11
"Keep me away, Keep me away!" Sir Salreznar screamed pressing some buttons to cause his hovering throne to back up while watching in terror as the massive great wurm rested in place seemingly disoriented.
"What a fitting battle cry," Aerion mentioned brushing back his white-grey hair unsure he was seeing the same thing as the royalist or not. Aerion continued shaking his head at the dimwitted human while unsheathing his winged silver daggers.
Calla withdrew her axes, Skarr placed a paw on the greatsword hilt at his back and Bane took a defensive stance, leaving his daggers at his hips, each ignoring the royalist and his habitual escape. Cravisk was watching the human get away though, ill thoughts and hatreds from the past resurfacing.
"He ish why I hated hyoomans for long time," Cravisk added adjusting his brown leathers and pulling up his mask, getting ready to face the wurm if need be. "I thot they were all like that, shcared and shnobby."
Salreznar and his posse ran back the way they had all came, well, hovered in Salreznar's case. Within a few minutes, the four human elitists were completely out of sight.
A commotion erupted by the wurm about a quarter of a mile away, gaining everyone's attention.
"Hey, that's Hrafn's group!" Calla shouted seeing familiar faces in the distance.
The ones who came out of the Asura portal left by the Priory Emergency Flare Mechanism found they were yet again facing one of the very things they had ironically initially used the flare to escape from: A great champion wurm of Mordremoth. The Forefront group of mesmers and ambassadors from the other, unknown races spread out in a chaotic fashion once they realized they were not away from the threat they were fleeing from. The wurm just watched the lot of them in their chaotic running before shrieking.
"Skreeeeeee" was all that was heard. The great jungle wurm's screech reverberated throughout the landscape, bouncing off the dry mountainous terrain for an echo of terror, causing each humanoid in its vicinity to flee faster, but this time in the same direction, leaving the wurm to try and decipher which the easier target was.
Skarr began into a run at the wurms cry before anyone else could say a word, however Bane decided he had to add his two cents between the situation and Skarr taking off.
"Wait!" he hollered at the Blood Legionarre. Skarr did so and looked back.
"What for?" he asked snobbishly. Skarr was the one in charge, in his mind anyway.
"To just run to them…Not yet" Bane sternly stated while watching the distance with an uncanny ease,
"Yes, you can't just run in there and slay the wurm," Aerion furthered, trying to see what was going on before acting.
"Works when I do it…" Skarr said huffing, not understanding why he was standing there arguing when he thought he was in charge of the group. "And they need our help. We -need- to go."
"Yes, but not yet," Bane said looking around, "Something isn't right…" the Fire Charr noted to himself quietly while scratching his scalp. The embers of emotion inside Bane began to ignite lightly; small flames of annoyance and agitation starting from Skarr. As his fingers weaved in and out of his fire-orange mane atop his head, Bane realized something was wrong watching the wurm afar. "That jungle wurm doesn't look right."
"You know what they look like?" Skarr played while withdrawing his greatsword, getting ready to finally break into a charge. "Flame legion wouldn't know a jungle wurm if it erupted beneath Hrafgar. You guys might maybe know the Ascalon wurms, but no jungle wurms. I don't believe they put them in the Flame Legion Monster Manual." Skarr began laughing to himself while watching the wurm still in a confused, almost dazed state after its screech.
"He has a point though, Skarr" Aerion defended his fellow elementalist, "regular jungle wurms – even regular wurms, don't look like that."
From head to the tails end, the jungle wurm extended over seventy some feet with a circumference of at least ten feet in height and width. Corrupted from its born form, it was taken over by a mold or fungus that covered it like a furry hide. Roots, branches, and a mass of stems protruded out of it in different areas varying in size and variety as its natural made spikes were distributed by each segment all the way around it. Boulders of many different shapes were embedded into it randomly. The plant horror almost had arms to it in some places with how a multitude of vines layered together with elongated branches coming together to form a claw-like appearance at the ends. Fangs resembled like that of a normal jungle wurm, but corrupted by the same fungus and some added thorned features; thorns protruding outward like fangs around the mouth region and even growing from other teeth as well. Its tail was a giant chunk of jagged, obtruding crystals almost resembling the ones Kralkatorrik littered the Ascalon area with, but in a more green hue with brown highlights.
"I'm going. You guys can stay here if you want." Skarr said seeing the wurm begin to gain its surroundings. The Blood Legion Charr began to walk at a fastened pace. The clanking of his Blood Legion armor caused him some displeasure, so he shrugged his shoulders and moved his arms to compensate for it, now used to the many spikes in the armor.
"Just walk? He says we need to get over there and he walks…" Bane smiled after his comment and continued to walk as well.
Skarr overheard and turned to his rival, "I said this because the wurm is preoccupied with its new surrounding and Hrafn and them are almost to us. I would already be to them and getting information had I been able to run." Skarr nodded, turned around and continued his hastened walking again. Calla and Cravisk followed Skarr as Aerion was reluctant to be so eager, but did end up heading out. Bane folded his arms behind his lower back and walked, leaving his weapons at his sides. Bane did not appear ready to fight anymore, but rather was hushed, walking in his crimson robes with their orange accents. The yellow-orange fire crest at his neck gleamed in the sunlight.
"I wonder why they used the flare," Aerion asked aloud, "the wurm isn't much of a threat. It's massive and horrid, but not a big enough problem to run from."
Skarr huffed, "Did you see Hrafn's company? The lower races for allies?"
The group chuckled, even Cravisk, save Bane. He was busy examining the wurm to the north of them.
