[center][h1]Act: I[/h1]

[h3]Giants of the north[/h3][/center]

[center]The massive iron warrior surged forth through the thick maelstrom of arrows unfazed; not slowing down nor making a single move to either block or move away from them.  It stormed forward with unnatural speed and grace that seemed unique to a monster this size; that is until the Draconic Acid hit him in stride.  Caught off guard by the attack, the iron monster raised its ax up in a defensive maneuver, allowing the blade and the hilt to absorb most of the acid.  The weapon hissed in agony as the metal and wood alike began to dissolve under the chemical assault, but not breaking under it.  Though the weapons suffered it had done its job as only a small amount of the acid made its way past it and onto the armor; hissing all the same under the weight of the acid.  A small, inch and a half in depth, section of the armor fell inward with jagged edges and smoking corners revealing the effectiveness of the dragons' attack while splashed across the rest of the breastplate lay other affected areas, smaller in size, that signaled a weakness.  A moment later, an arrow flew in; catching the hilt of the weapon in the same spot where the acid did.  In a quick motion, the weight of the ax itself combined with the structural damage caused by the acid and arrow caused the hilt to snap, forcing the ax head to fall from the grip of the creature and onto the ground. 

The beast roared again in anger, louder than its first, as his right arm shout out as it charged, extending a finger towards the half-dragon as it did. "[i][b]Fly,[/b][/i]" it's voice full of bass that sounded like it reverberated through the armor before exiting, "[i][b]I break you in-[/b][/i]" it started to speak before it was caught off balance by Genthok's magic.  The beast did not notice the signs that a spell was incoming and it was blissfully unaware of the blue, lightning-like, lines in the ground ahead of him moments before.  Instead, it greeted the now-uneven terrain with a heavy, flat foot.  Stumbling to find its balance, the monstrous enemy soon found itself unable to keep itself upright and it fell, momentum carrying it forward still, to the terrain below with a thunderous clap. It skidded across the surface of the ground for a moment before coming to rest some twenty feet away from the main body of soldiers. 

"[i][b]Inquisition soldiers, spread out,[/b][/i]" Ardur shouted, "[i][b]surround the creature, keep your distance and its attention while we probe for further weakness,[/b][/i]" Ardur paused as he further focused his magic into his hand, engulfing it even further in the red hot flame, "[i][b]River, ready your magic,[/b][/i]" Ardur spoke as he pulled his arm back, pausing for a second as he let out a roar of his own, as he shot his arms forward letting his magic lose as he did, allowing the full force of his inner fire to be released.  

A pillar of fire erupted from his hand, scorching through the air for a brief moment before colliding with the right-side breastplate of the beast.  The fires consumed the flesh that draped the beast without much hesitation, burring them away while also causing smoke to billow from all over before being disintegrated entirely.  Ardur pushed harder with his magic, causing the burning red flame that enveloped his hand to spread upward, covering the bottom half of his arm with the red crackling fire.  The pillar of fire that shot out of his arm grew in size and intensity, with the fire spreading to cover the whole front side of the creatures' armor; including the section that was damaged by the acid. 

The creature suddenly roared once again, though this time the tone of the roar was strangely different; more natural and higher pitched than before.  Through the flames, one could make out the shape of the creatures' arm reach up and absorb most of the fire magic while it's back arm and shoulder dipped to the ground below; to brace itself against the fire magic no doubt.  Feeling more confident at this sight, Ardur began to speak.  "[i][b]River, you will see your opening here soon, get read-[/b][/i],"  Ardur paused as he watched the creature take a mighty step forward while it drove its arm through the motion of a throw, "[i][b]oh n-[/b][/i]" Ardur tried to continue but was stopped by a fast flying rock that collided with his chest armor, causing him to fly back some distance all the while his fire magic continued in its relentless torrent; narrowly missing his fellow Inquisitors and soldi s alike.  As he collided with the ground, and started to roll across the fields, he pulled his fire magic from his hands and rolled until coming to a stop some fifteen feet behind the rest of his group.  The chest armor was dented inward, though not far enough to signal fatal damage.  It was clear that he would have some broken ribs and a fight against internal bleeding, however. 

Ardur struggled to pull his head up enough to get a look at the damage his fire magic had done to the beast, frowning slightly at the sight.  All across the armor danced lines of red lightning, signaling that the armor may be enchanted against fire magic, or against magic in general.  The red lightning danced everywhere the eye could see, everywhere except for the where the acid had hit.  In the many small splotches of dissolved metal, and the one rather large spot over the beasts left breast, were signs of red-hot metal.  The acid attack seems to have had a much more pronounced effect than seen initially, especially when combined with fire magic.  Though now the groups' fire mage was likely out of commission, save for any quick healing done by Lillianna, that weakness could all be unexploitable.  "[i][b]That's a few broken ribs,[/b][/i]" Ardur muttered under his breath as he tried to pull himself on to his feet, "[i][b]oh that beast is strong,[/b][/i]". 

Though the group had many options open to them, two soldiers in their hubris decided now was the time to charge.  "[i][b]The beast is wounded, charge,[/b][/i]" they shouted as they broke formation.  Ardur tried to muster a yell but was only greeted by a cough.  The duo charged in with a pincer strike in mind with one heading to the front while another flanked around behind, with their shields up and spears out, towards the beast who responded with a soft chuckle.  The first soldier in reared back his arm in an effort to strike, aiming for the hot metal on the left side of the creatures' chest armor but was quickly greeted by a strike from the fist of the creature; impacting the soldiers shield causing it to cave inward with such force that the soldier immediately fell down backwards with blood already in his mouth.  The soldier had nary a moment to shout before the thick metal boot of the creature came crashing down on top of his exposed chest, killing him in an instant.  The other soldier attempted to strike the creature from behind but was quickly dispatched by the swift backhand of the creature, causing the soldier to be knocked off his feet and onto the ground below before he was booted across the field by a strong kick.  The now dead soldier flew for many feet before it collided with one of the many spears that littered the field, wrapping slightly against the spear itself but otherwise not affecting the completely vertical nature of the weapon. 

The beast roared in celebration and turned towards the Inquisitors, arms wide in celebration; with the sections of its armor still strangely glowing as red as initially.  While some weaknesses were learned, many more would need to be found before this battle was won.[/center]