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Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Chapter 17
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“Alright, secure this damn perimeter already!” cried a rather large Rakshasa. A small group of heavily armed tiger-men in red garb nodded to the apparent leader, and drew their weapons as they began to fan out around the area.

The area in question happened to be a small clearing which was a respectable distance away from the only tomb in the forest. Even though the clearing itself was relatively well lit in comparison to the forest, the tiger-men couldn’t help but feel vulnerable.

“So, boss, when’s the party gonna start?” one young Rakshasa asked.

The leader grunted as he surveyed the surroundings for signs of life. “Whenever the bait arrives. Which could be anytime now."

Unknown to the Rakshasa hunting party, more than the eyes of the Hounds watched them at that moment. Koreth Tosir was nestled safely in the branches of a tree just on the edge of the clearing, cloaked in the shadowstuff of the trees thanks to an ancient invocation his ancestors had derived from their patron oh so long ago. Hellish howls sounded in the air that day, and he was certain that their owners wouldn’t see him when they came upon the little hunting party he now watched.

Now all he had to do was wait for the moment his gut told him would come. What it was, he didn't know, but he knew it would come.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:08:46 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:51:35 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Arial ducked as a low hanging branch suddenly came out of nowhere. Drawing his gaze back up, he looked to his sides, and saw that his companions had apparently seen the obstacle well before he did, and had taken care to veer their mounts to the side well ahead of time.

“Keep your eyes ahead, Koshir,” a low voice growled from below him.

“Yeah, go figure,” he replied. “I thought you said you knew where we were going.”

The Rakshasa growled something unintelligible, and said, “Aye, but there’ll be other threats in this damn forest that might have eyes for you and yours. It wouldn’t do to be killed before your time comes, yes?”

“I guess,” was all he could muster.

Thinking back on the previous days leading to his current situation, Arial knew he shouldn’t be surprised. Not long after Grim made his entrance at the gathering with a little "help" from V (as the shamans had claimed, of course), the Rakshasa chieftains had all but declared war on some kind of “Demon Wolf”. What they were, he didn't know, but him merely vocalizing that fact had made the tiger-men leaders all too eager to condemn him and his allies to act as little more than bait for the creatures in what they referred to as “The Grim Hunt”...which even the ever somber V had to admit was ironic, given the situation.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones condemned to serve in the ritualistic hunt. The shades were given mounts to ride, which had taken the form of Rakshasas who were prisoners for various crimes which were too grave to mention to outsiders.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:09:25 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:53:24 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Nonetheless, the tiger-men which now bore them were magically bound to their tiger form as punishment for their transgressions, and that fact, as Rajh had taken the time to carefully explain, also served as a message to the shades: they, too, were little more than prisoners at the mercy of the tiger-men. Prisoners who weren’t expected to make it back alive after the day ends.

Joran rode up to Arial’s side, keeping with the frantic pace that they had been riding at for most of the day. “How much longer do we have until we get there?” he shouted.

Arial shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

“What?!” Joran shouted. Arial could barely hear the shade, and it wasn’t until he truly listened did he realize why. Loud howls were sounding all around them.

A wolf-like creature with some kind of exoskeleton had appeared almost instantly to Arial’* left, its saliva coated mouth snapping at him. The general gathered his power, and snapped a cerulean blade into existence with a sweeping arc which had nearly severed the thing’s head. Unfortunately, it had quickly veered off before the weapon could connect, leaving the shade general, who had thought he had seen it all when it came to combat situations, staring in disbelief at its unnatural speed.

“I take it that thing was one of the threats you mentioned?” he asked his mount.

The Rakshasa growled. “Yeah, and there’s more of the damn things coming at us. Less talking, more fighting!”

Almost instantly more of the creatures came at Arial from the back. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder, and swung another cerulean blade in a downward arc which had sliced one of them right down the middle. The rest scattered at that, and split into separate groups.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:10:07 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:54:12 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Joran let out a cry as a creature locked its jaws onto his arm, and a small bolt of energy screamed through the air and slammed into its skull, forcing it to let go with a squeal. Arial chanced a look back and saw V fending off a pack of the creatures which had taken an unhealthy interest in him.

Some had met their demise at the small energy bolts which his strange weapon threw out with reckless abandon, while others were swatted off rather easily with a backhand which sent them sprawling to the ground. It was obvious the man had some kind of unusual combat background, Arial thought.

To his left, Lukil had sent a mental blast into a group of creatures that had decided to attack the group head on, which had the fortunate effect of introducing the animals to the concept of flight for the very first and brief instance of their lives. The creatures crashed into a mass of shrubbery, and did*’t rise as the group sped past.

A riderless Rakshasa in tiger form ran past the group while screaming, “There’s a river up ahead. Wolves on the other side. Ur’ Droj says his group has already engaged them. We are to keep moving with haste.”

