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Post by KD on Aug 30, 2013 4:09:59 GMT -5
Every gesture Yiska made seemed to trail music through the air. The songstone Sinjun had given him pulsed softly. She wasn't physically singing, she didn't even seem aware of what she was doing, it was simply her power, the music that echoed through her at all times, rising in response to his.
Matthias halted in the lower chambers, feeling his master's distress. Of course, they were in the very center of the beast's power, so it was hard to truly hurt it at the moment but it did shrink away, keening in confusion.
Klai was shaking her head slowly, not even distracted by the dragon now, staring at the two of them with wonder. "I...have never seen anything like that before."
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Post by Jenny on Aug 31, 2013 2:28:44 GMT -5
Yiska shifted, pulling Sinjun gently behind him, now facing the dragon which was snapping at the golem, trying to get around it in response to its master’s wishes, to pick up the shaman in its maw and crush him so that he may be weakened just to the point of death, when the being would coil around Yiska’s battered body and absorb his powerful spirit, just as it had with the spirits Yiska and the shaman had felt being devoured, taken from this world.
Yiska’s body shook, not with fear but with anger. His eyes trailed over to Klai. “I want to take Sinjun to safety, then I will come back to assist you.”
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Post by KD on Aug 31, 2013 2:33:31 GMT -5
"I'm not going," Sinjun said immediately.
"Yiska, I need her," Klai said at the exact same time.
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Post by Jenny on Aug 31, 2013 23:32:10 GMT -5
Yiska looked helplessly from one to another, his brow furrowed in perplexity. This was not what he had planned. He felt like the gallant knight come to save his lady. But he reminded himself that Sinjun wasn’t as fragile as she looked, and could likely hold her own against any mage, save Matthias, of whom he did not yet know. On the other hand, he noticed Sinjun favoring the scorpion wound. He frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly. His eyes began to dart around for the source of it, and rested his eyes again on the metal dragon. It may not be what had wounded her, but it was putting them all in danger, though the golem was helping distract it.
The wound had made Yiska angry. His hackles raised as he gave out a long, low growl. He stepped away from Sinjun at last and nodded to her lute, as she was sometimes accustomed to playing along with his shaman chants. Yiska planted his feet, his torso facing the dragon. He began to chant to the spirits of fire, so that they may begin to melt its joints and cause it to seize up.
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Post by KD on Aug 31, 2013 23:41:35 GMT -5
Klai nodded in encouragement. Sinjun's music coiled around him, deeper somehow than it usually now, not just playing along with his chants but exactly in time with him, like she was hearing the chant in her head.
Titus, his metal gleaming, came up to the side as they distracted it. Behind him, Magnus smashed scorpions and beetles to bits before they could reach them.
Arcane power crackled the air as Klai sent lightning arcing toward the dragon thing and arcane fire suddenly twined around Yiska's fire as Sinjun called it to help. Pure arcane spells weren't her strongest suit but she -could- do them.
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Post by Jenny on Aug 31, 2013 23:47:53 GMT -5
Yiska shivered lightly. The magic in the air caused his heart to beat rapidly, but he remained determined and focused. The fire began at the dragon's joints, and molten metal dripped to the ground before the fire focused on another point. Yiska then called water spirits, which cooled the molten spots quickly, and as the metal hissed the dragon began to seize up and rendered useless but for his gnashing teeth.
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Post by KD on Aug 31, 2013 23:55:12 GMT -5
Klai moved out of the way as Titus waited long enough for the creature to seize up before lurching forward and bringing a fist down on the creature's head, not just taking its head off but very nearly shattering it. The dragon collapsed and started to pull it clear of the doorway.
It was Matthias sending another wave of power through the temple and sheer bad luck that happened next. Sinjun took a step back to stay clear of any flying metal just as the entire temple lurched wildly, making the floor sway. The grinding sound of machinery filled the air and as she put a foot down to maintain her balance, the floor opened up beneath her feet. She barely had time to scream before she tumbled downward and the floor closed with a snap.
Sinjun drew herself in tight as she fell for what seemed like forever, endlessly, before she hit a wall somewhere and went spinning down to the ground, her fall slightly cushioned by a pile of sand. Utterly disoriented, she struggled to her feet, the wound in her side burning terribly.
