Private The Liberation of Castle Naraz

A cacophony of otherworldly sounds saturated the air as the party of adventurers unleashed their attacks upon the foul necromantic snakes. Their attacks met with great success as the creatures faltered under their onslaught. Originally summoned to keep the local populace from trespassing, the simulacra proved woefully inadequate when faced with seasoned opposition that wasn't forced to perpetually exist on the edge of starvation.

The snake that attacked Daniel was quickly subsumed under a sanguine roiling mass as the parasitic entity within Daniel spread throughout it's surface, swiftly eating away at it's fleshy parts. In a matter of seconds, the sinews and tendons allowing for the simulacrum's locomotion were eaten away, rendering it immobile. With an annoyed roar, something made it's displeasure known, as the magic holding it together faded. It's green flaming eyes extinguished themselves out with a visible puff as the connection holding it together was recalled from elsewhere, leaving Daniel safe with an intact hodgepodge of bones masquerading as a threat.

Meanwhile, the simulacrum assaulting Broch and Aimee met with an even more unfortunate fate, and was not afforded the same chance to be a good source of paperweights as Daniel's attacker.

In a nearly simultaneous time-frame, the necromantic construct was met by Aimée's and Broch's combined assaults. As Aimée pirouetted her way atop the beast and vigorously thrust her daggers into the snake's body—viciously cracking makeshift vertebrae to pieces—Broch's great-axe swung into the space the thing's head sought to occupy with great force, thoroughly pulverizing beyond recognition its head as the force of his blow shock-waved through the brittle assorted bones forming the thing's composition.

As the bone meal still fouled the air near Broch and Aimée, and while Daniel was still in a crouch from his maneuver, a string of coarse language reverberated through the air.

"Motherfucker!," screamed Ragenard; his voice echoed in a Doppler shift downwards, "That was my favorite fucking gun!". The large man was coming down faster than gravity could account for, priceless artifact sword in hand, as he flowed with an otherworldly wind at his back. The snakehead that had sought him out fell off at a slant away from the body it was attached to, cleanly severed from its resting place. In a resounding crash, Ragenard landed atop the back of the simulacra's spine grinding it into the ground amidst the sound of bones fracturing.

A fair bit of those bones were Ragenard's own, but the taciturn werewolf paid his injuries no mind as he stood up, the damage regenerating almost as quickly as it accrued. "Fuck these snakes. It ate my gun," he groused. With a quick glance, he noticed the others had taken care of their business.

However, there was no time to lose. He'd seen the hordes of creepy shit headed their way whilst descending. They needed to be down this cliff, and ahead of that line. He didn't want to spend the whole night slowly wading through an army of undead. "Everyone, grab a hold of this fucking thing," he said as he angrily marched towards the snake's skull. It's skin was still intact, leathery hood still flared out in a postmortem fruitless threat display. With a string of muttered curses under his breath—he'd spent a fair bit of coin on the materials to craft that gun—Ragenard lifted up the sinewy skull with one hand, and raised it around chest height.

"No time to fucking explain. Grab on. We're going flying. Aimée is allowed to touch me. Broch, keep your wandering hands off my waist," he exclaimed rapidly, "There's an army of the things headed up. I want us down. Broch, I saw some motherfuckers towering taller than the damn trees, be ready."
 
The moment she landed on top of the creature, Aimée almost fell off in shock. She actually did it! She jabbed her daggers into the freakish thing and snarled in the process, the shock quickly wearing off as she focused on the task at hand. Once the beast was taken care of, mostly thanks to Broch, the lithe female grunted at the scent and quickly back-peddled away, hating her keen sense of smell.

“I should have brought a fucking mask to keep the smell at bay. Ick.” Making a face, Aimée shifted her gaze up towards the sky, hearing Ragenard’s scream. Well, he was going to be in a fine mood if he lost his favorite gun. Shaking her head, barely even able to finish that thought before he landed on top of the snake that had fallen from the sky, the werewolf winced at the sound of bones breaking. Her blue eyes shifted towards the severed head, and she just made another face, finding it more disgusting now that the thing was in two pieces.


“Wait, do what?” Aimée blinked in disbelief at Ragenard’s orders, her gaze once again falling upon the head while the leader of the group marched angrily towards it. Figuring there would be time to ask questions later, the pup simply shrugged and stowed her daggers back where they came from before heading towards the skull. She didn’t want to touch the disgusting thing and was glad when told she could touch him instead. “Mmkay, let’s do this then.” Wrapping her arms around Ragenard’s waist, she prepared herself for whatever was going to happen, not looking forward to what she felt was coming.

“So, what you’re saying is be prepared to immediately start kicking ass?” She questioned, glancing up at Ragenard with a slight smirk. She was ready to bust more skulls in and looked forward to it.
 
Daniel stayed low as the snake writhed overhead, his eyes locked upwards as he watched his blood coarse and shift over the flesh that made the beast come to life. As it ate a part of him felt satisfied, his mouth involuntarily water despite the foul stench that filled his nose. 'What's wrong with me?' He thought idly as the blood leaped across the bone at the chance of eating more, it's hunger finally having an opportunity to consume something of a substance.

It didn't take long for the creature to writhe in it's last death throes however, a sudden clang resounding around Daniel as the disconnected collection of bones piled around him. The blood had no need for bones, their marrow being of little substance and too much effort to reach the sludge that was the parasite rushed over the collapsed bones on it's way to Daniel. Instinctively, he took a step back from the sight; but within moments it had leaped at him like one would imagine a predator would, it's tendrils reaching for exposed skin at his hands and neck before quickly dissolving into his skin. As it did so Daniel let out a short gasp, his blood pumping as if he had just given himself an adrenaline shot - it was storing what it had just consumed, making use of all the nutrients it gathered as he felt all of his energy from previous run, and then some, returned to him.