Calla strode in her gold and silver armor with her Krytan axes wielded. She honed in on which of the abnormal appendages she wanted to hack off, seeing which would be more sensible and easy to lop off. Cravisk looked for good spots to plunge his crude arrows while he marched with his shortbow in hand and his two pets right at his sides. Aerion walked with his hands free of his weapons, yet he had them right at his hands, sustaining them there with his winds. The aeromancer studied the wurm to see what weaknesses it had and what points to attack to make it more vulnerable. Skarr mentally noted how it moved and its random movements, as well as the spiked and vined weaponry it had, figuring what to expect while in stride.
"If we must fight the wurm, it will be easy…" Bane just watched the plant covered creature for its abnormality, not trying to figure out how to take it down. He knew fire and plants did not mix and his abilities were already in the favor. Bane was not worried as the rest were and it showed with his nonchalant walking.
"I did not expect to run into your group, why were you out this far?" Hrafn said a little out of breathe from running.
Hrafn stopped walking and stood waiting for an answer from Skarr in such a manner showing himself off. His outfit dressed in black and dark purple with an ebon feathered mantle atop his shoulders surrounding the back of his neck, obviously mimicking the colors of the Raven which he worshiped spirit wise. A small raven rested on Hrafn's right shoulder and his left hand holding his purple-pink ethereal greatsword with its blade resting on his left shoulder.
"What's going on?" Skarr asked the group, ignoring Hrafn's question.
"Kind of obvious…" one of the other mesmers muttered behind Hrafn. His royal purple attire looked like that of a jester save the Sylvari strands of leaf-like fabrics to match his leaf-like body and hair. The face of the Sylvari Mesmer was covered by a whitened mask with a reddened forked tongue sticking out. His body was a light green, standing out from the purples in his armor. Gold strands and accents combined with a light purple, leaf-made mohawk for hair finished this mesmers look.
Skarr snarled, feeling the anger course through his veins at the snide comment from the Sylvari. He glanced back to Hrafn, "How many are left with you? Why did you use a flare?" Skarr asked, ignoring the Sylvari.
Hrafn smiled at Vayldris' comment before responding, "We were looking for signs of the elder dragon when we saw a nice sized tree in the distance like the grove-"
"Yes!" excitedly interrupted another Sylvari mesmer in the group, this time a female though, "It was like the Pale tree cloned itself like that of us mesmers! It was magnificent!" she bellowed in a happy tune with an enormous smile. She wore a white and pink robe with purple accents. The staff she held looked like it was snapped off a tree, braches and leaves included, except a purple and pink energy radiated from its tips. Her leaf hair extended to her shoulders, but curled upwards at its ends.
"Yes Raliek, it was," Hrafn agreed but in a dull tone, "Anyways," Hrafn continued, "It was a huge tree like the Sylvari tree. The closer we got, the more magnificent it was, however… the more warring we found as well," Hrafn paused a moment, lost in his memory, and continued just before Skarr was about to inquire about it, "The Sylvari of that tree were defending against Mordremoth's minions. The dragon's forces were assaulting their tree when we arrived and they were defending, but-"
"We saw it, the other big tree. You traveled that far in such a little amount of time from us all separating at the meeting spot?" Aerion asked wondering how they travelled so far a distance without Asura technology.
Hrafn sighed, a little aggrevated everyone kept interrupting him. "It's easy to travel when you're a Mesmer, Aeromancer," Hrafn stated in titles with a grin, "but yeah. There was something odd about being there."
"What do you mean?" Bane asked before Skarr could, which caused a sneer from the Blood Legionnaire.
"Well, there was Nightmare Court there already, however they were separated. Some fought alongside these new swam-like Sylvari while the rest fought alongside the elder dragons minions."
"It is odd they would help the other Sylvari, but not so odd they fought with the dragon. They were probably turned." Calla noted.
"No," Hrafn started with a nodding, then turned it to a smile, "That's just it. They weren't turned and knew what they were doing. It was as if the Nightmare Court were allied with the dragon, but some of the courtiers turned on their own kind. There is something big going on out here and we have -no- clue what it is."
"Anyways, continue your story." Skarr was anxious to see why they used the Priory flare.
"Oh, right. Well, we helped the new mushroom Sylvari people figuring they could help us understand the dragon and thinking they knew more about the elder dragon we are to face in the coming days. Well, in helping, we sort of caused quite a disturbance. We kind of outshined the Sylvari and managed to draw the attention of Mordremoth's minions. The minions and bad Nightmare Court turned on us and we were doing fine, until a great wurm broke out of the ground," Hrafn motioned to the wurm behind him frantically looking around, "Even then we did fine, but four more champion wurms broke up from the ground about the same size of the one we brought with us… We began to run and I knew we couldn't escape all five wurms, so I pressed the button, and here we are."
"Had to bring one with you?" Calla asked, trying to be funny like her elementalist comrade.
"I say," Hrafn started before anyone else could reply to his story, "I did not expect these things," Hrafn held his given flare up, "to bring -enemies- too. I thought they were a means to escape Aerion, not just a way to do a little better."
Aerion chortled, "Hey. I only aided in its making. I'm not the Asura or Priory mind behind its making," Aerion said with innocent hands in the air.
"Everyone else here?" Skarr said trying to get a tally on everyone present.
"Yeah, I think so. We lost a few by the giant mushroom tree though." Hrafn sighed at that point.
"Who?" Skarr asked concerned.
"Hurbooagoo, the Quaggen Ambassador. I was sad to see him go, he was amusing. Um, Leknil, one of the Centaur looking to help the human races and bring a treaty like their ancestors before them… Uh, oh. Yeah. Jurgthi, the Hylek lasher from Sparkfly too. He was a good hearted fellow."
Skarr nodded, as if he knew who the ones were Hrafn was talking about.