Arial’s mount growled in acknowledgement, and somehow managed to speed up its pace, as did the others in the group. The riderless Rakshasa looked at Arial and asked, “Do you think you’ll be able to handle a big fight if this comes to one?”

“Yeah, Rajh,” he replied. “I can control my magic like I was able to before being captured. It shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

He wondered to himself if that really was the case.

*^+^*

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:10:40 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:55:06 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Ur’ Droj fell to the ground as the Hound shoved its face in his own, snapping its jaws rabidly as it did so. The massive Rakshasa shoved a hand in the creature’s mouth, grabbed its tongue, and yanked hard. The organ came out almost effortlessly, and what he guessed passed for “blood” in the creature-which was little more than a black, sticky substance- began to gush from its mouth violently.

As the Hound went limp, Ur’ Droj shoved it off of him and took one of its horns in his hand. He cracked the protrusion off of the Hound’s head, and brandished it as one would wield a dagger. All around him, a battle raged between his hunting party and the Demon Wolves, and his side looked like it was losing badly. Many wounded Rakshasas lay on the ground clutching grievous wounds all while trying to valiantly defend themselves from the horde of unholy monsters, and the creatures themselves seemed to be limitless in number. To make matters worse, they were cut off from retreating thanks to a deep river that they were backed up against, and he doubted that his party would be sufficiently strong enough to push their way through a horde of creatures as powerful as the Demon Wolves themselves.

“Your orders, sir?” asked a young hunter that had managed to claw his way across the ground towards Droj.

The chieftain looked around. “Zis is not good,” he muttered. "Keep fighting and pray zat either ze monsters are small in number, or help arrives… zere's not much ve can do now.”

A somber look crossed the hunter’s face. “It shall be an honor to die in battle against zese dogs,” it said solemnly.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:11:33 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:56:32 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

A large group of the creatures surrounded the pair. Droj brandished his make-shift weapon ferociously, and the young hunter readied a spear. Before the Hounds could take another step, a loud squeal caused them to stop and look behind the pair with surprise in their eyes. Confused, the two Rakshasas turned to face the noise as well, and were surprised to see a pair of large tigers charging past them bearing riders.

As soon as the original pair had sped off into the distance, three more tigers had landed near them and ran over the Hounds as well, and one without a rider skidded to a halt to look at Droj. The Hounds that weren’t near the pair had began to advance toward their position, eyeing the newcomer warily. One foolish creature darted towards the tiger, which reacted and swatted the creature into a tree, an audible crack sounding as it sprawled to the ground.

The riderless Rakshasa turned its gaze towards Droj once more. “I see the mighty chieftain is nearing defeat.”

“Rajh,” Droj said. “Zis is not ze time.”

“Oh?” Rajh replied. “Isn’t that what I said all those years ago, before I was forced into exile? I believe those were my words too at one point.”

The Hounds steadily drew closer. Droj glanced at them before replying, “You know vhat? Zey vere your vords. But zat has nothing to do with vhat’s happening now. Now is ze time to fight as allies or die!”

Rajh laughed. “No, it’s time for you to fight or die. As for me, I have a mission to do. You should know, after all. You were the one that suggested I do it in the first place!” With that, Rajh turned and rushed to meet his companions.

The Hounds began to attack at once, and some began to chase after Rajh. Ur’ Droj and his party of hunters didn'’t stand a chance that day. Not that Rajh would miss his old chieftain or his cronies anyway, mind you.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:12:24 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:57:48 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Arial swept the creature’s feet out from under it with a flick of cerulean energy as the beast came a little too close for comfort. More of the things had the unfortunate fate of falling over the prone wolf-creature, making themselves easy targets for V’s weapon as well as the tiny darts which were being thrown by hunters following the chase from the trees above.

He heard a cry to his right, and saw Joran fending off more of the creatures. It looked like they had decided to separate into two groups in order to take him down, one to keep the shade distracted, and another to take down his mount. A flash of light emitted from Joran’s balled fists, and the group that was harassing him had to cover their eyes to avoid risking blindness from the sudden counter-attack.

V sped past Joran, taking out some of the creatures attacking the tiger with what appeared to be purple bolts shaped like skulls. However, his spell had missed one of the attackers, which had succeeded in tearing the strange man from his mount rather violently, resulting in a heap of bodies fighting for dominance on the ground. As the pair faded into the distance, another creature had managed to sneak up on Arial from his left, and it gripped him with powerful claws. The shade general called his power forth, and the resulting cerulean blade had sliced one of its arms clean off. The being let out a howl of anguish, and fell to the ground writhing in obvious pain.

Lukil seemed to be having no problems as he and Rajh rode past encased in pink energy, which Arial guessed was some sort of Psionic shield. The creatures threw themselves futilely at the rippling energy, incinerating themselves as they did so. Arial heard Joran shouting.