Daniel flexed his fingers as his body settled down slightly, and looked about to see if the others needed assistance. However, that seemed a mute point. To his right were both Aimee and Broch, who with a coordinated, or perhaps, coincidental strike brought the reanimated snake to pieces before them. From above, the resounding words of 'Motherfucker' caught his attention before a loud crack rang through his ears. Daniel immediately ran to Ragenard's side, his mouth opening to voice concern and see if he could help - only for him to watch the man stand tall, ignoring the wounds he must have suffered from the fall. "I'll see about getting you a new one when we get back, if you want that is." Daniel remarked, a small smile reaching his features as he looked him over. Internal injuries were definite, but from the way he was carrying himself he figured he had his own means of recovery. If he needed medical attention, he would have to try another time if they got a safe moment after all this.

As Ragenard instructed to grab hold of the skull Daniel rose a brow, but complied none-the-less; taking a moment to collect his things, and even retrieve some of the food that had been left out before grabbing a handhold on the skull. The flesh intact made the head seem like a potential shield, or make-shift sled, but surely they weren't trying to slide down the cliff-side with it? No.. Daniel started to connect the dots as to it's potential use, glancing over the edge he reassured himself of the height they were at before letting out a sigh. For one considering a leap off the edge earlier, he really shouldn't be as concerned with the prospect of trying to glide down with the skull of the snake - but he wasn't too eager about potentially falling with everyone around him. He figured that didn't bode well for anyone in their party.

"Ready when you all are." Daniel remarked, taking a moment to steady his breathing. If Ragenard had indeed seen larger threats down in the valley below, he'd have to be ready; there were some forms of necromancy that might be a pain to deal with. A glance at the bones behind him told him that if they managed to animate just skeletons, it'd be down to a slug fest; thankfully his companions didn't seem to mind bashing their way through some of the problems they may face.
 
Broch snorted. "Told yer I dinno trust them boom sticks. Too small. If ya used yer bloody blade first instead, you'd still 'ave yer boom stick. The fuck 'ave I taught you?" The old badger growled. "Like 'ell I'm gonna be reachin' for anything waist level anyway... Except for yer damned balls to twist 'em off if ya don't watch et." He grumbled before wrapping a thick arm around Ragenard's shoulders and prepared for a fight. He kept one arm free with the axe at his side.

"Lets go!"
 
Ragenard's attention was only partially on the group's banter and speedy preparation, as he did his best to get into the proper mindset needed for what he was about to do. 'Serene, focused, still. Like a pond before the rain, or a leaf before the storm' he thought. Big fucking chance of that. But that's what The Morrigan said before kicking him off through a hole in space-time, and if he ever expected to get back he'd need to master the damned thing.

"Damn right kiddo," he muttered absently as Aimée grasped him around the waist. He briefly noted Daniel packaging their supplies. Good thinking that. It was a testament to how hard he found slipping into the damn 'zone', that he'd not even considered bringing the food. That was good meat...and would save him from having to eat Broch's liver if he lost control again. The lad had a good head on his shoulders and would prove a good balance to their expedition.

Ragenard adjusted his one handed grip on the skull as Daniel joined them, and gave the young man a minute nod in agreement. Time for stillness. Time for focus. A leaf before the storm. The taciturn werewolf metaphorically doubled down, and brought all of his internal reserves to the task of trying to channel however the hell a pond was supposed to feel before the rain. His diaphragm expanded as he took in a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the stench of this place as he over-oxygenated his lungs. A leaf before a storm.

It was not easy, but he could feel it starting. That infinitesimal moment when he began to leave it behind, the monster that forever lurked behind his every thought. He adjusted his grip upon Fragarach on his right hand, callused fingers feeling the minuscule ancient knots carved upon its grip. That was the key, the focus as she called it. They weren't random nubs, they were guideposts. A leaf before a storm.

His mind was changing, the way he thought subtly rearranging itself. With a final and faint roar, the beast within faded entirely. That was tricky, that particular moment in the feeling. He lived with the thing all the time and suddenly hearing it gone was always a shock that threatened to reset the whole process. In its place, was a Ragenard he scarcely knew. Not the creature, not the monster. Not the warrior, or the gangster. Just the man he never got the chance to be. This was it. He could feel it extending from the tip of the ancient weapon, up its dull tarnished bronze blade and through the wooden grip into him. Further still beyond the edges of the physical, he felt the air awaiting his call. Further still beyond that, was his eventual end goal. Just barely out of his reach and maybe now wasn't the best time but it was working. Maybe he'd mastered the mental trick after all.

He was....A leaf before a sto—

"Yer fecking boomstick's too small," roared Ragenard as Broch took his position behind him. He had been so close, but alas. No time to fuck around, they had to get going while he was still deeply enough entranced for this part. "Hold the fuck on!" he yelled, before the storm came.

Out of the stillness behind them, rushed in a tempestuous gale without warning. The party of adventurers was swiftly blown off past the cliff, the dead snake's skull serving as a rudder for the winds that carried them. It was a violent, insane, and—thankfully—short trip down. Ragenard did his best to mold Fragarach's magic around them, but he wasn't a damned druid. At one point he even lost track of where up was, and they got to experience lurching about the air heading towards the ground whilst upside down, traveling at great speed.

He recovered in time, and managed to land them without killing them all. The trees nearby nearly uprooted themselves as the group made contact with the ground, and the winds exploded around them in a concussive pressure wave. They found themselves in a small clearing, surrounded by gnarled and ancient moss covered trees.