"Jurgthi was good Sun Warrior! He fought many times against The Sunless One, Tequatl, killed many Orr people and finally die fighting other Elder dragon minions. The Sun honors him and may it shine forever on him!" shouted the other Hylek from within the group. His skin shone in a dark blue with light blue eyes, big and bulgy like that of a frog. A course green line ran from between his eyes in a pattern down his back, beneath his leather armor, which was stained a yellow and brown color.
"Yes Sgrilgar," Hrafn said with a look of sadness for the fallen Hylek.
"And I count eight with you now." Skarr rechecked his math waiting for Hrafn to respond.
"Uh, yes. Let's see…, "Hrafn turned around, "Me, Raliek, Vayldris, um, oh, Psyche, and Sharkii. All the mesmers are fine."
Psyche was a Charr Mesmer garnished in white fur and clothes with ice blue accents. Her weapons were coated in a blue flame-like impression. Sharkii was an Asura Masmer appearing to be wearing a wardrobe that looked like chainmail, but it was cloth. He hefted a greatsword that looked to weigh and stand taller than he did. Hrafn continued.
"Let's see, Zreft the Centaur," the brown and grey Centaur nodded from the semi-introduction. Although it lacked a lot of armor, it carried the spear it had as if it were part of its body and appeared more than formidable, "Sgrilgar the Hylek," Sgrilgar looked proud and capable with his two swords sheathed behind his back. If the creature did not resemble a toad so much, it might be intimidating. Its leathers appeared fancy and woven specifically to aid in the Hylek's movements in and out of battle, "Tivlinii the Skritt," the rat creature stood fairly scrawny, wearing very simple and handmade tarnished chainmail. No helmet and no shoulder armor, just the simple getup, but wielded a makeshift axe. Fodder at best against much of Tyria's big and dangerous foes, "and Marideek the Skritt 'female'," Hrafn emphasized the gender due to its rarity. Marideek was about the same as Tivlinii in appearance and in stature, although of the rare female kind. The small staff she held could not be but for show, just an accent to the ragged robe it wore.
"Nine then? How'd I miss-" Skarr looked over the group and saw the one he missed, "Oh. Forgot the other Skritt."
"We small, yes." Tivlinii added.
"Ok. Not bad. We have a nice force now." Skarr looked over each member, looking for possible apparent weaknesses. His eyes leered at each briefly until Bane spoke.
"We done talking?" Bane asked not having moved a muscle. His eyes were half closed.
Skarr snarled a little at the rude comment. "I guess they don't go over common manners in the Flame Legion either…," Skarr began as he walked up to Bane, getting up close. Their muzzles were but a foot away. "If I didn't think we might need you, I'd have already cooked you."
Bane still did not move, even after the comment. "Yeah, that would be nice, especially since I could just use the fire you'd use to 'cook' me and turn it against you, but that's besides my point." Bane tilted his head to the side in the thought and then put it back to the small space between the other Charr.
"What -is- your point then Flame Legion? Why ask if we are done talking?"
Bane grinned all too slightly. "Well, while you've all been catching up and chatting away, I've watched our wurm burrow out of our sights," Bane waited until he saw everyone look out to where the wurm was, "That was my point."
Gasps and mutters of ignorance poured out among the group of Forefront.
"Why didn't you just say so earlier you scrawny Flame Charr!" Skarr shouted.
Bane again grinned, "My -flame legion manners- taught me to wait until everyone was done speaking."
Skarr roared in anger at Bane's comment, only wanting to rip into the Charr.
Immediately after Skarr's bellow, the ground shook all around them as another bellow could be heard from the wurm, but muffled and under them.
"Crap…" Aerion said getting in the defensive stance with his daggers readied.
"Spread out!" Skarr shouted. Everyone followed the order, but after Skarr's second shout, the sound of earth crunching and churning earth could be heard getting closer to them.
"Would you shut up!" Hrafn shouted in a whispered tone, "It can tell where we are by the vibrations and our movements. Stop yelling and making yourself known!"
"Would be rather nice," Bane commented just loud enough for Skarr to hear, causing Skarr to really get angry with him. Skarr debated whether or not to use his great legionary sword on the wurm or the supposed 'ex' flame legion.
"Just spread out and be ready," Hrafn communicated softly getting into a stance with his greatsword hovering at his hands. The raven atop his shoulder lifted off and began flying around above the group Forefront.
Everyone copied the Mesmer, getting into a defensive stance and silencing themselves. Each looked a different direction and listened for any signs of the massive beast, yet only the dull roar of the arid wind could be heard, which brought a smile to Aerion's face. The humanoids continued this for a while just waiting and anxious to see where the wurm was until Tivlinii spoke up.
"We no run away? Go other that way?" the small rat humanoid asked in a hushed tone.
Hrafn merely nodded a 'no' while Skarr huffed, still angry with Bane. Even though everyone spread out, Bane still had not moved: his arms still folded behind him at his lower back and his eyes half open. Skarr watched Bane with old hatreds and multiple shades of rage, until Bane finally moved, which Skarr made sure to watch intently.
Bane, bored with how things were panning out, finally unfolded his arms. The Charr bent over and picked up a nice sized boulder near his feet, about the size of a human head. He looked it over and studied it for a few seconds before his hands flared with fire around the boulder. Within seconds, the circular rock turned into a ball of fire. Bane reached into the sky with the boulder in his right hand. It shot into the sky moments after he raised his hand.
"Bane!" Skarr whisper-shouted. The action only exacerbated Skarr's mood towards him.
A few seconds later, the ball of fire smashed down into the ground about twenty yards from the group in the direction of the wurm was last seen.
