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

[h3]Giants of the north[/h3]
Collab with Leo Khan[/center]

[center]The armored giant, stuck in place by River's ice, found itself in its most dire situation yet.  While it struggled to try and free itself from the grasp of the icy tendrils, the Falcons recognized the situation and reacted with the precision that had become their calling card over the years.  Volley after volley of bolts fired from their wrist-mounted crossbows impacted the helmet of the iron-clad beast with volley after volley bouncing harmlessly off the angled surfaces of the helmet; save for a few shots that found a home deep inside the eye sockets of the helm.  In an instant, the beast roared out once more with an otherworldly roar of pain.  Its voice rumbled across the plain as it flailed its hands upward in a desperate attempt to remove the bolts from their new home. 

As it did, Kharne once again decided to try his strength against the iron giant, grabbing the creature underneath its arms and lifting upward with all the strength he had.  As Kharne lifted, the ice that held the feet of the giant heaved from the raw strength brought forth by Kharne with cracks forming all along its foundation until it shattered and gave way completely.  Seconds later the strike from Genthok struck the ankle of the beast; although this, like all other magic assisted strikes, was rejected by the beasts' armor as the red lightning like aura countered and instead blasted the war hammer from his hand.  Though his strength would be of great assistance to Kharne. As Genthok moved in to assist the duo combined began to effortlessly raise the creature upward. As the beast ascended into the air, the blade from Halek flew true and impaled the beast in the weakened section of the armor; digging deep enough this time to strike the beast's flesh. 

The area around the beast rumbled as the beast roared the blood-curdling sounds of a monster in pain.  The creature once again managed to overpower the raw strength of Kharne with a simple rear kick to the center torso area of the Inquisitor while in a seamless fashion managed to smack Genthok away with the back of its metal hand; through it was with less force than was to be expected from the beast. Kharne and Genthok would no doubt be sore from the strike, however, nothing vital would be bruised or broken and the Inquisitors would be able to re-enter the fight without a second thought.   

Though as they rose back to their feet they would be greeted by the sight of a sluggish creature in front of them. It seemed the venom from Halek's blade had worked fast and was already impacting the strength and agility that it once wielded in a terrifying way.  As it struggled to maintain its balance, the creature came under a second barrage of arrows, this time commanded by Lanithil and Inquisition archers.  Like the first barrage from the Falcons, most arrows simply bounced off of the armor or were crushed by the sheer strength it possessed.  Yet a few arrows, namely those tipped with a bodkin point, managed to pierce through the ruined section; filling the armor with enough arrows to make it look like a pin cushion.  The impact, and the resulting damage forced the iron monster to one knee; with its fist falling in front to prop itself up. 

Once again, the best roared yet the countryside remained quiet.  Instead of the thunderous, bone-rattling roar, the group was presented with a soft, wounded whimper that barely escaped the immediate area.  It was wounded.  It was slow.  Most importantly, it was vulnerable.   

"[i][b]Father of blood,[/b][/i]" the beast muttered under his breath before its breath was stolen by a coughing fit, "[i][b]granter of life, grant strength, grant resolve,[/b][/i]" the beast continued in a deeper tone.  As he spoke, the red aura that defended the creature against all forms of magic began to arc across his armor again; lashing out in particular against the bolts in the eye socket as-well-as the arrows and blade in the breastplate.  The creature slowly began to rise up, "[i][b]grant gifts so prayers can be given,[/b][/i]" the creature continued as the red lightning like aura began to destroy the arrows and the bolts while also pulling the blade out.  "[i][b]Grant strength so prayers can be given,[/b][/i]" Across the battlefield the spears that were untouched by the group and their magic began to glow a bright red color.  As the spears glow intensified, the magic encasing the armor grew in intensity as well.  Haleks blade was pulled further and further away from the center of the armor while the remaining arrows were destroyed.   It seemed whatever magic the armor possessed was granted strength by the spears still planted in their dead sheathes, and that if left untouched the beast would heal back to full strength.   

Ardur, immediately sensing the creature gaining strength once again, turned his attention towards Gil.  "[i][b]Gil,[/b][/i]" Ardur ordered, "[i][b]strike it now, strike the beast now,[/b][/i]" Ardur roared in a loud voice.

    Gil skirted the battlefield, watching as his comrades launched their attacks. He felt a twinge of hope as the arrows of Cyterius' men seemed to blind the beast. Yet, that hopeful feeling soon vanished, as Kharne and Genthok both began a hand-to-hand assault on the giant. Gil was sure this would be the end of both his companions. However, the giant responded, not with death blows, only with lightened attacks of removal. Gil could see the beast was becoming weak and once Lanithil's archers brought the creature to a knee, Gil knew they had won. 

    It was then that Ardur called to Gil to deliver the final blow. There was a bit of destroyed armor, right above the creature's heart, a spot that even the barrage of arrows had failed to hit. It was here that Gil would strike. 

    Gathering his courage, Gil began to run towards the beast, slowly picking up speed, his cloak flowing behind him. As he neared the creature, he cast his shield aside. The body that had held the spear he clutched, was directly between him and the beast, but Gil did not care. He used the body to push himself into the air, leaping as high as he possibly could. He gripped the spear with both hands, and with a savage yell, brought it down with as much force as he possibly could. 