They'd blown far ahead of the unseen army behind...and directly into the path of a charging monstrosity that had lagged behind.

Towering some 15 feet tall and moving with a lurching three legged gait, the creature was almost entirely skin and bones lit from within with an otherworldly fire. It looked like someone had begun with an idea to make a giant man skeleton, but quickly ran out of the right pieces, and ended up with a bone stool with knobby bits protruding everywhere. Ridiculous as it looked however, it was still swinging a mighty large iron banded hammer at them...

With little time to prepare, Ragenard rocked his right shoulder brusquely, and summoned a smaller but equally violent burst of wind under Broch, launching the man at the creature. When in doubt, reflexively chucking an angry werebadger at his problems had always served Ragenard well in the past.

Distracted as the group had good cause to be, if they'd take the time to notice, they'd find that sunlight was leaking out of the surrounding area at an alarming pace, and wisps of green glowing fire began to wink into existence at the clearing's perimeter.
 
Daniel let his hand get a good grip on the skull that would serve as their guide, his eyes trailing over to Ragenard and the others as one by one they set up for their trip downwards. The idea of it alone was enough to cause him to worry, not to mention the brief glimpses he got of monstrosities approaching the cliff-side from the forest below. He took a deep breath to steady himself, resorting to routine to calm his nerves he went about checking his belongs. Bag was set, clothes in otherwise good condition save a few scuffs and dirt from his tumble earlier, blade was safely fastened. All was prepared from his inventory, now it was left up to the party.

As Ragenard roared back to Broch about a boomstick, Daniel's ears perked up as the wind howled around them. He barely had a moment to think about what was happening before it swept the lot of them off their feet and into the open air, his grip strained on the skull as his knuckles turned white in desperation. In a matter of seconds he was on his feet, then disoriented, upside down, and at one point lost in what seemed like a free-fall if it weren't for the others around him going the same direction and after a few moments and some shouting the ground came at him hard.

Daniel's grasp was knocked free as they collided, his feet managing to kick himself away from the others just in time as the wind crashed over them with a sudden increase in pressure. A pained sigh left Daniel as he started to gain his bearings, his eyes bleary as he attempted to take into account his surroundings. First, himself. Bag still attached, pockets closed, blade had thrashed about but thankfully it was long enough so it didn't slide out and lose itself. His wrist was messed up, that was for certain. He hadn't heard the crack but the dull pain was there as he grabbed his broken right hand and jammed it back to the right orientation, the healing process already underway as Daniel grit his teeth to the pain. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed more time than that as a thud resounded in his ears.

"Looks like we can't catch a break." Daniel exclaimed to himself, looking over the large skeleton before them. Unlike the snakes, this one was a towering unrecognizable beast with scarce flesh on it's bones. The same trick as before may help, but as he staggered to his feet his eyes started to adjust to more light filtering into the forest around them. His newly fixed right hand went right for his blade, unsheathing it and keeping it close as flame wisps started to appear out of the air around them. Daniel sighed at the sight, unfamiliar with the magic that may have summoned them or how to deal with it; flesh and blood was really his forte. "It looks like we might have a few eyes watching us." He went on, but his attention shifted back to the creature as the sight of Broch being gusted into close combat signaled their engagement. With him hopefully taking it's attention, Daniel quickly rushed forward; cutting his left hand with the blade much like before, this time running around to it's hind legs before stabbing through what flesh he could find. If he could keep cutting himself, and apply it to each leg he figured that may help bring the beast low - he would just have to avoid being clubbed to death while beneath it.
 
The moment they were off and soaring, Aimée clenched her eyes shut tightly. She had a weak stomach and wasn’t about to throw up all the beef jerky that she had just eaten previously. It was bad enough that they were about to go into a hot zone; she needed to not be ill. Groaning, her eyes slid open just enough to see if they were close to the ground, and she hissed when she realized they were upside. “Mother fucker…” Grumbling, Aimée snapped her eyes closed again and bit back bile. Ragenard would be pissed if she puked all over him. Realizing that she needed to be able to see to start fighting immediately, the dark-haired female opened her blue eyes again just as they were nearing the earth.

“Shitballs!” Shouting just as Ragenard landed, Aimée pulled her legs up, letting her arms that were around his waist keep her from falling. With her legs tucked up, it kept her from injuring anything aside from a bit of whiplash, thanks to the harsh landing. Her attention briefly took note of Broch being chucked at the creature, which was a little amusing for her, but doubtful, the were-badger felt the same. Once they were done, she released Ragenard and backflipped away from him, hands grasping for her guns at the same time. Staring at the thing in front of them, she just blinked, landing in a slight crouch, noting the colossal hammer weapon.

“Shoot out the eyes then?” Aimée commented over towards Daniel with a shrug before she open fired at the disgusting beast in front of her, ensuring that she didn’t hit Broch.
 
A cacophony of shouts and curses in both common and Broch's native tongue was spewed back at Ragenard and his family as the werebadger bloody flew through the air towards this behemoth. As best he could, he turned and hefted the axe behind him as he flew majestically through the air towards the creature, aiming to cleave one of its limbs from its body in one swipe.

Fortunately, it also meant the man was on a crash course into the beast itself. He grabbed on as best he could, sliding slightly until he was able to get his hand caught onto one of the many bones. Snarling, he would whack it over and over with the edge of his axe.

"I didn't say toss me, ya fuckin' bastard!"
 
