Nanaya

Iris Ascendis

@ERode@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark

NORTHERN NERO ROAD

Alto stood up and dusted himself off, assessing himself after Chunji’s warning. Realizing that he was absolutely coated in blood, to the point that finding out whose was whose would be a fool’s errand, he shrugged weakly towards the boy. “Guess I’ll roll the dice until a professional analysis. Kann might be putting more work in than expected.” He began to turn, looking both ways down the road to ensure that no other bandits or low-lives remained as reinforcements.

As if on cue, Rio would stumble to his feet with Iraleth’s assistance, and silent gratitude lingered in his eyes towards the paladin. “Would’ve won if we could’ve done anything,” he would mutter. “Cowards.” Kicking a pebble, he gave Iraleth a nod and then stumbled his way towards the center of the road where the skeletal tower once stood - now a pile of scraps that appeared to be rapidly crumbling into dust without its conjurer nearby to sustain it.

Fianchetto would hobble over towards the aftermath, looking at Otis. There was weary recognition in the old man’s eyes, and with a nod, he stored away his spellbook. “It was a banishing spell. A fight with those brigands would have been long and drawn out, but a banish would have whisked them away to unknown lands; long enough to be rid of them, at least. In times like these, I would have considered that victory enough.”

After regrouping and ensuring everyone’s wellbeing, Kann would make the rounds, casting healing spells and bandaging the injured - nearly throwing up when moving over to Alto. Despite his best efforts, however, Kann found himself unable to repair the most severe and painful injuries of those present, leaving the hardest hits as pain to hold onto until they could find rest or a proper clinic. It was in the midst of this healing that Alto, knelt against the still intact carriage in the middle of the road, would say his piece. “...While unfortunate, it's the same thing I was thinking," he would exhale, releasing some of the pain with a labored breath before continuing. "Don't know why they wanted to make this ambush happen so badly, but this goes beyond lax patrols. That man with the green blade was... definitely above the paygrade of average bandits, at least. Well-equipped and well-trained, with a clear goal in mind."

The professor, slowly rising to his feet, would turn towards the elderly wizard with a small bow. "Apologies, sir, but it's best we allow the church to come to us at Wingram on this matter. It would be reckless of us to press on as we are now."

Fianchetto, in response, would wave his hand and begin limping his way towards the intact carriage. "Life happens, and it happens fast. I have seen the Neroites and their ways myriad times, but Wingram and its abundance of Ethos is a new anomaly indeed. It would be for the best that we retreat with haste, while fear and fatigue remain in the hearts of our enemies."

Chloe would pop her head out of the carriage just in time for Fianchetto to pass her by inside, before looking around. "Everyone is, er... unharmed, yes?" She would scan the road to see the state of everyone, eyes awash with uncertainty and shame. "Everything's peachy-keen, it sounds like," Michael would promptly reply from further down the road, stumbling to his feet for the first time since the crash. As if brushing off a hangover, he stumbled his way towards the carriage without bothering to dust himself off or assess himself for damage. Alto would also begin maneuvering Davil into the carriage, while Kann waited by the door to the carriage for one final quick scan of the students for any unnoticed injuries.

Iris Ascendis

Sorry, been busy trying to move places lately, house searching 'n whatnot, and it's taken a lot out of me. I'll try to get something up tomorrow!

Iris Ascendis

Well, it's up now at least!

Iris Ascendis

@ERode@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark

NORTHERN NERO ROAD

Ferg frowned as he observed Chunji's intervention. Looking upon the vines that began to take in his sword's essence and the blood splattered upon him, a click of the tongue escaped him as he locked eyes with the boy. "I would have avoided that course of action, dabbling in things you know nothing of so wholeheartedly," he would spit. The vines latched onto the sword would pulse rhythmically as if they were beating hearts, and the shimmer of green cloaking the blade would pulse in time with them. "On common rabble, it would have worked, though."

As if on cue, the vines would rot away and the blood would seem to boil away into steam, seemingly overloaded with essence, or otherwise exposed to something unfathomably vile beyond the scope of conventional sapping. A brief glint of green passed across Ferg's eyes, his pupils turning emerald for a split second - and with a smile, he stepped in and began to bring his sword down towards Chunji. Alto stepped forward to intercept, but it was clear he wouldn't be fast enough before Ferg's assault would begin; the bandit was intending on going for the kill.

It was then that he gazed towards his peripheral upon hearing the intense beating of hooves and, more importantly, the crack of gunfire. For the first time, the man's eyes widened, mouth agape with a head-on assault-by-wagon speeding forward. There was no time, and self-preservation kicked in - Ferg stepped backwards and quickly sheathed his sword as the wagon hit its mark. "Holy fu-"

CRASH.

