Coldridge 2022 - The Din of Chaos 3

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Nerene goes to answer Marceline, saying, "Makes the rescue more fun, when we prove that they've underestimated us," while the smith's is entered. Feeling disappointed by the lack of any holsters or something to carry her items in, there's a cursory search around, until the forge ignites and the sound of chains being shaken is heard. Unamused, the Paladin gets as far as, "Ooh, how scary. Why don't.." only for her words to be cut off as the Chaos spirit manifests properly, with the announcement. A wide smile accompanies the retort of, "Oh. I'm gonna do much worse than just disturb you, just be patient," even as the attack is launched toward the group. No time is wasted as she reacts on reflex, aiming to twist so that her would-be attacker barely misses her. As for if it was evaded, well time and her momentary delay to deliver a mocking retort would determine that.

Thaeloc feeling a sudden wave of dizziness over take him after the pain of drinking what he had hoped was something good, or maybe this sudden disorientation is a side effect of what he drank. Either way he has to place his hand on a table to steady himself and get his bearings back in order. Looking down he sees that his hand is on one of the many horse shoes scattered around the shop. Picking it up and holding it near one of the ends, the Thane throws th horse shoe towards the face of the spirt cloud hoping it is solid enough that if it strikes it will do some damage to it.

Marceline puts a hand to her head as she fights to shake off the dizziness. Simultaneously, she encourages Mera to duck down and ball up on the floor, because she has a feeling things are about to get dicey. All the little disturbances leading up to the chaos spirit?s announcement clue her into what is going on, because she has pretended to be a vengeful ghost often enough herself to know all the tricks. In fact, this spirit?s behavior personally offends her. As she attempts to duck the initial attack herself and roll out of the way, pushing Mera into the corner as she does so, she notices Thaeloc?s attempt with the horseshoe. She decides to copy off of him and search around the ground for anything iron at all. All she needs is for a little bit of iron to touch the spirit, and they will find out how ghost like it really is. She comes up another horse shoe and holds it in her fist with the two prongs poking out. Rather than throw it, she slashes back as if it were a two pronged dagger.

Cahya hisses as things in the smithy begin to go south, the fur not obscured by leather or fabric on his person beginning to puff up in frustration. He'd seen something out of his periphery, or so he thought, only to have it confirmed once the Chaos spirit emerges. Puffed tail flicks back and forth in irritation, though that growl soon escalates into a yelp when one of the chains hits him square on the forehead. The Anthro felt a wave of dizziness overtake him, but this makes it even worse, along with some pain to go along with it. Dizziness and aim don't generally go hand in hand, but attempting to strike the spirit with metal seems like a solid enough plan. Cahya scrapes around for what he can find on the floor, throwing a horseshoe, and other bits of iron he can find.

Yamminuel isn't sure where he is. Not immediately, or why he is there. There was a stiffness of his limbs, an inability to move that eventually his entire body succumbed to, gray and cold and immobile. But he is a monk, he is a believer, of faith unshakeable in his god and will that is endless. It tooks some time, but eventually his fingers began crunching and freeing from immobility. His muscles rippled beneath the stone that has encased him, knocking loose fragments and dust. Then, all at once, the encasing goes flying in every which way, shards and fragments flung from his body in a single and explosive moment. Yamminuel looks annoyed and angry, exhaling and rolling his shoulders to emit several cracks of his bones. His hand grasps the broken bottle left beside him at the smithy as those vertically-slitted pupils survey around him. It's the ghost that becomes the focus of his ire and, with preternatural speed of his undeath, the creature closes the distance to swipe at it with that broken bottle's crappy edge.

Zaria || Finally! The Villager in a bottle becomes tangible. Thaeloc's form twists and stoops until a burdensomly buxom washerwoman with scraggly gray hair, livid blue eyes and an asymmetrical potato-esque nose overtakes the Degn's frame. Few teeth are left in the crooked, cantalevered mouth. She (he) is dressed in a long, black robe with peeks of chunky, hand-tatted lace at the collar, cuffs and hem. Black canvas slippers are on her feet. Gnarled fingers, a hunched back, and wobbly knees complete the Village Crone makeover.

