[center][h1]-Collab Between Pezz570, Jerkchicken- [color=aec957]Jen Gibre[/color] [color=f7976a]Malkev[/color][/h1][/center] [hr] [hider=View Post] [color=aec957]“Your stance is too low and your grip, you need to loosen it up. Being able to change how far up or down your grip is important. I take it you haven’t fought with a weapon like this.” [/color] Jen would say to him. Melkev gave the man a somewhat annoyed glance though he did as Jen said. [color=f7976a]”I don’t think that now is probably the best time to give a lesson."[/color] Malkev said as the four cultists rushed the two with spears, pikes and swords. However, the fifth cultist, the one who roused their bloodlust, stood back in wait. [color=aec957]”We’ll keep it simple with thrusts and some sweeps. Remember your greatest strength is the reach of this weapon. Use it to trip them up, control their movement, and keep them from reaching you!” [/color] The man would say as he rushed to meet the cultists. Jen’s focus would be the opposing polearm users. [color=f7976a]”Keeping them from reaching me is what I have you for!"[/color] Malkev shot back. In particular the pikemen were first. Though their pikes had length, they could only thrust. Jen would weave in and out of their strikes. The pikemen would do a coordinated mass stab which ended in their spears stuck in the ground as Jen ran up a pike and struck at the men before jumping behind them. The cultist standing back, cocked his head at Jen’s odd movement. Reaching for his side, he untied a modest size pouch. Casually tossing the pouch in the air, he quickly kicked the bag with a swipe of his foot. White dust burst from the bag, spreading into the air. No… not dust… Flour. [color=f7976a]”What in the name of Senses?"[/color] Malkev muttered. This didn’t seem good. The cultist smiled, as he locked eyes with Jen and threw another kick despite Jen still being several feet away. The flour responded to his kick. It gathered together and shot toward Jen, all the while materializing into the shape of a person. The form of a person about to strike at Jen with a kick. Jen was too focused on the pikemen to really register the other cultist’s presence. Sure he was a threat, but all of them were and he was going to be methodical about it. It would result in him unceremoniously eating that kick and being sent sliding on his ass backwards. [color=aec957]”What the hell? That felt way harder than flour should be!”[/color] He’d say as he quickly arose to his feet and focused on this new threat. The cultist chuckled while undoing another bag of flour. He turned his gaze away from where the flour copy had formed. The copy had already lost its shape and dispersed back into a cloud of individual particles drifting towards the ground. One of the cultists approached Malkev. He swiped wide at the man causing him to jump back. [color=f7976a]”Son! A little help here!"[/color] Malkev shouted. He hoped he didn’t sound too panicked. [color=aec957]”Don’t worry I’m coming! I’m coming!” [/color] Jen would say as he ran to assist Malkev. He tensed up as he realized his eyes needed to be on the ball right now. His attention was split between two important goals. Keeping Malkev alive, and figuring out how to circumvent the cultist’s power. Of course getting too worried about either would work against him too. He needed to stay limber both in body and mind to win this. As he was running towards Malkev, Jen would spot a wooden crate on the ground. Thinking quickly, he’d punt the crate towards the cultist with the flour puppet. With the cultist that was attacking Malkev, He’d let out a feinting swipe to the left, which would immediately correct itself into a thrust at the cultist sides. The cultist’s eyes widened in surprise, indeed Malkev was even surprised. A lot of power must have gone into Jen’s punt. The cultist jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flying crate. As he fell to his side, he released the flour from his second pouch, locked his eyes on Jen and made an awkward kick into the empty air. Malkev was in the middle of grunting thanks when he spotted the second cloud of flour shooting towards Jen. Yet again its shape morphed, quickly forming a copy of the man kicking as he fell to his side. [color=f7976a]”Incoming!"[/color] Malkev exclaimed. [color=aec957]”Interesting..”[/color] He’d say to himself quietly. He was half-expecting the cultist to have used the flour to intercept the flying crate. It was clear that the cultist could only make the flour act as fast as he could. Malkev’s warning would direct his attention to the incoming mass of flour that was imitating the cultist’s kick. Jen knew that flour while in its altered state could hit hard. He wondered though how it receives blows, as he only targeted the user and not the construct. Jen swung downwards curious to see what would happen when his staff made contact with the flour. There was a loud crack as the copy made contact with the stick. Immediately after, the copy lost shape, and the flour gently drifted towards the ground. [color=f7976a]”You blocked it?"