The lurching creature let out a guttural roar as the attacks from the group began to strike at it. Broch's flight-propelled cleave removed one of the creature's arms outright. Unfortunately for the hanging werebadger, it wasn't the hand holding the giant hammer. As the undead giant was not possessing anything resembling an instinct for self-preservation, it's next move was to turn the weapon upon itself in an effort so smash Broch to a fine paste upon its own body. It moved to do so, just as Aimée's fusillade struck it's eyes.

Broch was spared becoming a ghoulish form of ointment by the distraction the bullets caused in the beast. Before the creature could reorient its angle of attack, it suddenly had to contend with Daniel's bizarre bloodletting, a move it's rudimentary awareness was not prepared to classify. It didn't need to understand to know something was eating at its legs however.

Meanwhile, the clearing was now in a true twilight. Dancing wisps of flame could be seen surrounding the area, burning brightly as they bobbed amidst the darkness. Most of these were green or orange colored, but abruptly one of them flared a bright azure before zooming in into the clearing proper. It flew straight into the creature's severed arm, vanishing into the sinewy bone. In less than a second, the arm began to ripple, all of its flesh sloughing off in a melted puddle of tallow. The remaining bone twisted and coiled, its surface gaining the consistency of soft putty. All about it erupted growths and protrusions as it seemed to expand from within. With a jarring sound like clockwork gears grinding into each other, a final explosion in its movement took place and its shape held.

Eight razor sharp legs, a sleek rounded body, a severely streamlined arrowhead-shaped eyeless head. It was only about two feet tall, and perhaps three wide. Not much larger than a dog. It also had absolutely no flesh upon it, and no crevices displayed themselves on it's surface.

Ragenard had taken all of this in during the scant dozen of seconds that had elapsed since he launched Broch at the giant creature. He had been tensing to launch a strike of his own when the azure wisp suddenly flew in. Out of a deep recess within his mind floated the words thaumaturgic intent, an echo not his own. With a slight shudder, he pushed down his awareness of the beast inside. He didn't have time to deal with this shit right now.

He understood however. The things they'd encountered so far were already here before their arrival. This new thing was crafted intentionally for them. Ragenard wasn't sure if Daniel had anymore tricks in his repertoire besides bleeding on things, but it seemed someone was already getting sick of his shit.

Ragenard wasn't worried for Broch, and Aimée seemed safe enough for the moment as she was the one furthest away from the creatures. Daniel however, was barely three yards away from the spider-bone-thing. Adrenaline and preternatural physiology had Ragenard's awareness clocking in much faster than a human's, but he wasn't sure if Daniel would recognize his predicament in time. Ragenard moved, the wind gusting about his ears temporarily silencing the sound of the gunshots. The spider thing had also moved at about the same time, aberrant sinuous motion of eight little sword legs quickly turning into a leap after a few feet.

They clashed, Ragenard's broad body suddenly between where Daniel stood, and the frenzied spider thing. Ragenard's sword strikes severed the spider's sword legs after brief bouts of resistance, Fragarach's magic overpowering that of the force animating it. Nonetheless it had managed to lodge in one leg deeply into Ragenard's torso, perforating a lung. The other seven had scrambled fitfully about him, cutting furrows about his arms and face, removing ribbons of skin.

After a final stab through the thing's midsection, Ragenard pulled the dead thing free off himself with a wet squelching sound. As the giant above them continued to move to squash Broch and avoid Aimée's bullets, Ragenard turned towards Daniel. The man was a macabre display of gore, strings of skin still loosely connected to his torso, shirt torn basically to shreds. As he roared—in agony and from bloodlust—at Daniel, a fine mist of aerated blood filled the air before him: "Vary your fucking attacks," explained Ragenard. His voice was laced with barely contained fury, and his normally hazel eyes were beginning to display striated lines of startlingly bright electric blue around his irises. "Something's watching," he said, before abruptly raising his sword arm above head height.

The giant's hammer above them was instantly reduced in size, as Ragenard cut off half of its head with Fragarach before it pulverized him and Daniel. Already the ribbons of torn skin were falling off of him as his more superficial wounds closed off. He nodded towards Daniel, not giving the man time to form a reply, and quickly dashed away from him to check back on Aimée's position. Something about that blood called to him. The beast inside wanted a taste, another chance at evolution to escape its chains.

Off in the distance, a shrill trumpet sounded and was quickly responded by a chorus of others.
 
When one of the massive arms fell, she couldn’t help but be glad that at least Broch managed to take out one of the arms. It was just too bad; it wasn’t the one holding the dangerous hammer. As Aimée sent bullet after bullet towards the mammoth creature, she was beginning to wish she had brought a bigger gun. Damn, of all things to underestimate, it had to be the amount of firepower she would need. Exhaling deeply, the young female focused on the task at hand, deciding she could think about her failure later. No use worrying about that when bigger things were at stake. At least she kept the beast from smooshing the werebadger, whether it was momentarily or not didn’t matter to her. There were more important things to worry about.

“The fuck?” Her attention was caught by dancing wisps of flame, watching as the severed arm was suddenly transformed into a spiderlike creature from her nightmares. Thankfully it was away from her, and out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Ragenard colliding with it. Returning her gaze towards the creature, she grabbed the ammo from her backpack, reloading her guns. Starting to fire upon the big thing, the dark-haired-female made sure to keep from hitting Ragenard as he cut the head of the hammer off. Well, that was certainly helpful. What wasn’t beneficial, however, was the sound of shrill trumpets.

“Oh, hell. We’re about to have company, methinks.” Mumbling, Aimee aimed at the center of the creature, firing at it in order to split it in two, unsure where to fire to kill the fucker.
 