Yamminuel flashes with further anger as the serrated edge of the bottle passes through just air. He follows through, however, and steps forward with his tricep flexing hard while the bottle is brought back the other way. Then back once more. Before the martial arts kicks in, quite literally, as the monk pushes himself from the ground and extends the heel of his front foot toward the 'chest' of the spirit.

Cahya notices Thaeloc's transformation, squinting his eyes against the dizziness that plagues him currently - beginning to wonder if this is a side-effect of the spirit's meddling. The cat shakes his head with a mrowl sound, then does his best to push into a crouch. Yamminuel's movements capture his attention, thinking him to be another odd hallucination, though he sees that this is the genuine deal. Cahya digs into one of the pouches on his belt, taking out the nail file and holdig it like a small dagger. With cat-like grace(lol), he kicks off of the floor and launches himself into the air, swiping at the spirit in a mad attempt to somehow strike him. Either he would fail miserably, or he would somehow succeed, the odds could be slim and somewhat in his favor.

Marceline feels woozy, from the dizziness and also from her injuries. She is bleeding from somewhere and has a bruise on her stomach. Her little girl is somewhere in the shop, crying. Fueled by her daughter?s cries and her personal anger at this lousy, two bit spirit who isn?t, in her opinion, doing it right, she puts the horseshoe in her mouth. Then she goes full Black Dog, releases a growl fit for the scariest hell hound that ever crawled out of the pit, and launches herself at the spirit. She is still trying to make it connect with the iron in her mouth, but she also rakes both front paws at the thing.

Thaeloc dodges the boomeranging horseshoe that the spirt sent back flying at him as he changes into an old women croon of a women. (thx guys) His now shorter stature causes the spirts attack to miss him. ?You darn old wimper snaper how dare you throw something at an old lady don't you have any manners in the after life.? Taking off her/his slipper and speaking in a langue that could be Spanish throws her/his Chancla at the evil Chaos Spirt.

The Minor Spirit of Chaos has been fortunate enough to avoid different attacks sent its way, and it lets out a theatrical chuckle at it's seemingly unceasing good fortune. The Spirit continues to move with a churning, rolling grace that makes it beautiful to look at despite its foul objective: wound the group and tuck them away for Cohas. A smile upturns the corners of its perceived mouth, and it glides effortlessly around the group in a constant circle. Then it sees Thaeloc. Wasn't that the person that threw a horseshoe? Thaeloc was Elizabeta all along? And now she's throwing shoes at them! The being's golden glow intensifies to a passionate red that flickers with rage. "Elizabeta! You wound me! You have forsaken our purpose! You have betrayed us! I will make you suffer for your insolence, your betrayal! I will ruin you and finish you off in the name of Lord Cohas!" The words are discordant, shrill, and lacking the prior elegance, the spirit billowing outward to take up a great deal of space in its outrage. It is about to attack Thaeloc/Elizabeta when Marceline seemingly comes from nowhere with the iron horseshoe. Her attack is impossible to avoid, and the iron shreds at its perceived edges and aura, used properly against a ghost of sorts. With a loud wail of anguish, the spirit dissolves a little, making itself harder and hopefully harder to hit going forward. It slinks away from Marceline at record speed while hissing in pain? Agitation? It's not obvious. While in motion, it exhales toward those gathered while they are presumably dealing with their wounds, this exhalation the spirit's intent to make the skin of its victims burn hatefully. The Spirit then uses this as an opportunity to pull iron rods hanging nearby, attempting to bludgeon all five of the party with quick, heavy motions, fully intending to bring them to their knees in pain and horror...

Nerene expresses just the slightest bit of relief that she'd managed to avoid being clawed and whatever else might have been planned by the spirit. Alas, her mostly impeccable dodging skills run out as the chaotically controlled chains strike too fast to react to properly. Whip-fast they strike, wounding both wings and causing a shriek of pain that's ceased in an instant, lest the group end up paralysed from exposure to the noise. There's no time to dwell on the nauseating pain that begs for acknowledgement by vomiting either, as the iron rod is propelled with the intent of striking her. What does occur is a very quick face-first fall to the floor, narrowly avoiding being struck by the club. Beyond furious as a fresh wave of agony surges through her being, the Paladin is back on her feet in an instant, aiming to grasp the metal object and swing it at the spirit with the same viciousness displayed by the spectral foe. Nerene relies now on the adrenaline fueling her, since there'll be time enough to focus on healing after the threat is gone. To that end, she remarks, "That's for my wings," in a contemptable manner. Moving to be opposite Yamminuel then, another swing of the iron rod is made, having noted the metal's ability to inflict damage. While doing so, she dares not speak, owing to each word requiring effort at this point. Even if there's no success though, it's enough that pain had been inflicted, in keeping with just how vindictive the Banshee could be at times.