[/color] Malkev said as his spear drove through the cultist Jen had downed. The cultist with the flour cursed audibly in the distance and rubbed his shin. [color=aec957]”Something like that! I think we try and disperse the flour as well as striking it back whenever it changes shape to attack.” [/color] Jen would reply. The strike was a success. Jen felt how solid the flour was against the stick. Not only could he strike it, it also seemed to transfer some degree of pain to the user. Perhaps with enough strikes they could wear away at him. [color=f7976a]”We?"[/color] Malkev asked, eying two of the three remaining non-magical cultists who were drawing in close for an attack. He turned his spear towards them threateningly. [color=f7976a]”Lad, I think you may be overestimating my capabilities in the fighting department. Maybe if we can do away with the distractions though, I might be of a little more use."[/color] [color=aec957]”Hey, I’m just trying not to underestimate you here. But I know, there’s a bunch of these guys to take care of as well. Yet, we still can’t let that one guy out of our sight!”[/color] Jen would reply. He’d help out by ko’ing a cultist with a well placed swat of the staff. Not wasting a moment, he’d sweep at the ground at one of the piles with his staff. Such was his force, that he’d produce a gust of air that scattered the pile into the air. The flour wielding cultist had made it back to his feet. He removed a third back of flour, but instead of dispersing it, he coated his hand with the flour. The remainder of the pouch he poured onto the ground. He locked eyes with the pile of flour and then slowly traced his gaze along the ground towards Jen. The pile of flour suddenly jerked, following the path of this gaze. Malkev narrowed his eyes. That seemed different. [color=f7976a]”I don’t like the look of that!"[/color] He said while thrusting his spear at the nearest cultist. Jen’s attention would suddenly change as Malkev called out for his attention. [color=aec957]“What’s he doing this time?” [/color] He’d yell out. He’d then see the cultist giving him a leer as this pile of flour was steadily making its way to him. Jen definitely didn’t like seeing that blob of flour creeping to him. He really didn’t want to find out what would happen if it got to him. He decided that perhaps it would be best to attack that cultist. He’d run in an erratic manner towards him with the reasoning being that it would make it tougher to keep track of with moving that pile towards him. The cultist frowned. He quickly swept his gaze from the ground and towards Malkev. He blinked. The moving pile of flour, instead of tracing the cultist’s gaze, suddenly made its way straight towards Malkev. Almost as if it had been locked onto his position. [color=f7976a]”JEN!"[/color] Malkev panicked. With his right hand, the one coated in flour, the cultist reached out and clenched at the empty air. A copy of the cultist’s hand appeared from the pile of flour and grabbed Malkev by the throat, choking him. The cultist began to run from Jen. With his left hand, he pulled out a fourth and final bag of flour and threw it straight at Jen. The flour puffed around Jen, forming into four copies of the cultist surrounding Jen. The cultist stopped his retreat, looked at the copy directly behind Jen, and reached out as if to hug the air. The copy moved with him attempting to grapple Jen and hold him in place. The cultist then switched his gaze to the copy in front of Jen and threw a kick. [color=aec957]”Coming!” [/color] Jen yelled. However, he’d be unable to reach Malkev. He had already committed to rushing to the cultist. Not only, that he was getting surrounded by these flour copies. This was going to be tricky, he needed to do something. He’d do a sweeping attack on the three in front of him. Jen’s kick passed through the two copies at his side, both who were still stagnate. Their forms blurred into a puff of flour before reforming. His kick, however, appeared to have made contact with the copy in front of Jen, however. The copy faltered, as if tripped. Its kick thrown off course. The copy fell; its form puffing away. In the distance, the cultist controlling it, fell with the copy. Landing on the ground with a loud ‘Ooofff’. Jen then felt the oddly powdery yet, extremely solid sensation of the flour copy grabbing on him. Jen would react by jabbing at the copy with the rear of his stick. He’d also try to hip check and trip up the attacker with kicks in an attempt to throw its balance off and break the grapple. The cultist grunted some more rising back to his feet. Oddly Jen’s attack’s on the copy behind him didn't seem to affect the cultist as much as the attack performed on the copy in front of him. Worse still, that copy’s grip appeared to be holding firm. The cultist growled. His eyes seemed oddly red as if dried. He rubbed at them before pulling out a knife. He turned his gaze to the copy on Jen’s right. The copy pulled out a knife as well and took a swipe at him. The cultist blinked half way through his swipe, switched his gaze to the copy on Jen’s left. The copy’s pose changed to mimic the cultist’s. Knife in hand, the other cultist took a back handed swipe at Jen with his knife. [color=aec957]”What a pain in the ass. I can’t seem to shake this guy off.”