The skeletal menace caved under the impact, falling downwards in the direction of the melee as jagged bits of sharpened bone also descended as rain onto the battlefield. The seconds to follow were absolute chaos - Alto had tackled Chunji out of the way the best he could, Rio was tackled for cover by Iraleth, and all but Michael had evacuated the blue carriage; who was now soaring through the air alongside Otis, screaming and cussing in terror as if this had been enough to finally waken him.

Dust had kicked up into a cloud over the area, obscuring it for the next half-minute as people scrambled and damage was assessed. At the end of this time, as the dust settled and the surrounding area had become visible once more, Ferg and Kirn could be seen further away from the impact zone on the other side, idling inside a circle pattern drawn in the dirt. Ferg was on one knee, one hand in the middle of the circle and one firmly gripping his sheathed swordstaff. He appeared to have scratches across his face, arms and clothes, but was otherwise stable. Kirn, in contrast, had a bone spear impaled through his working leg, a skull buried partially in his gut, and his left arm bent at an angle not meant for living things - clearly in such pain that he had lost the ability to even scream out, in a state of pain-induced shock as he idled there on his knees. Each had a Personal Barrier raised, though Kirn's flickered off and on like a dying lightbulb.

"An unfortunate turn. Perhaps more drastic measures should be taken for next time. And better help," he would scoff as his palm pressed firmly upon the center of the dirt circle. All at once the pattern would seem to spark, and a second later, the two within were gone. All that was left was the sobering silence of damage assessment and regrouping after a life-threatening battle.

Iris Ascendis

I was actually gonna be getting around to it later today, sorry for the delay!

Iris Ascendis

He was standing there and emoting, but it's a logical continuation that he'd go after the frontliners afterwards, so that's fine!

Iris Ascendis

@ERode@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark

NORTHERN NERO ROAD

"...Gotcha," was all Rio would respond with, eyes locked on the duo as he returned to his feet. Rio would dash forward alongside Iraleth, punching and kicking at the limbs that would eventually overwhelm the paladin were they to all focus on her alone. His movements were sluggish and clumsy, perhaps from fatigue - though certainly not as precise or confident as his strikes from prior days. Nevertheless, it was enough to repel skeletal swings at the cost of bruising and cutting his limbs as he did so. This wasn't a time to be concerned about superficial injuries, however.

As they advanced, the assault Chunji had begun was also in motion. Ferg took a half-step forward upon witnessing the storm of scalpels, and with his swordstaff sheathed but now held in both hands, parried them away in an instant as they clattered to the ground around him with a trail of green mist following the easterner's swings; his and Kirn's Personal Barriers swirling about them to deflect any strays to make it through. A scoff escaped Ferg as he returned his gaze towards closer combatants. "Rudimentary."

That was until he heard a brief, "Shit," escape from Kirn's lips as the attempted to kick away the vial that smashed at their feet, but it was already too late. Kirn's exposed leg would seem to rapidly dehydrate and distort, as he visibly shouted, "What did you do to me?! WHAT IS THIS?" He would fall to one knee as his Personal Barrier began to coat his entire body, seeming to stop the effects from spreading - and yet, the damage to his left leg was already done as he knelt there growling. Ferg appeared untouched, maintaining a potent barrier against the effects, the fumes seeming to disperse outwards upon making contact with the swirling protective winds coating him. He looked down at his partner in crime with disdain, running a hand along the dragon head pommel of his swordstaff. "There is more to you than such idiocy, is there not? Allow not the power advantage to cloud your judgment."

Just as Ferg had finished musing such things, a crack rang out that widened his eyes. In one blink, his construct had been fine, and in the next, the skull mounted atop its peak tumbled to the ground with a hole clean through its center. His gaze turned towards the location that the bullet had been fired from, as if realizing that perhaps the real danger lay at the back of this crowd of opponents rather than in front. He grit his teeth as he once more began to unsheathe his swordstaff, the mist wandering towards the skull as if to reattach it; yet as that transpired...

"Professor, switch!"

And it was as if the man's world had crashed down for a moment. The skeletal abomination had grown even less accurate after the damage to its 'head', and the fumes from Chunji's concoction had dissipated enough that it had formed a path, and that path was clear as Alto dashed ahead to finally close the gap. There was murder in his eyes, and Kirn was still recovering from his decaying leg of seconds prior; Ferg was all alone for that second, as even though the brute moved to intercept, he was much too slow in the heat of the moment.

It was a decisive interaction, a dance in three steps. Ferg, in an essence-enhanced movement of desperation, crouched low and fully unsheathed his blade which trailed with an acidic coating, bringing it high just in time to meet the downward swing of the professor's longsword.

Chk.

Repositioning his sword, Alto skid the flat of his blade along his opponent's, before breaking the clash and stabbing towards the man's torso, which Ferg answered with a parry to the side.

Chk.

Not to be discouraged, Alto stepped to avoid a counter-slash, aimed for another swing high, and then when Ferg raised his weapon to once more block, the professor pivoted once more towards Ferg's flank with a feint - aiming dead for the villain's neck with full force. The bandit's eyes grew wide as if his life were flashing before his eyes. A vibration rang out as Alto's sword swiftly moved for the killing blow, a flash of emerald, and then...