Cahya feels yet another hiss bubbling in his throat, ears flicking in irritation. He watches again and again as attacks miss, then feeling a swell of pride when Marceline finally gets that blow. However, his celebration is short lived when some of those iron rods smack into him, driving a yowl of pain from the feline. That hiss comes next, then the determination to defeat this aggravating spirit. Picking up one of the rods, he pushes up and moves to strike a blow to what is left of the wispy apparition. Swing and hopefully not a miss.

Marceline has to roll out of the way when the iron rods start to fall. She misses them, but frantically looks around the smithy to make sure Mera was not injured. A snort of relief puffs out of her nose when she confirms the child is safely hidden beneath a table. Then she rears back and makes another go at the specter, leaping toward it in a repeat of her previous attack. It seems like simple is better in this case, so that?s what she sticks to.

The Minor Spirit of Chaos manages to thwart nearly every attempt to damage it, right down to the end. Then it spies Mera. The Spirit is about to say hello, rather painfully, when Marceline finally manages to end its existence. The cloud of red billows and crackles with electricity and fire, and with a baleful wail of anger and regret, it burns up to a pile of ashes, no longer sentient or capable of harm?

Thaeloc hurting from the attack by the spirit and also hurting from arthritis in the old body he has changed into. Thanks to the chaos spirit for telling him/her the name of the body he has assumed. Elizabeta shuffles over to go get her slipper she tossed and slips it on. ?Ok dearies old Elzabeta going to go try and friend where your friends are, I got some hard candy in my robe if you want any.? With a wink Thaeloc/Elzabeta shuffles off into the village to try to scout and get a layout of where the rest of the party has been taken and the guard shifts and locations to form a rescue plan.

During Thaeloc/Elizabeta's scouting mission, it's become obvious that most of the villagers are at a giant bonfire. They're dancing and chanting and jumping through the flames in the name of chaos. There's particularly a small group that appears to be handling quite a few non-believers in bonds. They are fighting back, but ultimately, Haunt Zoe must be rescued before anything can be done about helping the villagers. Thaeloc will discover that there are no guards at the jail. Sure, there's someone occasionally patrolling, but no one really goes in without extracting a villager to sacrifice to Cohas. Everyone in the jail is being saved for that purpose, one at a time. While Thaeloc is busy scouting, it remains obvious that the keys are needed to the jail cells, and they are supposed to be found here in the smithy for "safekeeping". So finding those keys is imperative to the mission. Everyone should probably start looking.

Marceline remains in her canine form as she makes her way over to her daughter, who now comes out from her hiding place and wraps her arms around her mama?s ruff. After a few moments, she urges the child to take the horse shoe from her mouth, at which point she flexes her teeth and jaw. It seems her mouth is a bit numb. Content to use her daughter as her pack mule for the moment, the child adds the horseshoe to the rest of the items she is carrying in a bit of a makeshift bag of wolfskin. And is the kid bigger again? She seems to be around eight now. Once freed of her burden, the Haunt lowers her snout to the floor and begins to sniff around. Then she sniffs the tables, the walls, every object in sight as she tries to find the keys and anything else of use.

Cahya does a cute little shimmy shake, loosing a groan or two as he shakes off the dust from their recent battle. The cat pockets his nail file again, checking the bow on his back to ensure it's sturdy enough - something he'd been saving up and may need to use soon enough. A look is cast to Mera, head cocked to the side and a peer, "Young ones grow so fast, do they not?" He doesn't have much experience with kids, so they could grow that fast for all he knows. The Anthro busies himself with looking for the keys, unable to resist batting around a few of the more jingly items, a mewl escaping his mouth. Tail flicking back and forth, he seems content enough. However, he must soon break free from his feline trance to continue the search.