Daniel felt the eyes on him as the flames flickered around, his blood traveling across the legs of the beast as the sounds of Borch and Aimee battling it's larger form rang in his ears. With an assault at all ends he was confident that they would be able to fell the large creature, but his issue wasn't with this one thing - it was the time that it would take to destroy it.

The sound of gears grinding against each other pulled his attention away immediately, eyes fixated on the mass of bone that had just absorbed one of the seeming spirits; crackling with an unworldly life, the many-legged skeleton that birthed from the abomination landed right beside him, eliciting a groan from Daniel as he soon realized it didn't have a scrap of flesh binding it together. Bashing wasn't exactly his forte, clean and precise cuts sure but brute strength would rely on the parasite shifting him to something.. More grotesque. Daniel didn't even feel like he had a lot of time to shift before the beast was set upon him, Daniel's blade raised to intercept as he planned to evade the majority of it's assault but just before it got closer a rush of wind brought Ragenard between them.

In a flurry of cuts he had dismantled the thing, his sword trimming through the beast like it was nothing. Was that brute strength, or something more that allowed it to glide so easily through bone? He hadn't much time to think it over before the man, now a viscerile nightmare in appearance approached him. Despite the sight Daniel didn't flinch as the scent of fresh blood filled his nostrils, the stench familiar if it wasn't for all the accompanying aromas of the forest. He felt bad for him taking such injuries in his stead, his teeth grit at the thought of the difficult recovery but Ragenard seemed unfazed himself - especially as he berated him about his attacks.

Daniel opened his mouth to retort, but it was cut off as his blade severed the hammer that was crashing down upon them; split in half, and then he was gone. "If something's watching us," He muttered to himself, glancing towards the remains of the sword legged skeleton that lay beside him. Had Ragenard been assuming that it was made to kill him? If it had, keeping to one attack pattern was the safer bet. "You're learning about us." Daniel remarked at the sight, just as the trumpets blared from around them.

"Broch, Aimee, Ragenard, if someone's watching us this whole forest is just meant to buy them time! They're reacting to where we are and bringing their hordes, and if they're watching carefully they're taking note of everything we can do so they can plan against it!" Daniel glanced towards Ragenard at that. He disagreed with varying his attacks, keeping a few cards up his sleeve might be the best bet if there were creatures out there stronger than these that could be changed and shifted to better suit fighting their parry. "We need to find the Vampire's the town mentioned sooner rather than later, staying here to fight their horde is just what they want from us!"

As he finished shouting he drew closer to the large skeleton's legs; eyes trained so he could ensure they didn't step on him. Making a run for it in search of their castle wasn't the best bet, but it was better than sticking around for their minions to surround them while they dealt with an enemy designed to kill time. Daniel just hoped that the senses from the other 3 were keen enough to point them in the right direction of their true enemies, even with all the scents that filled the forest that could distract their tracking.
 
The badger had braced to take the impact of the hammer, but it never came. Perhaps the other part of him did teach this damned pup something after all. He had noticed the wisps in the corner of his eye at this point, but that was not his concern. He only half heard Ragenard's suggestion as he finished climbing the things back as it was tumbling forward. With the hammer no longer an issue, he was free to rush forward as he saw fit.

His stormy grey hues glowed with a silent rage as he ran up the back of the creature with inhuman speed. On occasion he would stumble, but he would then catch himself and thrust himself up with his free hand, gaining momentum as he got to the top. With one shout, he jumped onto what was left of the creature's head and removed it. He rode the damned creature's head down as it tumbled, leaping away at the last moment.

"Fuck it, I hate a fuckin' necromancer." Broch growled, eyeing the damned wisps floating. His rage was growing. "Ragenard, it's time to move, I be thinkin'. Or else we're about to be over run with wee beasties there." He raised his head and tried to catch a wiff of something other than the stink of wet dog. Everywhere was stench of death and decay, but he'd be able to pull a vampire smell out of no where, even if that vampire hadn't been there for more than a few moments two weeks prior.
 
Ragenard caught Broch's handiwork upon the giant bone man out of the corner of his eye as he dashed towards Aimée's position. Amidst the sound of trilling trumpets, he heard Daniel's very logical proposal. He scoffed and snorted at it. It was very strategic minded, and certainly would make the most sense. If they had any sort of supply line or avenue to be backed up. That wasn't Ragenard's way. If the leeches tried to catalogue him, he'd just come up with new ways to kick their ass on the spot. He wouldn't begrudge Daniel holding back though, it was his life to gamble with. "Do what you think works for you," shouted Ragenard. "Aimée, let's go towards Broch, cover the sides I got our back." he said to the young woman as he pointed.

The amount of wisps had risen dramatically. It was now impossible to see beyond the clearing they stood within; the dancing lights made odd shapes in the impenetrable darkness. As the duo made it up to Broch's position, Ragenard agreed with the surly coot. "Let's get the fuck out of here, go that way," Ragenard said as he pointed towards the northwest end of the clearing. "That's where I remember the weird haze was."

They didn't make more than a few steps before Ragenard had to cover his ears as the cacophany of trumpets reached an overwhelming crescendo. It was a sound unlike any Ragenard could imagine possible, magnified hundredfold by his augmented senses. A nearly physical wall of sound pressing upon them from all sides, as if a physical band of air turned to iron were gripping the clearing.

As suddenly as it rose, it died off. Mid note, it was like a thousand trumpeters suddenly had their throats cut. As the unearthly silence thickened around them, the multitude of flaming wisps began a frenzied display of light. Hundreds upon hundreds of the things now surrounded them, twisting and weaving through the air as they cast their unearthly illumination.