Klai cursed in rage, calling her niece's name. The temple stirred, no new holes were going to open up. She whipped around toward Titus. "Get that damned thing out of the way, that's the way down and that's the way we're going. We'll get her."
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Post by Jenny on Sept 1, 2013 0:09:45 GMT -5
That wave of power sent a sick feeling into Yiska’s stomach, so malignant it was. He pressed his body to the side in order to avoid some of the shrapnel as well, giving a firm nod once the dragon had been vanquished due to their combined power. A hint of a smile crossed his face. Then he gripped onto a thick root as the floor swayed, and in the corner of his eye he saw the floor open up and swallow Sinjun. He propelled himself recklessly forward to try and catch a hold of her, but the floor closed before he even had a chance to do anything. He pounded the floor with his fist, the stone scratching at his knuckles and drawing blood.
“Sinjun…” He said through gritted teeth, pounding the earth again. In moments, he was back on his feet, and ran to try and assist the golem in getting the defeated dragon away from the opening, tearing at what he could, even if he did not have the strength, he tried.
When there was an opening just enough to get through, he pressed his belly against the tunnel and moved through it, even before the golem had completely cleared the tunnel. As soon as he reached the other side he was running as fast as he could go and heard Klai coming behind him, though it was likely she would not be able to keep up with him.
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Post by KD on Sept 1, 2013 0:43:39 GMT -5
"Yiska, wait!" Klai's call of alarm drifted down behind him. One of his paws came down on the floor and set off a series of the corridor's traps, a line of mouths snapping shut down ahead of him like the mouth they'd seen when they'd first seen the ruins.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 1, 2013 0:46:35 GMT -5
Yiska turned his head and slowed, his brow knitting. He didn't think he had a reason to slow, but then became acutely aware that he knew nothing of this place while Klai had spent much time studying this place. He yelped in surprise as the corridor traps came down, turned on his heel and ran back to Klai as fast as he could so he would not be ground up into mash.
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Post by KD on Sept 1, 2013 1:02:51 GMT -5
Klai looked like she would have liked to smack him upside his head for running off like that but figured that scare was enough. Her grey eyes narrowed as Magnus came bounding up to join them, the two golems flanking them. She sent Titus forward through the passage. Even with the force the 'mouths' closing it wasn't enough to pierce the golem's metal body. One by one, he forced them back open with a scream of breaking machinery.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 1, 2013 1:09:32 GMT -5
Yiska looked meek as he practically slid to a halt beside her, hopping on his feet a bit in place for a moment until he stopped. If he could blush, he would be blushing quite deeply. “I’m sorry, I got a little carried away there.”
So he stuck to Klai’s side, grimacing as the machinery grinded, the sound piercing to his sensitive ears. “I take it this is not the first time you have come across traps such as these.”
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Post by KD on Sept 1, 2013 1:33:10 GMT -5
She squeezed his shoulder. "No, they're very fond of this one. We're going to find her, Yiska."
Sinjun carefully picked her way through the dark, guided by shafts of light from far above. She was underneath the temple, that much she knew. Everything was natural stone, more like a cave down here.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 1, 2013 1:41:03 GMT -5
Yiska nodded and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to focus on it to calm himself down. His belly still pricked unbearably but he could not help Sinjun if he charged in and got himself killed in the process.
She had wounds before, had they become worse? Did she survive her descent, could she now be dead? What was waiting for her down there? Was the energy that swallowed her up targeting her deliberately? What would it mean if it did? Was she all alone in the dark or swept up in the arms of their enemy.
He raised his finger and gnawed lightly upon it, wishing that they would find Sinjun soon. The waiting was very hard on him, and his tail flicked in his agitation. His eyes roamed ahead, as if he could peer just hard enough and see her.
At Klai’s guidance, he was careful not to trigger any more traps, would avoid them if she pointed them out. He was as patient as he could be, though she would know that he only wanted to run recklessly to find her.
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Post by KD on Sept 1, 2013 1:45:36 GMT -5
Klai, for all her calm, was just as worried. Her face was strained and her gray eyes were narrowed. Titus patiently walked ahead of them, Magnus bringing up the rear. The adamantine golem broke traps easily, leading them deeper and deeper into the temple.
Klai was a bit more tuned to the elements than Sinjun or her her sister, so she'd felt the corruption quite clearly. And the deeper they went, the worse it got. She drew in a shuddering breath. "We're getting close to it...."
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