The ground moved a little and they could hear the wurm under the ground now moving a little ways from where it was, being close to Cravisk and the two Skritt, to the impact site of Bane's fireball. The sheer amount of satisfaction from Bane's façade was enough to boil Skarr's blood.
Skarr ignored Hrafn's orders, of being silent and still, purposely to rebuke the Fire Charr and assume proper command. He walked over to Bane very quietly with soft steps.
"What was that?" Skarr scold-asked in a soft manner, yet with a grizzly attitude.
"That was testing to see if the wurm forgot about us. It didn't. Probably waiting for us to move like Hrafn told us it was doing. Because of what I did, we know where it is and it allowed you to walk over to me and try and harass me, why do you ask?" Bane commented with the same grin smeared on his face.
Skarr huffed and looked around, seeing the many eyes watching the two Charr wishing the quarrelsome duo would be quiet. He went to speak, but Bane had already started.
"Like I said, we all know where the wurm is now, thanks to me. Calm down Blood Legionnaire, no need for such harsh moods here." Bane loved the fact he was now the one toying with Skarr; tables turned.
Skarr gritted his sharp teeth and clenched his fists, only wanting to strike Bane.
"We could move out, if we caused another distraction," Hrafn offered looking to Skarr and Bane making sure to be quiet. He also saw Skarr wanted to rip into Bane and tried changing the subject.
"Not a bad idea," Calla added faintly seeing the same thing.
Skarr looked to Hrafn and realized running away and continuing the investigation would be the better option and followed Nivrin's orders of finding out answers, rather than trying to take on a massive tainted jungle wurm, despite him wanting the ladder. Skarr also wanted to puncture Bane, but too decided that was a bad idea. With a much needed sigh, Skarr responded.
"I guess that plan sounds good, we would accomplish our goal. First we need to go find Salreznar and his idiots," Skarr began until the ogre stepped in.
"Duz we have to?" Cravisk asked quiet, but in all seriousness. The rest knowing of the royalist and his ways had trouble from not laughing, only some slipping up with a few huffs of humor. After the laughs, the wurm rumbled around and burrowed closer to the group, causing immediate silence for those closer to the wurm.
"Let us make it home to Skrittsburg, yes? Better than fighting big worm, yes?" Marideek commented thinking the wurm was more like the dirt worms it knew of in the caves of Skrittsburg.
"It true. Very true," Tivlinii added to Marideek's comment.
Skarr looked at everyone present. Cravisk, Aerion and Calla were close to the wurms new location, Marideek, Tivlinii, Zrevt, and Sgrilgar were to Skarr's left with Bane to his immediate Right. More right, or east, were Vayldris and Raliek and just south of Skarr, Hrafn and Psyche stood. Looking them over, Skarr realized today was not meant to fight, but to find more information on Mordremoth, the Elder Dragon, so they could live to fight it another day.
"Ok, fine. When we make a dash west to Niv's group after-" Skarr started before hearing the wurm move about underground again. The earth churned in some twenty or so yards away from behind Cravisk.
"It is gettin' closer," Zrevt said aloud as Aerion made a palm to his face. Calla, Hrafn and Raliek made the 'Shh' motion with their index finger to the centaur.
Skarr looked to Bane, who looked back, nodded, and shrugged back. The grin stayed however through each.
No boulders were nearby Bane this time. There was however one closer to Sgrilgar and Marideek and another by Aerion.
Aerion saw it and pointed to himself for his boulder. This one was a bit bigger than his palm and Aerion would have to take some steps just to get it, "I got it," Aerion spoke with no noise as he brought his hands up.
"Heh," Aerion muttered as he forced the winds control to his will.
Aerion pushed his hand downward as the wind followed. It beat down against the ground in many places throughout the desert-like area; Aerion's intentions of letting the wurm know the wind was out as a distraction of sorts. Aerion looked to the rock and did a scooping motion with his hand. Immediately after, the boulder was picked up by an unseen force, and looked to be stuck in the air by a constant, soft blowing wind. He gave put a thumb up action with his left hand as his right appeared as if it was holding the boulder itself even though there was nothing there in his palm.
Sgrilgar looked over to his right side seeing the boulder and knew he had to go get it. He turned slowly and began taking soft hops, which were not exactly soft. As he approached, he felt the ground shake in close proximity of him. Sgrilgar withdrew his swords and came to a stop, completely nervous. The boulder was right in front of him and he knew he had to attempt to get it.
Sgrilgar hesitated slightly but picked it up, making no noise. The Hylek turned slightly and held the rock high, waiting to see when and where Skarr or someone would give the order throw it. Before he could, due to his slippery skin, the boulder slipped right out of his hand.
"Grf!" Sgrilgar emoted lightly feeling the slip begin.
Immediately after feeling the boulder slide from his palm even in the slightest way, Sgrilgar's instincts caused the need to leap away. Sgrilgar fell right along with the stone, lowering himself for a big leap as the boulder fell.
Everyone's eyes watched the stone fall in varied degrees of horror, but in whatever way they viewed it, they knew the wurm would probably be right after.
Seconds passed after the rock hit the ground before the wurm plunged through the earth at the exact location the boulder impacted.
Sgrilgar, having leapt up to try and flee from the wurms incoming maw, had jumped just enough to only get clipped by the wurms burst, sending his leaping into a type of out of control roll in the air.
"Skreeeeeeeee" the wurm cried watching everyone before it.
"Graaaaawwr," Skarr shouted loud and proud back, typical behavior for a Blood Legionnaire, and began into a charge at the wurm.
"Skreeeek," the wurm replied momentarily before diving at the Charr.