Thaeloc loitering near the jail in his disguise keeping an eye for the others if he needs to cause a distraction once they find the key to the jail. Occasionally acting and pretending to chant with the other villagers as not to raise too much suspitions as of his true cause and nature of being there. Burnside studies the others as they move about and do their things. He then apprizes that everyone is searching for something so he follows their examples and begins to scan the area with his dull green eyes. They clicky slowly as his head rotates unnaturally. Eventually he detects a small discarded tin cup at the base of a wall and tips it over with one awkward finger. His eyes click frantically and he fumbles to pick up the keys with one hand while waving his other arm to draw attention to it. "Detected! Detected!" He booms excitedly.

Nerene starts to come down from the adrenaline once the Chaotic Spirit has been vanquished, leading to her hands shaking from that and the pain coursing through her. Almost dropping the potion bottle once she retrieves it, the stopper is removed and its contents gulped down, the taste not registered at present. Thankfully, the curative takes effect immediately, her damaged wings mending even if the feathers were still askew and would be until preening could happen in future. Back to fighting fit, there then is a search of the building proper, her intention being primarily to find the jail keys and thus rescue Zoe. If something to hold a chain together and ensure the sceptre was kept in place, well that would just be a bonus at this point. The latter is ceased though, as Burnside announces the discovery, and now she prepares herself for storming the compound, as it were, while continuing looking for a sturdy metal clasp.

With Thaeloc's scouting mission over, the jail appears to be to the north for easy access. There's an occasional scream in the distance that is absolutely blood-curdling, and the chanting intensifies from that particular direction. Burnside finding the key is a blessing, as it is now allowing escape from the lingering bad, chaotic energy left in the wake of the spirit's undoing. Rescuing Haunt Zoe is just a minute's walk away.

Marceline tries not to be the first one into the jail, attempting to shield her child as much as possible. Upon entering, she curls up her nose in a snarl of disgust at the accommodations. Her tail wags back and forth when she spots the missing Haunt in the cell by herself, and together with Mera, she walks straight over to the bars and shoves her nose through them. She seems unconcerned about the prisoners in the other cells, focused only on the member of the party that she is obligated to care about by virtue of their adventuring together. Her cold nose wiggles as she takes in the scents again, perhaps trying to determine if Haunt Zoe is injured. As she stares at the woman with her glowy eyes, Mera reaches her free hand through the bars also and says, ?Haunt Zoe!?

Cahya is relieved that the jail is close by, which makes it easier to sneak past guards on their trail to Haunt Zoe. How odd that there are no guards, though perhaps it is mandatory for Cultists to be at the Sacrificial ho-down. He follows Marceline and Mera into the jail, wiggling his own nose at the odd odors and the state of each cell. "I believe we should free the lot of them...more hands are better, right?" is said, whiskers twitching with each syllable. "It's the right thing to do." The other members of their party are looked to, tail flicking and bobbing about.

Burnside only now realizing he should be more quiet he mimes the others 'sneak movements' as he squeaks behind them. Burnside then lumbers over to the cell door and fumbles with the keys while managing to drop them several times. He leans over like a giant rusty seesaw to pick them back up again each time and continues to test each tiny fragile key in the heavy lock. "Must execute with responsibility as zzzzt keys are gentle objects." He turns each key like a chef adding THE specific last pinch of spice over a boiling pot.

Nerene is now in much happier spirits now and ready for whatever comes next, despite having to still hold the sceptre. Preparing for the rescue, there's a look at the jail as it were, the forelorn captives all noted with feigned disinterest. Answering Cahya, she says, "No, probably not. They could end up running to and fro and becoming hostages for when the Sheriff reappears. Best to engage the threat first, then save them all," just to be pragmatic about it all. All the while, she's alert, looking back and forth in case said law enforcement or cultists decide to make an appearance, as well as taking the brief lull in action to finally mend the tooth marks of her shirt sleeve using the limited chronomancy possessed.