SNAP.

In the blink of an eye, the final trade of blows had ended. Alto's sword had pierced through the barrier by the man's head, and... his longsword's blade lay in two pieces - one half partially embedded in Ferg's shoulder drawing forth a trickle of blood, and the other on the ground, broken off from the impact of mundane steel against a refined wall of essence. The bandit's own sword was at a diagonal downward, fresh blood dripping off the tip that seemed to steam and burn away with the acid coating. An open slash caused blood to flow freely from Alto's chest, with the edges of the wound seeming to fester with the substance that dwelled upon Ferg's swordstaff. It was fast enough that even Alto was still piecing together what had just happened, stumbling a step backwards with his half-broken sword. "What did you do...? That wasn't you..." Alto would trail off in confusion, grasping at his wound with one hand and raising up what now amounted to a dagger in his other.

But there would be no answer. Ferg readied his blade once more with a smirk and a restored Personal Barrier, and Kirn limped to his feet - one leg now looking as if it were crushed by a boulder - and readied his axes towards the remainder of the frontliners with renewed rage.

From inside of the boys' carriage, Fianchetto would grumble to himself and look at Otis, as only mere seconds had passed in all that time; yet not enough seconds for the spell to have finished. "Just a little longer, I'm afraid... one more good push, yes, just one more!"

Kann, meanwhile, would continue cowering beneath the benches, muttering, "We're cooked," this or, "Should've taken the Strigari internship," that. Davil, for his part, could only listen in frustration from his wheelchair, spectating. The spores that the dragon skull had emitted from before its end had seemed to begin entering the carriages now.

Iris Ascendis

She would not be able to hear him, nope.

Iris Ascendis

I wanna apologize for being a bit later on this one, life's been exhausting. But I do really want to keep this going and be more consistent about it, so I'll push through more! ^.^

Iris Ascendis

@ERode@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark

NORTHERN NERO ROAD

Weapons were shattered or blasted astray, and it wouldn't be long before the offense of the enhanced bandits was rendered toothless. While Chunji's scalpel was insufficient to penetrate the defenses of the bandits, the poison applied would eventually eat its way through and onto the flesh of those he struck. So, too, would barriers collapse on repeated hits in the same areas - whether from bullets fired, swords swung, punches delivered, or the diligent strikes of the security mannekin who were all too eager to advance on defenseless targets. It wouldn't be long before the once-fallen criminals fell once more, their bodies seeming to rapidly dehydrate as they spasmed on the ground.

With a click of his tongue, Ferg scoffed at his fallen comrades as he overlooked the area. "I suppose the standard to be met was higher than scavengers. Wastes of copper," he would muse as his sword once more unsheathed briefly with a flick of his thumb, extended slightly farther this time, and the trail of green mist lashed outward rapidly in all directions as if forming into semi-solid tendrils. They jabbed into the bodies of the bandits and pulled them backwards, violently tossing them all at the swordstaff wielder's feet. "Let us skip to the natural conclusion of this farce, then, and see what I can make of these E-tier materials."

Once more sheathing his sword as Kirn stood on guard with his axes in case of any surprise attacks or attempts at interruption, Ferg would slam the hooked pommel of the swordstaff onto the pile of dehydrated spasming flesh before him. In a flash of green light, emerging from the pile in front of him would be a mass of the bandits' bodies, now skeletal, their arms and legs flailing about in a tower of remains. At the top of this skeletal tower was a dragon's skull, from which dark spores escaped and floated towards the carriages. The arms and legs of the skeletons, meanwhile, extended outwards as if elastic, and began to swat and swipe haphazardly in all directions. This included Kirn and Ferg, who deflected the strikes on their side with their weapons while doing their best not to harm their new 'ally'. The security mannekin, who stood on guard to defend the students, were not so lucky - and after a brief exchange, were slammed and shoved across the road and off the road by the extending and rubbery yet altogether durable arms striking out from the corpse tower.

Alto pushed forward to compensate for the lack of mannekin, doing his best to parry and deflect as many limbs as he could, looking across his students that were already on the field with him. He said nothing, but made a motion with his eyes as if to indicate that now would be the time to aim for the duo. Rio wasted no time in attempting to make a break for the bigger one, though in a moment that would surprise very few, unarmed combat without the enhancement of essence proved to be a terrible method of blocking the swipes of freakish monsters, and the boy was sent tumbling backwards after a few successful - if painful - blocks.

From within the boys' carriage, Fianchetto finally flipped to a page that loosened his shoulders in relief. "Found it. For this to work, I will require both of those bandits out there to be occupied for at least... six seconds, perhaps, would do. If that can be managed, this should work!"

The mage would begin to mutter incantations under his breath, the chosen page of his grimoire running alight with magical energy.