Skarr dodged to the right and recovered. His inner anger at Bane and the entire situation found its way out of Skarr in the bladed form. Skarr whipped about his greatsword at the wurms side in a furious manner, causing the appearance of hundreds of blades swiping away at the side of the creature. Each swipe tore at the moldy side, showing a type of braches and flesh mixture to its skin.
The wurm curled to the side and cried out while rising upward feeling the charr's attack. It turned and faced the rest coming at it to aid Skarr.
The group of Forefront let loose on the wurm. Many of them had wanted this to happen, eager for some action, while some of the others hoped this would not happen. Regardless of what the members of the Forefront wanted, the wurm was out for them.
Cravisk fired arrows just outside of the wurms reach with his short bow, making sure to hit aim for the head.
"Oh, my sun, heal my noggin for it not feels too good," Sgrilgar emoted hopping to his feet.
The mesmers each attacked from a distance like Cravisk, keeping away from the wurm, yet each fired purple-pink attacks from their weaponry.
Tivlini was hesitant, being at the wurms side and watched it closely as it tried to bite at some of the others. The Skritt did not want to be squished, not to mention the small blade it had would but prick the wurm at best, maybe cut off some pretty small branches of it. The other Skritt, Marideek, was casting small attacks of fire from her staff.
Zreft ran alongside the wurm slicing away with his spear the entire way as the Hylek, now back on his feet, hewed away with his two envenomed blades, despite not making much of an indent.
"It is definitely corrupted…" Bane said with a confused look. Fire lightly covered the backs of his hands and atop the hair on his head. He had begun to flick embers at the wurm, almost appearing to cause the great wurm some discomfort at best and not outright attacking like everyone else present.
"Corrupted by Mordremoth perhaps," Aerion put together in his mind as he whipped lashes of lightning at the massive wurm.
"Didn't I tell you guys that already?" Hrafn said tossing his greatsword at the wurm where it stuck into it. After a few seconds, the weapon burst from it, leaving both a gaping crevice and a new clone in its wake as the blade returned to him.
"Doesn't matter what it is," Calla said dodging out of the way of the wurms tail. Right after, the female warrior broke into a run, "It'll be dead soon!" Calla leapt up and landed on the wurms side. She began hacking away at its side before making her way atop it, again using her axes but as picks to climb on top. Once on top, Calla started hacking one of the tree limbs hanging off the wurm that resembled an arm of sorts.
"Careful Calla!" Aerion instantly emotionally verbalized seeing her duck out of the way of one of the branch-arms that went for her atop the wurm.
Skarr chortled at Aerion's shout while attacking the wurm, along with a snide smile to the aeromancer, which then led into a good chuckle before swiping his greatsword at the wurm again. His anger at Bane put aside for the moment.
"What?" Aerion asked whilst flinging his lighting whips.
"Your emotions are showing again," Skarr barely made out before dodging a wurm attack again, but this time due to the wurms tail swipe at him. Pieces of the tail crystals of it shown jammed into the ground from the attack at Skarr, jutting up like a spiked trap.
"Careful Skarr or your insides will be showing," Aerion noted.
"That a threat human?" Skarr asked rising to his feet fast to retaliate against the plant beast. He swiped at one of the jutting crystals with a smile, glad he was not pinned beneath any of the shards. The shard burst into a green dust upon Skarr's blade impact. Aerion and Skarr made note of that before their attentions went back to the wurm.
"No, just the wurm almost got you a couple times now. Getting' slow in your old age Skarr?" Aerion grinned knowing it was a low blow, especially whilst fighting, but he knew Skarr would get back at him after the fight.
Skarr took his eyes off the target after the wurm failed at some slashes and whips against him and stared at Aerion for a brief moment. This was really rare for the Charr, especially for one of the Blood Legion like Skarr was. Combat and dealing with enemies were an essential part of their training. One of such things taught was to always keep your eyes on your target and Skarr locked eyes on Aerion from the comment.
"I am in no mood for-" Skarr started.
"Age," Bane interrupted going off of Aerion's last remark, "or not used to fighting, which would be odd for a Blood Legion Charr."
Bane stood ready for an attack, but was not attacking himself. He watched his embers he sent slowly burn on the wurm while also helping Marideek's fire attacks actually hit and begin to burn.
Skarr snarled quite audibly while looking back towards Bane. After a quick glance back to the wurm, seeing it now after Hrafn due to his greatsword blast, he went to retort to the Fire Charr, but saw him merely standing there.
"What are you doing right now?" Skarr asked feeling his fury growing.
Bane did not take his eyes off the wurm, but did hear Skarr's question. "I am dealing with the wurm, like the rest of us. Well, you aren't," Bane played while changing his stance to a relaxed one. Again he folded his arms behind him. With a smile, he continued, "You're busy trying to defend why you're lacking luster in your fighting."
Skarr growled and sturck his greatsword into the ground. He was ready to quarrel with Bane until Calla shrieked out in anger.
"Calla!" Aerion shouted.
"I'm fine, but this damn wurm," Calla began while trying to balance atop of it, "it's trying to bring me down into it!" Calla watched as her boots were being brought down into the wurms backside like its hide was a pit. Vines and crossed branches crawled up her legs and grabbed hold and pulled downward. She began hacking away around her feet in an attempt to get away, but found it was no use. After a few seconds, her lower half fell into the wurm up to her lower hips.
"Calla!" Aerion shouted again.
"I'm fine!" she shouted back, again.
Trying to pull herself up, she noticed she could see through the wurm when looking directly down. Past the branches, the fungus armor it had on, and even its skin, she could see an empty space contouring the wurms inner body. "Uh, it's hallow!" she cried out as she lifted her left foot out of the wurms pull.
