[center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjY2LmZlZTMwMC5SWHBsYTJsbGJDQktiM0pwYjI0LjA/angel-bandit-demo.regular.webp[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Cq67IYB.gif[/img][/center]
[color=FEE300]Race:[/color] Aasimar
[color=FEE300]Class:[/color] Paladin
[color=FEE300]Location:[/color] Stormrider; Cargo Hold
[color=FEE300]Interactions:[/color]Scratch & Val [@Apex Sunburn]
[color=FEE300]Equipment:[/color] His longsword; [url=https://i.imgur.com/0dnfaQH.jpeg]Retribution[/url] and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/TAGHTJ2.jpeg]healing amulet[/url]. A [url=https://i.imgur.com/92lzGaT.jpeg]backpack[/url] with supplies and his [url=https://i.imgur.com/pSHLAct.jpeg]lute[/url]. 
[color=FEE300]Attire:[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/cVUVpsf.jpeg]Clothing[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/pezKStD.jpeg]gloves[/url]
[color=FEE300]Gold Balance:[/color] 79
[color=FEE300]Injuries:[/color] New injuries; concussion, fractured ribs, giant splinter in his leg, injured shoulder, all bruised up. Old injuries include a missing eye, numerous iridescent scars, and a knee that aches when it rains.
[hr]

[color=silver]
[color=EBA536]“Eyepatch,”[/color]

[color=FEE300]“Ezekiel.”[/color] He offered Scratch his name as the dark elf continued to speak. 

[color=EBA536]“Fighting here with that thing–”[/color] Ezekiel turned his head to watch the griffon as the beast continued to rage with the fury of a predator too dangerous to have ever been caged in the first place. [color=EBA536]“–there would be a terrible idea. Keep holding onto Venn and follow my lead.”[/color]

He could not argue with Scratch’s logic; three warriors and an angry griffon were not insurmountable odds, and if it were just him and the dark elf in the fight, he didn’t hate their chances. But Scratch had his child with him, and Val was frightened and injured, and Venn was barely alive as it was; there was no need to risk their lives for a fight that could be avoided. 

[color=FEE300]“Agreed.”[/color] He stated. There was the rest of the airship to think about too, the Stormrider’s flight was not as steady as it had once been. The bomb had caused damage that extended beyond the cargo hold. 

Ezekiel held tight to Venn as Val scampered off to scout out a safe path out of the cargo hold, and Scratch launched into a strange speech that made little sense to Ezekiel. 

[color=EBA536]“Look, I’m just the engineer,”[/color]

[color=FEE300]“I thought you were a surgeon?”[/color] He whispered as Scratch continued, talking about Khyber and glowing moss for some reason. He had no idea what the dark elf’s plan was or how teaching three warriors who seemed to have no interest in talking about moss could help. 

The griffon became background noise, its furious cries blended into the persistent ringing in his ears. He zoned out; whatever fun facts Scratch continued to share about moss also faded into noise. Ezekiel cared about one thing: keeping track of the movements of each of the three warriors who could teleport. 

If one vanished, they’d have to move fast to find Val. 

The warrior nearest him dragged a scythe against the metal floor, and sparks danced around it. Each flicker of light reminded him of every time he’d watched the light in someone’s eyes die out. A spark that flickered and never shone again. The warrior moved with inevitability of death itself, taking slow and steady steps forward. 

Every muscle ached with the anticipation of a fight. His heart pounded, a frantic rhythm that had him convinced he could beat death in a fight, right here, right now, if he didn’t have other lives to worry about. 

A voice lingered in his mind, louder than the ringing in his ears. 

[i][color=firebrick]“You can probably save one of them. If you’re lucky.”[/color][/i]

Maybe he could have. Maybe he could have saved both. But Venn’s light hadn’t left her. He pulse, weak and thready, continued to beat. He could still save one life. He didn’t want to see anyone else die today. 

[color=EBA536]“You shouldn’t have hurt the girl.”[/color]

He caught the end of Scratch’s speech and saw that Val was safe and back with them. He saw the glint of glowing metal and heard the clatter of the pipe reverberating against the metal floor. A second bomb exploded, and it cried out like an even angier griffon. A purple ooze spread across the warriors. 

[color=EBA536]“And by all the Gods and all the hells, you shouldn’t have made her cry,”[/color]

For one brief second, Ezekiel smiled as he coughed a single chuckle. [color=FEE300]“Brilliant.”[/color] He said as Scratch fired off a shot at the warrior with twin blades. 

[color=FEE300]“Lead the way, kid.”[/color] He said to Val, ready to follow Scratch’s command without question. [/color]