Xaria spies Mera, realizing how much she's grown and she smiles, black-stained mouth curving into a pleasant expression despite her circumstances. She hugs the hauntling through the bars and gently pets Marceline's nose. Seeing that the others have come to rescue her warms her heart. She was certain they'd move on without her. "They're going through us rather quickly," she says when everyone has gathered. "My cell was packed full when I got here. I barely had room to move, and now it is just me." Other villagers and non-believers watch as Burnside fiddles with the keys, their eyes haunted and full of desperation. Xaria sees the looks on their faces and understands. "I agree with Cahya. Besides, I know where we have to go next, and this many people escaping the jail is a perfect distraction." Assuming Burnside gets her cell open, she'll ask him kindly for the keys. "May I have those?" She asks, and if he relinquishes them to her, she'll open up every cell and allow each prisoner an escape. Turning to the group, she adds. "The path to Cohas has three enemies to defeat, including the guardians of the gate. They're said to be quite powerful. I don't have information on the one following that, but after it, it's straight to Cohas himself. I just hope we can figure this out. I'm worried about the guardians..." Her voice trails off, and she moves with the crowd toward the jail's exit. "We need to go to the cemetery first. And if anyone has a bottle that looked empty...I heard a rumor that it has some interesting properties. I hope if one of you got one, you kept it. Let's go."

Burnside quickly hands over the keys, almost with a metal on metal sigh of relief.

Individuals in shackles are being led to the east, and as they struggle in their bonds, they are whipped viciously by those who would herd them toward the sacrificial altar. Their shackles glow, clearly made of something other than metal, seeming to be comprised of a suspicious kind of magic. If anyone has an empty bottle, it will begin to rattle wherever it has been placed. It seems it isn't exactly empty, despite the look of it. Those who escaped the jail with the party creep around and try to maintain a low profile, but seeing people on their way to be slaughtered breaks their hearts. They no longer have any fight in them, only flight in selfish self-preservation. The group in the shackles pull back, the lashes almost nothing, and in spite of the pain, they dig their heels into the mud, nearly lost in the fog as their oppressors seek to force them to the east.

Marceline keeps to the fog, herding her child as a sheepdog would herd cattle. Granted, Mera is an obedient girl who doesn?t need very much prompting to go where told. Her teeth bare as if to growl when she sees the suffering the shackled villagers are enduring, but she makes no actual sound and keeps well clear of what is going on. Her only focus now is to follow Haunt Zoe and keep Mera away from the riffraff.

Cahya is pleased when the prisoners are released from their cells, especially after the line of them are seen just near the prison itself. He hisses at the sight before them, the lawful part of him wanting to liberate all of them in a merciful act that would also involve bashing some heads in. However, the cat is distracted when a compartment on his belt begins to rattle, prompting him to pull the bottle free from its confines. Curious of the cause for this, he uses a couple of claws to uncork the bottle, the top aimed toward the group as this is where he is facing.

Thaeloc looks over at the others chained up ready to be lambs for the slaughter. He is of half of mind to go and free them but there is other matters that need attending to first that will hopefully free all. Instead he goes with the group to this first guardian that must be dealt with.

Burnside grips his boomerang tightly. "Regulation dictates we save as many people as we zzzttt syntax error." Burnside slowly turns to see the others, his internal calculator crunching numbers. He doesn't act until he knows what the others wish to do.

Nerene maintains the aloof state, all the better to focus and not get distracted once combat inevitably begins again. While the fog is journeyed through, the group is followed while her sense of hearing is pushed to its limits. There would be no ambushing any of the party, if the Paladin had anything to say about it. In keeping with her preparedness and cutting out of distractions, the stave is kept as still as possible to avoid any fire from being conjured until she was ready. As well, her wings are tucked in close, a momentary scowl at how tender they still were visible, before full alertness is regained so any threat could be countered without the slightest delay.

When Cahya uncorks his bottle, it shakes violently in his hand. He will find that it is difficult to hold onto, but seems to have a vacuum effect! That's why it was so empty looking. When it is positioned toward the group, the magic binding them erodes and is drawn into the bottle in a swirl of mist, the cork of the bottle drawn back in to hold the magic at bay. What happens next is predictable. The villagers and non-believers revolt, and those who were sneaking away absolutely join the fray, realizing that in this instance, the captives are free and completely outnumber their captors. It devolves into a bloodbath rather quickly, and when the Sheriff shows up, the captives make short work of him, leaving him a bloody, pulpy mess a mere few paces from the beloved bonfire. Screams of pain and anger and desperation echo throughout, and as more people swarm in to get in on the action, the path the group needs to go is no longer guarded. Rather, it's pretty open and easily traveled.