"Hallow?" Aerion asked wondering. Thinking about how the massive wurm could be empty, Aerion just managed to shift into an air form in time for the wurms tail to pass through Aerion safely. Once the tail went fully through, he reformed into his corporal form.
"What? Hallow?" Skarr said looking over the wurm in a new perspective.
"It's hallow?" Hrafn asked wondering. Immediately after Hrafn asked, three clones of himself appeared behind him in the same exact stance and armor only tainted in purple-pink hue and also ethereal like his greatsword; a raven too on each of the clones shoulders. They were there a total of four seconds, giving Hrafn enough time to dodge while his clones got pounded by the wurms tail smash.
"Apparently…" Vayldris said firing orbs of purple at the wurm now hearing four times the same thing.
"This should be easy then!" Skarr shouted, "Aim for its sides everyone, it's hallow!"
Everyone did so, aiming at the side of it. The wurm merely looked over to everyone and just attacked as usual, despite their concentrated fervor. It curled over and went to attack some others since it had not tried attacking them yet, which was the Centaur and the Ogre.
Calla, atop it, felt it moving and saw her end would be near if it were to roll fully. In a last ditch move, Calla laid back against the wurms backside, where vines and brambles took hold of her and began drawing her into its body, all out of sight of the rest. The wurm fully rolled to get their attacks off its one side, and to try and roll over some of the ones up close fighting. Calla would be rolled over and crushed if she were still standing in the way she was, Aerion saw this, unaware of what actually happened.
"No! Calla!" He shouted at the top of his lungs thinking the worse. A new feeling coursed through his spine, unintentionally creating thunder along with sparks of lightning in the air.
A surge of brisk wind coursed through the area, blowing against everything within a mile radius. Even the Forefront group found they had to find balance from the wind, despite feeling good from the dire sun heat. Although the sun was starting to drop in the sky, twilight and night time on its way, it still stayed vigilant in the sky.
Aerion pulled his arms back and outward, withdrawing all the melee fighters at the wurms base in a gust of air, getting them out of the way. Aerion had an idea finding out it was hallow.
The wurm dove at the Zreft, but missed thanks to Aerion's gale. The wurm curled up right and regained its equilibrium, opening its mouth for another shrill. It sprung forward and began to screech, but before it could, Aerion fully extended his hands out to the wurm, where a giant blast of air transpired, clashing with the diving wurm.
The gust knocked the wurm off the earth beneath it, where it rolled and twisted around in the air for a few of yards. The action did not send it all that far, but while the wurm was in mid air, Aerion plunged his hand downward where he stood, conjuring a bolt of lightning to smash into the plant creature's side. Flames erupted where the lightning struck and at the exact same time, Aerion forced his other hand downward causing another burst of air to descend from the sky, blowing the great wurm to the ground hard from its rolling. In another moment, Aerion brought both hands back up and down all the way to the ground.
"Check on Calla while I have it pinned!" Aerion cried, hoping the rest could find Calla.
Members of the Forefront began to run after the wurm. Skarr, Cravisk, Tivlinii, Zreft, Sharkii, Sgrilgar and Vayldris were the first to break into a rescuing stride.
Just as they arrived at the wurm some ten seconds later, they all saw axes slicing through its one side.
"Get back!" Skarr shouted to the one behind the axes approaching the wurm. Just after a few seconds of shouting the command, Skarr plunged his greatsword into its side where he saw Calla's axes.
Tivlinii, Sgrilgar, and Zreft too began to help the Charr make a makeshift hole while trying to ignore the wurms wiggling and screeching, being the ones who fought up close. The mesmers, near or far from the wurm, slung their spells of disorientation and mesmerizing blasts trying to dwindle its well being, hoping it would weaken.
"Skrreeeeerrrrr, Skraaaaa," the great plant beast cried being pinned. The beast squirmed and tried to break free, but the wind harshly blew against it, causing it to become infuriated. The ruthless winds mysteriously had no effect on the Forefront group.
"Calla?" Skarr shouted seeing her between the wurms side gaps.
"I'm in here, calm down," she replied kicking her way out, "I could have done without that whirl about… My head is still spinning."
Calla emerged coated in a green substance. It tainted her armor and skin alike, but did not appear to be hurting her, yet.
"Get out of there! I can't hold it much longer!" Aerion cried out straining as hard as he could.
Skarr took Calla, threw her over his shoulder and began to run away. The rest did the same. They managed to get a few feet before the wurm broke its windy restraints.
"Skrrraaaaaaw," the wurm bellowed in a deeper manner in its wurm rage, squirreling about to get back up.
"I made it mad," Aerion said to the person approaching from behind him. He wanted to take off after Calla but felt out of breath and more than exhausted after his spell. The aeromancer fell to his knees watching Skarr and Calla run back, though he balanced in his new knelt stance.
"That you did. Though, very good work with the air, elementalist. You and the wind seem to bond very well."
Bane stood beside Aerion in a calm, serene manner. His arms folded still and with a sigh, Bane watched in the distance as Skarr, Calla, Tivlinii, Sgrilgar, and Zrevt fled from the recuperating wurm.
"What? Why aren't you helping?" Aerion managed to huff out, still gasping for air while on his knees still.
"I am, in my own way." Bane stood vigilant just watching. In his mind, he was well ready to engage the wurm, though through eyes of everyone else, he was but a bystander and in the way.
The wurm coiled upward and turned to face the rest. Its senses locked in on the one who sent it flying, but too saw the other fleeing from it. The wurm whipped in a circle and bashed its tail into the ground once, twice, and three times. From each collision, chucks of earth in various sizes hurled to Aerion and the Forefront group running back.