Without a second's warning, they all suddenly flashed from their greens and oranges into a brilliant azure and began a somber and steady process of assembly. Smoothly and precisely, the wisps aligned into a set of double rows floating inches off the ground. They were outlining a path out of the clearing, headed towards the northwest.

In the eerie silence, just beyond the wisps illumination, spoke a voice. It was the dry crackling of parchment finally succumbing to millennia of dry rot. The rotten squelching of maggot-ridden flesh bursting under the sun. Behind the voice resonated the timbre of countless aeons; the final promise of time's dominance upon life:

"What clever little vermin intrude upon my garden?" it asked.

Slowly, the sound of steps upon cobblestones reverberated down the wisp laden path. Two by two, the rows of wisps began to flash and ascend to reveal a figure .

"You were not invited. Begone." it spoke in finality, staff pointed towards the adventurers. Immediately, a dozen azure wisps whooshed towards the party of adventurers, sinking beneath the ground as they went. With a sudden tremor, another horror exploded from beneath the earth.

It was in the same vein as the spider-things. More refined and oddly robust, if such a word could be used for a dead thing. It lacked anything resembling flesh, it's surface all smooth bone, chitin, and keratin. It stood roughly 9 feet tall, and within moments of breaking free from the earth, it took flight.

It flew right towards the adventurers, gliding a dozen feet above the air. A virulent yellow flame formed within it's hands, and with a gesture towards Daniel it sent a curtain of flame directed at the young man, as it aimed to fly past and spear Aimée with it's outstretched stinger.
 
Her gaze shifted towards Daniel at his words, and she couldn’t help but agree. They needed to get moving before they ended up spending forever in this same spot fighting off hordes of creatures while getting nowhere. They would eventually get exhausted, and that was probably when the Vampires would strike. She wasn’t about to be a meal for anyone, especially a disgusting stinking fanged blood-sucking freak. Aimée turned her attention back towards Broch and blinked a moment, realizing he had things under control. So, the youngin’ took this moment to reload her guns and stick them away, grabbing out her sword instead. She didn’t want to use all of her ammo up before things got too heated after all. Upon hearing Ragenard shouting, Aimée caught him in her peripheral view, taking note of where he was pointing. Briefly, she mulled over the fact that he didn’t call her pup, but she didn’t let herself get too sidetracked. Being sidetracked often led to death, and she wasn’t going to die in this shithole of a forest.

“Right-o!” Aimée shouted back towards Ragenard as she quickly moved across the ground over to where Broch was at. Thankful that they were about to head towards the haze, the dark-haired female couldn’t stop a slew of swear words coming out of her mouth the moment the trumpets grew louder. “Fuck this!” Clasping her hands over her ears, still grasping onto the sword, which made it fairly tricky, Aimée was thankful when the sound suddenly stopped, having found it impossible to go anywhere to get away from them.

“What now…?” Aimée lamented just as the floating wisps aligned until they were showing a path out of the clearing. Overly suspicious, the pup held onto the sword, getting into a slight stance just in case they were suddenly attacked. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck, as well as her arms, stood at end at the sound of the voice, and it took a lot of self-control to keep from moving behind Ragenard. Instead, she remained where she was at, feet planted firmly on the ground while her eyes remained peeled for any movement. Blue eyes narrowed towards the figure that was suddenly revealed, and she snorted when told to begone.

“Not happening,” Aimée growled out, not flinching when the wisps zoomed towards them, though she did wonder if they could harm the group. When the lights dipped beneath the ground, she was fairly certain that was not a good thing. Stumbling back just a tick thanks to the ground tremoring, all Aimée could do when yet another thing erupted from the ground was just roll her shoulders and prepare for a fight. However, when it was suddenly in the air, zooming towards them with its disgusting skinless frame, Aimée just blinked.

“Oh, neat… it flies.” Stepping just a little to the side, Aimée once again slid into a fighting position; the sword grasped tightly in her hands. As the thing gave Daniel the gift of fire to play with, the werewolf took note of its direction and realized it was coming right for her. Well, let it. Her fingers grasped the hilt of the blade tighter, and as it neared her location, she suddenly leaped into the air and swung her blade, intending on cutting something off the creature. The female was hoping it was its stinger.
 
The large beast trembled as it fell to Broch and Ragenard, the sudden crash of bone sent a tremor through the ground and a cloud of dirt and dust his way. Daniel glanced to the side to avoid it getting in his eyes, but breathed a small sigh of relief as it remained still. Listening as the group celebrated a bit of it's demise he nodded along, glancing towards Ragenard as he addressed his point. That was probably the best he would get from it so he took the response and followed suit, standing behind the 3 as the wisps around them grew in volume. A thick volume of his blood was still consuming what remained of the flesh on the giant's legs when the noise started up, ringing profusely in Daniel's ears as he cupped the both of the volume - to almost no effect.

His hearing was good after being redeveloped, nothing supernatural but it enough to feel serious pain from the rings; fearing that one may burst, even if it would be repaired shortly after. When the trumpets subsided mid-note he hesitated to lift his hands away, his eyes darting to and fro as the wisps aligned themselves into a path. Now wasn't that rather ominous, were they hoping to show them a way to the next encounter or trap?

Daniel's question was answered quickly as the sound of footsteps on cobble stone rang through the forest, causing his eyes to dart low to the ground to still confirm it was dirt and grass. That wasn't right, if this creature had the power to control the undead the idea that it could cause illusions wasn't too far off it was just unfortunate because Daniel didn't have much to counter it. As the figure approached, speaking ill will towards those who trespassed into his garden Daniel rested a hand atop his blade as the wisps shifted past them quickly and slipped into the ground around them.