Xaria watches as the group basically unleashes total chaos on the bad guys without meaning to. With the shackles vacuumed away by Cahya's bottle, the former would-be victims absolutely fight back. They grab whatever is handy and begin absolutely thrashing their captors! While everyone is occupied, Haunt Zoe ushers her group eastward toward the path leading where they need to travel. She first takes them east, then turn northward on the path, followed by east and south. The Guardians Tynari and Tynexi stand like proud sentinels made of stone, but Haunt Zoe takes the group east into a cemetery first. Catching her breath from the running, she partially leans against a brick wall. "I heard that it is possible to summon a spirit for protection here. Just walk up to a headstone and think on it. Only one though, so hopefully no one else has been here yet."

Marceline has her paws full herding Mera out of the way of the chaos. When the group gets to the graveyard to summon the spirit, she takes this as an opportunity to nose through her little girl?s bag and take inventory of whatever they have accumulated to this point. When she is satisfied, she snorts and licks her chops to get ready for the next confrontation. Although she doesn?t like taking her daughter with them to fight, she is utterly unwilling to let the child out of her sight. So it is what it is.

Cahya stares in awe, doing his best to hold the bottle until he has to set it down from the sheer force of it all. When the cork goes back into place, he pockets the bottle again for safekeeping - because who knows when it will come in handy. When chaos breaks free, he frowns a bit, though this was the natural cycle of how things were meant to progress. They had freed the prisoners after all and the cultists are not good people. He flinches and wrinkles his nose at the violence, moving to shield Mera on her free side in an attempt to aid Marceline in her herding. This was not something meant for young eyes. When they progress on the trail, he crouches low to the ground and scans for any sign of movement in the cemetery.

Thaeloc cheers and laughs out loud as the people are freed and starts to fight back for thier freedom. Falling the group and seeing the big guys they have to go through he starts to size them up in his head as his body changes back to normal once they reach the cemetery.

Burnside chases after the group and lowers his boomerang into what can only be assumed is a more comfortable position. "This is confusing. Preventing jailbreaks was a primary application of this unit. However, the unlawful imprisonment of innocents also violates the confine of this unit's central definition. This is a breech error." Burnside stumbles a bit and rubs his chest with an open palm, the metal creaks loudly. His head pivots to take in the surroundings and to check if his current companions are okay. "Is anyone in need of services?"

Nerene takes notice of the melee that's commenced thanks to Cahya's intervention, and then the Guardians that will need to be fought before Cohas could be confronted and killed in the name of Obsidian and other Gods she was loyal to. In the cemetery proper, the grave stones are approached, while taking note of the walls creating a dead end. Mindful of the others, each is examined, until she one that particularly catches her attention is spotted. Getting within arms reach, a hand is used to brush against the stone, while she speaks. "I wonder what you all felt in the end, and what your final thoughts were. Rest assured, If I can, I'll rip Cohas' head right off his neck and put it on a stake here," is what's said. Once that promise is made, Nerene then smiles contently, looking forward to the prospect of decapitating a foe who so foolishly dared to think himself worthy of being compared to those she faithfully served.

Nerene declines Burnside's offer of help too, for she was pretty much fighting fit.

Xaria watches thoughtfully as the group quickly follows after her, and even though she is still catching her breath, her eyes still dart back and forth to check on her surroundings. It looks to be full of her group only, so she relaxes visibly, now leaning her whole back against the wall. "I didn't expect any of you to come for me. I thought for sure that you'd move on and leave me behind. It made me sad to think about, but I would've understood. Thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart. There was no way I could have escaped without all of you. How did you even get the keys? Was the smithy haunted? I have so many questions, but we have such a small window of time left to get Cohas. He's getting stronger. That group of non-believers on their way to be sacrificed? I heard the Sheriff say that would have been all it took for Cohas to finally ascend. Defeating him now is more important than ever. I'm in this until the end, and I'm immensely thankful for all of you." The haunt smiles briefly, watching as Nerene approaches a headstone and speaks to it. To Burnside, she shakes her head. "I'm mostly okay, but thank you."

The Din of Chaos - IV

Last modified on September 4, 2023, 21:44:32