale air. His chest and back ached. Groaning, he pushed himself up to sit, and the stabbing sensation dulled. He reached up to his neck, his fingers grasping and searching until they found the fine chain links beneath his armor. Following these, his fingers clasped around both the wooden carving of Iomedae's sword, and the stained wedding band that hung from the same cord. He closed his eyes and smiled, then tested his legs. His joints felt stiff, and he muttered a prayer of thanks - for he still had joints. He wiped his forehead clean of sweat and dust, and chuckled as he felt the familiar sensation of his hat on his head. A groan issued from the darkness and Baleon's hands scrambled, searching for his sword. His hand clasped a handle, and with the hiss of steel raking stone, Baleon swung the blade before him, as his other hand still clasped the holy symbol and ring around his neck. Baleon gritted his teeth as he heard and felt shapes move around him - the dancing of dislodged stones, the coughs and groans that seemed to echo around him. But... There had been others. Others who had fallen. Baleon wetted his cracked lips, swallowed, and spoke to the darkness with a hoarse, hissing whisper: "Hello?"
Wow! Asmodina - I do not envy you're position. You have had a lot of outstanding applications to look through! Thank you very much for letting me be part of this, I'm greatly looking forward to it!
Baleon turns at Luciana's greeting. Smiling, he claps her on the shoulder and clasps her hand. "That means it's been too long." He says with a chuckle. He steps back, nodding. "You look like you've been on patrol. Or have you been traveling?" "A merry meeting to you all! It's me, Arloric!" "Tonight is fortuitous it seems! All of us here after all these years!" Baleon says, clasping the young man's arm immediately after Luciana. Looking just past Arloric's shoulder to the newcomers, Baleon's smile falters, and he leans back as Arloric welcomes them to the bar. "And a welcome to your friends as well - I am Baleon." He says, extending his hand to the two new arrivals.
Baleon stepped into the Defender's Heart, tip-toeing through the group gathered around and inside the tavern's entrance. With one hand, he kept a soft grip on the gold wedding band that dangled from the fine chain link around his neck. After exiting the throng and entering the tavern proper, he relaxed his hold of the ring - though the tavern was busy, Baleon would be able to spot potential thieves better here than in the crowd outside. His dark eyes scanned the crowds and tables of the tavern from beneath the brim of his dust weathered hat. His gaze lingered over three noteworthy individuals - A brown haired Taldan, a broad chested, groomed Keleshite, and a raven haired woman accompanied by a boy - around the age of 12 at Baleon's guess. His eyes passed over the bar - and fixed on the halfling sitting with her back to the tavern door, whittling notches into a kitchen knife. Baleon's frown softened as he recognized Kelly's mop of brown hair. He strode toward the bar, and stopped just behind Kelly. "Who left this Littlekettle out of the kitchen?" He said, grinning as he swept off his hat and opened his arms, inviting an embrace. |