A new tremor, very different from that caused by the giant falling threatened to knock Daniel prone - that is until the creature that was tucked beneath the soil dug itself free. No flesh, that was the first thing his brain registered before taking in the possible threats. Besides it's massive size, a grotesque stinger made itself apparent - but what he wasn't thinking of was the curtain of fire it started to summon and direct his way. "Well this just isn't my day." He groaned, his legs tensing for a moment as his blood pulsed into an empowered kick off, sending his frame to the side a good 6 feet in a sudden dash. His boots skid into the soil after the move, his calves strained as his body worked to adjust the muscles in his legs; moving and leaping were a necessity and his body recognized the need and started to adapt.

Out of the corner of his eye Daniel noted the grace in which Aimee managed to leap, going straight to sever the beast's stinger from it's form. He was instantly on the move, getting beneath the two to react should Aimee fall after the hit, or followup if her strike caused the flying beast to falter. A quick glance behind him though let his eyes fixated on the mysterious figure who had commanded it, and with an unconscious thought Daniel commanded his blood to do it's job - Consume.

The blood that was still amassed around the giant's legs collected itself in moments before circling around the trees, roots, and moss that covered the floor between it and it's prey. It was creeping towards the figure with the staff without making much of a sound, the thick blood slipping across the ground before it could leap at it's target from behind, looking almost like someone cast a net towards an animal.
 
Broch nodded and had started in the direction where Ragenard had pointed, his nose catching the slightest wifts of the vermin in that direction as well. Or so he thought. But not two steps in that direction did this horrid sound stop the werebadger where he stood. His ears felt close to burst at the awful sound, snarling in fury at it.

But when it had stopped and the silence ensued, the man felt the very hair on the back of his neck prickle. The echoing steps made him turn slowly, his stormy hues bright with light. "The only vermin I see is the 'hore I see standin' afore me and 'er damned boney pets." He spat back. She wasn't there, he thought to himself.

And that pissed him off further.

The next vile creature that unearthed itself from its grave barely gave the werebadger pause. It aimed its stinger at the pup, which meant it was going to be close enough for the werebadger to jump on it from behind as it passed. He hooked his axe back on his back, both hands now free and leapt at the chance to grab hold of the creature from one side as Aimee attacked its stinger.
 
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The wake of the flying construct's passage buffeted past Ragenard as the creature flew past him in it's path to skewer Aimée. He had been about to intercept it, when his perception of time lurched momentarily and distracted him. It was only for a moment, but by then his opening for a smooth counterattack was past. He was also now otherwise distracted from overprotective instincts, the little voice inside him prompting him to take Aimée's bravado at face value. She'd be fine.

Here was something more interesting.

Ragenard had smelled the approaching vampire—decaying fibers in her dress and the musty scent he'd come to associated with the undead—and he'd seen her slowly saunter as she condescended to address them. But in the split second before she started talking, his sense of hearing already on overdrive from the sonorous assault of the trumpets, caught on to a peculiarity.

For a split second before he actually saw the vampire, he'd heard the squelching sounds of someone walking through undergrowth. Then she spoke, and he heard steps upon cobblestones. Wordless possibilities and rationale, couched in arcane knowledge not actually his flashed through just under the surface of Ragenard's thoughts. He wasn't fond of the reminder he wasn't the only passenger on his meat suit and disdained the increasing frequency of these moments ever since finding himself out of his world, but he couldn't deny sometimes they were useful. He supposed he'd want to continue a disjointed half-life too, if the tables were reversed.

The speed of the film that was his perception lurched again, slowing further. He saw behind him and off to the side, that Broch was moving to attack the bone thing. He figured the thing was fucked now, Broch and Aimée would handle it for the moment. His attention instead moved to the vampire, and the motile pool of blood crawling through the undergrowth towards the Vampire. He watched it carefully, in this strange quarter-speed lens he was seeing the world through. It was moving through the undergrowth, smoothly seeming to phase right through the detritus of the forest undergrowth at times. It didn't just crawl over a branch, it moved as if there were no branch in it's path.

Time lurched again.

Behind Ragenard, sparks cascaded where Aimée's knife deflected the construct's stinger. Aimée's strike pushed the creature's momentum out of it's intended path, slowing it down enough that Broch's own leap managed to connect. With a solid grasp through the creature's ribs, it had no choice but to obey the laws of gravity. In the contest of bone creature versus werebadger, the bone creature was seriously out-massed. With a loud clatter of bones the creature landed upon the ground, further opening it up for Aimée to assault.

Ragenard's vision staggered again, the air taking a molasses quality once more.

The animatedly squirmy blood was inches away from making contact with the vampire at the same moment that Broch wrestled the necromantic construct to the ground. Ragenard would have expected the creature's contact with the ground to result in a mushy explosion of earth and leaves. And indeed, his eyes and ears confirmed this. But not his nose. For the smallest of moments, the smell of damp moss and overturned earth faded to almost nothing. In it's place, he smelled dusty stone and the same dead smell the rest of this world seemed to have everywhere. As quickly as these scents came, they went, replaced again with the fecund scent of a healthy forest.

Back in real-time, a flash-paper explosion of light accompanied faint sizzling sounds as Daniel's blood caused the wisp it attacked to fizzle out into nothingness. Before the young man would even have a chance to blink, he'd feel the the cold of the grave upon his cheek.

"That was neatly attempted for a masochistic rat," mocked the vampire in her gravelly voice. She was inexplicably almost cheek to cheek with Daniel, facing the direction opposite from his. "But you already played that trick today." As swiftly as she appeared, she vanished. The cold upon Daniel's face replaced with heat as a bright azure light illuminated his features.