“Hey, is anyone going back for V?”

Arial shrugged. “If you want to, then go ahead. I think he knew that something like that would’ve happened when he took out those things!”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:13:19

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Before Joran could reply, a purple skull bolt soared between him and Arial, striking a creature that had dropped down from a tree they had passed under. For a brief instant, the being’s features had peeled away, revealing a skull with little in the way of muscle holding anything together, but the sight was quickly gone. Then, a flourish of red quickly sped past them, howling as it went.

The pair looked ahead, and Joran asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

Arial nodded when he took a second look at the sight. He didn't know how the strange man had managed to do it, but V had somehow commandeered one of the creatures as an unwilling mount. It didn't look too happy to have what it must have thought of as food sitting on its back and gripping its horns as reigns, and every attempt to dislodge him had proven that fact quite clearly.

“Koshir,” Rajh had called out. “We’re coming up on the checkpoint fast. The air says that the chieftain in charge of it is already fighting the Demon Wolves as well.”

Arial shook his head. “Alright, everyone, you heard the Rakshasa. Get ready to fight the minute we hit the damn checkpoint!”

As if on cue, a chorus of howls complemented by the guttural tongue of tiger-men engaged in battle had filled the air.

~^+^~

The Hound had tried several more times to dislodge V from its back, going as far as to run blindly into and across the sides of trees, but the undead man held on tightly.

He knew it couldn’t succeed, if not because of the immediate threats surrounding it consuming its attention, then because of the mere fact that the Hound, like V, was a creature of magic. Which meant that it was also susceptible to certain spells, one of which he was using at that very moment.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:14:20 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 01:59:05 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The group suddenly came into a clearing filled with hunters and Hounds locked in battle. The tiger-men were vastly outnumbered, and on the verge of being overwhelmed by the sheer force of the creatures. V released his grip on the hound he was riding, and spoke a short phrase of necromantic power. The creature began to glow as a dark, pulsing energy surrounded its form. Unaware of the spell, the hound continued on its current course, and joined the fray as V dismounted the creature with a swift kick to its back.

The Hounds that were already in the midst of fighting seemingly sensed something was wrong, and turned from their mutilating activities to look at their glowing comrade. Chuckling to himself, V whispered a single word.

“Die.”

The glowing hound clutched its head and fell to the ground, howling in agony. Its eyes filled with the same dark glow that had belonged to the energy surrounding it, and the stuff seemed to gush from its mouth as well. As its cry drew to a horrible crescendo, bits of necromantic energy infused blood and gore had flown through the air as the hound exploded in a violent, thrashing death. The hounds closest to the epicenter of the blast had almost disintegrated completely thanks to the necrotic energy, and those that had survived the initial blast had been injured badly enough for the hunters to take the initiative and begin their own counter strikes.

V looked around for his allies, and saw the general and his friend-he believed the man had called himself Joran at one point- locked in combat against a group of four of the creatures.

A mix of cerulean energy and white light had flashed into the creatures as the pair took their turns attacking random enemies, and some of the initial horde had fallen back to change their plan to attacking different enemies…which had happened to be none other than the rather fat shade and outcast Rakshasa.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:15:07

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

V watched as Lukil had stood there and effortlessly manifested Psionic power. Streams of energy composed of a wide variety of colors had filled the air around him, some of which took to the air and slammed into some Hounds, others which had swirled around the bodies of enemies before suddenly crushing them, and even more still which had crept under the creatures, flinging them into the air, much to their surprise.

What caught the dead man’s attention were Lukil’s eyes as he committed the acts. They glowed a hue that seemed almost…golden, in a way. It seemed as if they were nearly the same eyes he had seen back in Skyvern Keep before meeting the blue robed man.

He shook such thoughts from his head as a Hound took notice of him and tackled him to the ground. In the back of his mind, he knew it couldn’t be possible…such beings were in hiding. There was no way one would willingly involve itself in events such as this…wasn’t there?

Mindlessly, V struggled to shift his attacker into a position he could push off from. He rolled onto his back, and the Hound pressed its weight into him, drawing its face close. The creature’s breath reeked of carrion and dirt, and caused V to flinch as he drew in breath to cast his spell. The incantation rolled from his lips quickly, and a group of small, purple skulls formed in the air behind the creature. Without hesitation, he mentally commanded the skull-shaped bolts to slam into the creature’s back. The creature’s eyes widened as they connected, and it slumped to the side as the dark magic worked its wonders.

Pushing himself to his feet, V found himself staring face to face with another hound. However, this one seemed much…bigger, somehow. In his eye they all looked the same way except for this one, even though it shared the same characteristics as the other Hounds attacking the hunters and their prisoners.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

11-Dec-2010 02:15:48

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