"No!" Aerion shouted pushing outward his hands again.
The chunks of earth that were about to crush Skarr and Calla hit a wall of air and fell to the ground behind Skarr; Calla was fine. Aerion did not take into account the rocks heading his way. His eyes grew big and he dodged out of the way.
Bane did not move a single muscle, as if he knew the boulders and shards of earth were not going to hit him, despite one missing him by not even a foot.
Skarr, Calla, and Sgrilgar kept up their pace, still running after seeing the boulders fly by them.
One of the chunks of earth smashed into Sharkii, leaving a reddened hue to the boulder as it rolled to a stop. His greatsword broken in two as his body just broken altogether; the wurms first casualty since coming from the portal.
"Damnit, lost another…"Hrafn said angrily now peering down into the ground in a small, short remembrance for the Asura mesmer. He and Raliek decided to go to Skarr and the ones running back to where Aerion was, as if his location were a safe spot.
The wurm squealed in an angry, high pitch. It again burrowed under the earth, this time much faster than it had dug into the ground before.
"I-I… can run myself. P-Put me down," Calla began as she fell limp trying to get to her own feet from Skarr's grasp of her, causing Skarr to almost fall, but he caught his balance and Calla.
"Calla? Wake up!" Skarr tried.
"Put her on me," Zrevt said approaching on all fours.
Skarr didn't even hesitate and hefted Calla onto the half horse humanoid. Zrevt whipped his spear behind him and pinned Calla to his back with the shaft of the spear so she would not fall. He began to gallop faster than the rest, passing the rest coming to meet with the other four fleeing from the wurm.
"What happened to her?" Hrafn asked Skarr looking back to Calla atop Zreft. The group of mesmers and Skarr's melee brigade met up and got into a defensive position.
"She just collapsed. She had green all over her, like a venom or something from the wurm." Skarr withdrew his greatsword and held his out, ready for the wurm.
"Poisoned. Great. Well, we know the wurm can-"
Bolts of sharpened branches and jagged rocks and crystals shot from the ground to Hrafn's location, interrupting him. A piece grazed his neck while another pierced directly through his left shoulder. Another chunk of sharp crystal collided with Skarr's greatsword. If it were not for the Charr holding his weapon the way he was, a green crystal would have gone straight through his chest, but instead, sent him back a couple feet on his rear. A couple of other shards breached the Sylvari female beside Hrafn through the head, torso and upper leg, killing her.
Hrafn, despite having a wet, green coated piece of wood through his arm, stood still and gritted his teeth in pain. "Damnit, too loud…" he muttered now on the ground holding his left arm.
Skarr rose back to his feet and shook his head. After picking his greatsword up softly, he motioned for all to be still and quiet. His next thoughts were of the injured Norn.
"You ok?" Skarr asked quietly to Hrafn.
Hrafn nodded, "Mostly."
Skarr looked over to see Psyche, the Charr Mesmer coated in white fur with blue accents, digging through her sack. She picked out a heavy mail helm she had found off a body from a past journey and threw it as far as she could. It pounded on the ground, where it bounced and rolled to a stop. The earth churned and the wurm burrowed a different direction.
"Nice thinking," Skarr said to the other Charr. She merely nodded and bent down to Hrafn, looking over his wounds. Psyche helped him as best as she could, wondering what to do.
"This damn thing needs to come out…" Hrafn mumbled trying to grasp the shard in his shoulder.
"Here," Vayldris said bending over to him. Vayldris took hold of the shard and pulled.
The shard did not budge, but Hrafn gritted his teeth, feeling the pull.
"Move scrawny," Skarr said approaching the Sylvari mesmer. He heard a clank in the distance behind him and looked sharply to see Tivlini throwing things as far as he could, distracting the wurm.
Skarr smiled and latched onto the shard in Hrafn's arm.
Hrafn looked to Skarr in a mean, yet submissive manner, knowing this would hurt, but was needed. "Here we go," Skarr said before ripping the shard out of the mesmers shoulder.
Hrafn groaned loud, but made sure his mouth was shut in the immense pain. He knew to not be louder, but it wasn't enough.
The earth churned again and within seconds, they could see patches of dirt move and contort towards them all in the wurms wake.
Skarr motioned to Psyche. Again just a nod as a reply, Psyche got on the side of Hrafn that was not injured and teleported away to where Aerion was about thirty yards away. Skarr noticed Aerion barely was able to help Calla off the Centaur. Zrevt was doing most of the work. Skarr scowled at Bane under the silent veil seeing him.
Bane merely stood there staring back to Skarr and the rest close to the wurm, afraid to move fully. Watching. Waiting. For what, Skarr did not know, but seeing Bane just stand there and not help caused an absurd amount of hatred and anger to course through Skarr's veins.
"What do?" Tivlini whispered.
"I want to kill a flame legion right about now…" Skarr responded without thinking. He debated what he should do when the wurm made himself known again. In his mind, he could charge at the wurm or confront Bane.
Skarr stood with Tivlinii, Marideek, Sgrilgar, Vayldris. Cravisk was about seven feet away with his pets at his sides. Aerion, Calla, Zrevt, Hrafn, Psyche and Bane were at least twenty feet away from Skarr.
The groups stayed silent and made sure to throw things in different directions as often as they could.
While scanning the area, Skarr saw Cravisk waving. He looked over to see Cravisk pointing at Tivlinii. Skarr and a few others looked to see the Skritt was looking to the ground frantically, but what was most worrying was the fact his foot was tapping out of fear and anxiousness completely out of habit. Skarr's eyes bulged and he too began waving to try and get the Skritt's attention.