Ragenard's gaze flew wildly about, glancing at the hundreds of wisps that fluttered slowly around them. A shadow, or light without heat, movement against the wind, something. She was pretending to be one of them, they just had to catch her imperfect performance before she summoned more constructs. Those, he was sure, were altogether real.

"She's fucking around with illusions!" shouted Ragenard as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. "She can only trick two of your senses at a time!".

Just then, he saw a wisp casting no shadow rush towards Broch, who was still rising from a tangle of moving bones.
 
Daniel watched on as the combination of strikes from Broch and Aimee struck at the skeletal construct, Aimee's jarring it's flight pattern enough for Broch to board it. After that, it didn't take long for his weight to overpower the beast as it came crashing into the ground with a resounding thud. Daniel wanted to take a moment to collect himself after that, thinking that at least one threat had been dealt with but no sooner had it fallen the parasite had leaped for it's intended target to be met with some form of explosion.

The blood itself reared back from the sudden noise and disappointment of a missed meal, looking like a confused animal as the volume of blood remained stretched almost as if standing on hind legs as the world around it cleared. After a few moments it would shuffle back to the ground and start moving again, seamlessly shifting through the ground on a path back towards Daniel - who in turn was now confronted with an unearthly chill. "Oh I take no pleasure in my own pain, but I imagine yours might do the trick." He retorted, his hair bristling from the chill and his heart beating so fast he wouldn't find it difficult for others to hear it. As quickly as she had appeared she had just as soon vanished, leaving a rush of heat on his features as his eyes sought out her form once again.

Unfortunately, he was only met with the sight of wisps returning to the scene. Each one of them a dance and myriad of colors, she was somewhere in that mess toying with him but unfortunately Daniel had little to discern what was real from what wasn't. Thankfully, he didn't have to be the one to do that kind of work. As Ragenard shouted out about the illusions he nodded in accordance, glancing down to the mass of blood as it reached him. Daniel bent low for a moment as it neared, but unlike last time where it had leapt to his arm and shifted into his frame it seemed to hesitate. A plan of sorts was being shared as he tried to picture it in his mind, the parasite just listened, deciding if it could be made possible before it leapt once more; this time wrapping itself around Daniel's arm.

With a grimace Daniel bit his lip at a sudden pain, those with acute hearing could hear a resounding snap of bone as his left arm shot straight for a moment; the actual flesh of it hidden beneath the blood as it swirled and grew to a larger extent. Now, it's resemblance looked more like a tendril than an arm with a deceptive range as the blood pooled and thickened at different sections. When the wisp that made a beeline for Broch moved the tendril hesitated, Daniel wasn't giving instructions anymore - the parasite had a better idea than he about what lived around him than he did, so he just provided the fuel from his own body and allowed it to lash out at anything it thought living - excluding Aimee, Broch and Ragenard. Not relying on sight or hearing was one of it's advantages here, the simple predator having a knack for seeking life force in all it's forms. Daniel had found it strange that it's size wasn't even larger, because even if plant-life wasn't it's preferred meal it would normally consume that in it's wake as well. Just what was going on here?
 
Aimée’s spotted Broch moving towards the creature, and she just grinned, knowing that the thing was going down without any issues. Between the two of them, there was no way in hell the creature was going to do anything to any of them. It was just like the fucking noodle thing up at the cliff they had taken out together.

“Fuck yeah!” Aimée shouted at the sound of metal clanking against the stinger. Her eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but grin widely, quite proud of herself. When Broch leapt on the flying abomination, she smirked and twirled her sword around before moving the direction the beast was heading. Her steps were light, and she managed to keep from gazing around to see where Daniel and Ragenard happened to be. She trusted the two of them to take care of themselves, and the last time she got sidetracked, bad things happened.

Moving quickly to where the beast and Broch landed, Aimée slid the sword away before pulling her guns back out. She unloaded an entire clip into the creature’s body, ensuring that she didn’t hit Broch in the process. That was the last thing that needed to happen. Whipping her gaze towards Ragenard at his shout, Aimée blinked in confusion while reloading one of her guns. The sound of a bone snapping also caught her attention, and the dark-haired female was soon glancing towards Daniel and his … new appendage. Just what the fuck was he anyway?

Doesn’t matter…. focus.

Her mind immediately calming itself down, Aimée aimed at the wisp that was rushing towards Broch. Snarling, she closed one of her eyes, letting her good eye focus in on the threat. Squeezing the trigger on both of her guns, she fired at the thing, refusing to let it take out a teammate. Her left hand shifted slightly, allowing her to shoot at the other wisps, figuring that if they got to the ground, more flying bastards would be brought into the forest.

“So, let’s stop dicking around and find her.” Aimée managed, knowing that she couldn’t just shoot at the wisps forever.
 
The combined weight of the flying beast and Broch's added bulk of muscle caused the thing to crash down rather hard almost immediately when Broch grabbed hold. The old badger didn't even bother bringing out his axe at this point. He moved to the first things that had to go, any appendage that this thing had and started to simply rip them off. He growled loudly as he pulled on two at a time, ripping them off, dodging the others as the creature desperately flailed to remove the enraged monster on top of it. Each one came off with a sickening crunch, the creature screaming between the bullets Aimée poured into it. Sickly squelches and the popping sound of borrowed ligaments was satisfying to the man. And finally he came to the head, grabbing where he knew he wouldn't be bit and quickly ripped it from where it had been previously with a growling grunt.

He hadn't had time to see the wisp racing towards him, Fortunately Aimée had, and as she shot past him, alerted him to the darting thing coming towards him and he jumped out of the way in case she missed. Hocus pocus light creatures weren't great things to tangle with.
 
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