As the spear impacted the body of the beast, Gil would feel the spear being pulled from his hands by some unknown force through the chest plate.  The beast was thrown back and staggered by the strike, taking some ten steps backward as its right hand gripped the spear shaft with all its strength as it tried to pull the spear back out.  The iron giants left hand quickly moved onto the shaft as well, using its full strength to prevent certain death.  Slowly it struggled as inch by inch the spear was pulled forth by the beast's immense strength, slowly but surely the beast drew closer and closer to returning to the combat, and slowly did the time pass for all who watched the beasts unwavering strength seemingly deny death itself from its prey.  The metal giant was still wounded by poison, however, and soon its grip slipped and the spear forced itself through the chest completely, and out the other side altogether. 

The beast took one more step backward before it fell.  The metal giant hit the ground with a thunderous boom that caused a large dust cloud to be kicked up all around obscuring the vision of the inquisitors as well as shaking the very earth beneath their feet.  Though through the cloud they could see the spear sitting at an angle that was not perfectly straight upwards like the rest of the spears in the field, though this was momentary.  In a jagged motion, the spear slowly guided itself forward, through armor and bone, until it too sat perfectly straight with the end of the spear pointing upwards to the heavens above while the spear itself rooted the monster into the ground below. 

A few seconds passed in silence as Ardur watched with bated optimism; knowing full well that the creature could return to life at any second.  "[i][b]About time Inquisitors,[/b][/i]" Ardur scolded as he took a step towards the armored corpse, "[i][b]Lillianna, I want to figure out what that thing was,[/b][/i]" Ardur ordered as he began to walk towards the now defeated enemy, "[i][b]Gil, what were yo-[/b][/i]" 

"[i][b]Your prayers have been received,[/b][/i]" the mysterious voice returned with a thunderous roar, crackling through the minds of all around in an invasive manner, "[i][b]I expected no less from the Inquisition,[/b][/i]" it whispered in near silence, "[i][b]one for none with nary a drop spilled,[/b][/i]" it continued with a raspy voice and with a chuckle, "[i][b]my champions will not be beaten so easily next time we meet,[/b][/i]" the voice trailed off into silence. 

"[i][b]Who are you,[/b][/i]" Ardur asked aloud, "[i][b]what have you done with the people of this city,[/b][/i]" he asked with a fiery intensity, "[i][b]why send only one of your champions?[/b][/i]" 

"[i][b]A test it was and a test you passed. Word must spread of my arrival, death would only bind you to my side sooner. You know me and what I was,[/b][/i]" the voice responded, "m[b][b]y marks are all over from the prayers on the walls to the prayers in the field,[/b][/b]" the voice paused as it chuckled, "[i][b]I grant you victory today, though we will meet again,[/b][/i]" it paused for another second, "[i][b]I will receive your prayers soon enough after all,[/b][/i]" the voice trailed off before disappearing entirely. 

Before Ardur could muster a single word of defiance, the air was filled with the crackling energy and noise of a raw and powerful spell being used in the center of the city.  The noise cascadded into the surronding area, enveloping all who could hear with a terrible sound. 
Those attuned to nature and magic would feel a great unease fall over them as if something otherworldly had stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the mortal realms. A bright, red glow could be seen as it caused shadows to be cast off of the nearby buildings before massive hooks and chains erupted forth from the center of the city, four in total, before they crashed down destroying every building, and whole sections of the walls itself, before they rooted into the ground below.  Red lightning, much like the one seen on the armored giant, began arching outward torching anything it came in contact with from both the chain and the hooks..  In an instant, the sound of the spell was replaced by the thunderous clap of thousands of feet marching in unison along cobblestone streets, filling the air with their ryhtmic steps.  [b]*THUD**THUD**THUD*[/b] it went [b]*THUD**THUD**THUD*[/b] it continued for minutes before the sound began to slowly fade away, and the sound of that foul magic was all that was left to hear.  Shortly thereafter, the chains themselves were pulled from their roots back towards the center of town, goughing massive divets into the earth and city alike as they were, before they too disappeared from the area.  Those attuned to nature and magic would feel the world return to normal as well. 

Ardur, however, seemed unphased by this.  "[i][b]You soldiers,[/b][/i]" he spoke as he pointed out a few, "[i][b]collect your dead comrades and prepare them for travel, the rest of you collect the spears from the field and place them here,[/b][/i]" he turned his attention back to the Inquisitors, "[i][b]Sloppy work all around,[/b][/i]" Ardur paused as he turned his attention from one to another, "[i][b]but we survived. I will save the harsh words, for now. We have work to do,[/b][/i]" he paused as he turned his attention to Lilianna, "[i][b]figure out what we just killed, Lillianna,[/b][/i]" he paused as he turned back towards the city, "[b][i]everyone else take a quick rest, help Lilianna if possible, we move into the city within the hour.[/i][/b]" He finished as he crossed his arms behind his back and took a couple steps towards the city proper.[/center]