[/color] Jen would mutter to himself as he struggled to get that flour clone off of him. Try as he might he could not get it to let go. However it was far from being a statue with its feet bolted into the ground. It was still moving around, although its strength and movements were to counter his own. However, he didn’t have all day to get this thing off his back. The glimmer of the blade produced from one of the copies gave him a shiver of concern. He had to do something to avoid having that knife go in him real quick. He took as deep of a breath he could, and concentrated on focusing his strength. With great strength he swung his body around, causing the copy to lose its feet on the ground and have its back towards the lunge of the knife wielding copy. The cultist’s back bled, as a wound appeared as the first knife wielding copy cut into the copy grappling Jen. However the cultist bared through the pain determined to get his killing blow in with the knife wielding copy on Jen’s left side. The cultist grinned, victory near at hand- Blood spurted from the cultist’s right hand, the knife dropping from his grip. The cultist cried out. He fell to his knees, grabbing the wrist of his wounded hand. His hand… it appeared to have been impaled. His focus lost, the flour copies surrounding Jen puffed away, no longer a threat. “Wha-?” The cultist sputtered, His eyes then widened as his attention turned towards Malkev. The man was no longer being strangled. He had managed to escape the hold by stabbing the hand of flour with his spear. [color=f7976a]”I-I don’t think I’m ever going to look at flour the same way."[/color] Malkev said, in-between coughs. It was over. Their flour wielding foe had fallen from Malkevs blow. The once firm flour had fallen into its soft powdery form. [color=aec957]”Yeah I heard of battery, but this is ridiculous’”[/color] Jen said without missing a beat as he dusted himself off. [color=f7976a]”Hm… Battery..."[/color] Malkev said with uncertainty. He had clearly not picked up on the joke. The bleeding cultist picked up the knife with his good hand. His bad hand he held against the folds of his shirt. “You bastards.” The man cursed. With effort he rose to his feet. Jen would notice the cultist struggling to rise and doing so with a knife brandished. “I got to admire your tenacity, but I’m not letting you throw your life away like this.” He’d move closer to the cultist as he spoke. Continuing he’d say, [color=aec957]“Sorry, but I ain’t got no shining words to act as solace for whatever drove you to seek the cult or really what to do next. But they sure as hell don’t have your interest at heart.”[/color] Jen’s staff had the reach advantage compared to the cultist’s knife. With a couple of motions, the knife was knocked out of his hand. The cultist would be subdued with a palm thrust. [color=aec957] Alright, let’s go”[/color] He’d say to Malkev. Malkev raised an eyebrow as he paid a glance to the down cultist. [color=f7976a]”You just going to let that bastard live?"[/color] Malkev asked, as he fell into step with Jen. [color=aec957]”Yes, he didn’t look as far gone by the insight like those sightless. Maybe he’ll regain his senses once we destroy that heart. I got no intention of mowing down half your villagers, whose only crime was to fall for the cult’s honeyed words and whatever effects that distortion brings.”[/color] Jen would reply. [color=f7976a]”That man was not one of mine!"[/color] Malkev said angrily, though he had no evidence to back the claim up. [color=aec957]”Regardless he won’t be a problem for a while. Anyway, how are you holding up? Ideally we should get you to safety before being anything else.”[/color] Jen replied. [color=f7976a]”I told you, I’m not going anywh-"[/color] Black tendrils wrapped around Malkev’s torso before he could finish his sentence. Suddenly he was lifted off his feet and tossed aside as if he were nothing. Slamming into a wall, Malkev fell unconscious. [color=a187be]”Why hello again, Pactmaker. It’s a pleasure to see you here still alive.“[/color] The raspy voice of Sightless Syella said. [color=a187be]”Now, if you don’t mind, I’m here to talk.”[/color] [/hider]