Not seconds after the find, Mordremoth's minion ruptured through the ground beneath Tivlinii, swallowing him whole and showing a new, unarmored form. The fungus-like hide must have been scrapped off through the hastened burrowing the wurm did, somehow different from the other times it burrowed.
The wurm was in fact hollow but was composed of not just strewn branches and old leaves and shrubs, but many dead bodies as well. The carcasses explained the white they were looking at earlier, for many of the bones from the bodies had migrated about it during burrowing and typical movement. So many dead bodies at varies stages of decomposition could be seen in among the wurm, even Jurgthi, Quaggen ambassador to the Pact, was easily spotted dead. The Hylek's body impaled and broken in and among the wurms outer edges. It was now quite easily known this was a minion of the elder dragon simply because they could see right through the wurm in many areas. No wurm could survive with so many holes in it and without internals. The wurm curled upward and faced its attackers with a screech. Barbs of elongated thorns and teeth intermixed showing it was quite the force of nature.
"Get it!" Skarr shouted as the Mordremoth wurm ended its screech.
Skarr and his melee band ran at the wurm as Cravisk began to let loose arrows.
Marideek, angry and seeking revenge for Tivlinii, started to go all out. Casting fireballs and fire-like spells at the wurm all the while angrily shouting in her Skritt rage, Marideek's attacks were doing what she intended them to do.
The wurm looked to be vastly dislike the fire about it, throttling its body in the scorched areas. Once it figured out who was doing these attacks, it sent its tail straight at her.
Marideek was too busy in her fire blasting fury to notice and was bludgeoned by the wurms tail and crushed into the ground. A hand, part of her staff and a leg stuck out of the ground entailing her demise.
"Hmm…" Vayldris said noticing how the wurm had stopped trying to go after Skarr when Marideek set fire to it. He pulled out his staff and began sending out purple balls that ignited each time they contacted the wurm.
The wurm took the bait and looked to Vayldris, who was expecting an attack. The wurm dove at Vaydris only to smash into the ground; a clone defeated but the wurms action.
Vayldris laughed maniacally a few seconds before abruptly stopping himself. "Fire. It dislikes fire folks!"
Skarr stopped his attacks on the wurm and immediately looked to Bane. "Now would be a great time!" Skarr yelled aloud intending for Bane to hear. He looked back to the stunned wurm that just head butted itself against the ground and began swinging his greatsword again.
Just before Skarr could use his greatsword, hoping to make a gaping hole through the wurms sides, flames began to appear about it. Skarr stopped to admire the small patches of fire. Skarr then realized they were just arrows from Cravisk's attacks coated in oil and fire. The wurm whirled around and whipped some poisonous barbs Cravisks way, where the Ogre barely dodged the projectiles.
Skarr snarled and looked back, ready to ream Bane for still not helping, but before he could say anything, he saw just why Bane hid his power.
"I am waiting…" Bane said watching the wurm with his daggers readied.
Skarr saw Bane now for what he was. At the sight, he did not understand why Bane was even with the group, baffled at Bane's initiative to coexist with the rest, as the sight of Bane in his current form would disallow any of the races outside the Flame legion to accept him.
Bane resembled the typical Flame Legion shaman. Bane's hands and forearms now completely taken over by flame as the skin looked charred and seared with beams of bright yellow orange and red piercing through beneath the surface randomly, somehow not hurting the Charr at all; perfecting the 'Burntblood' name precisely. The dagger hilts he held evidently could withstand such a high temperature as even the blades themselves were made of constant incinerating fire. The pyromancer piece atop his head flared in flames with Bane's eyes too emitting a small amount of fire, lustrous in a yellow even though Bane's eye color is a dark orange. The mane atop his head was the usual hair follicles, however at its ends spout out flames, as if his hair was burning. Even Bane's tail lit up as if it were ablaze under the skin, the tuft of fur at its end a small inferno as well. Skarr just wanted to charge the ex Flame Legion Charr, but realized it was just how he looked, the urge to take down an old nemesis subdued for now.
"Wait? Wait for what?" Skarr asked the other Charr as Aerion, Calla, Cravisk and even the others left of their group looked at Bane in a more respectful, yet fearful manner.
"For it to attack again," Bane responded watching the wurm carefully try and regain its senses.
Skarr looked away from the Fire Charr and back to the wurm and watched as Cravisk fired more ignited arrows while Zrevt attacked the wurm while mid gallop now, having left Calla to Aerion. Vayldris too attacked the wurm, shooting beams of fiery disarray all while laughing with each attack. Skarr looked back to Bane after the lapse of understanding Bane's words, but with a puzzled face.
"For it to attack again? It has not -stopped- attacking Burntblood, if you're going to do something, do it now before we lose anyone el-" Skarr began to Bane in an angry pitch not watching his back.
The wurm whipped its tail at Skarr, colliding into the Charr at full force, sending him flying many yards away. Skarr's body hit the ground hard and rolled many times before coming to a stop.
"Skarr!" Cravisk shouted in a worried state.
"No!" Zrevt cried while slashing away with his spear. Before the wurm could attack the centaur back, it was blasted by Bane's blaze.
The wurn ignited into flames and burned quite easily due to its making. It squirmed and flailed about in burning agony, screeching the entire time in agony. It rolled over and tried to put out the flames, but Bane weaved his hands about, detailing an odd symbol made of fire in the air in front of him.
"No, no, you overgrown maggot, you will burn…" Bane murmured making sure with each roll or attempt to put out the fire the wurm tried, it failed. He spread the flames about it easily and concentrated harder and harder.
Aerion looked up from Calla, seeing Skarr's body lay in the distance. With Bane and Vayldris keeping the wurm occupied, he shouted to the Centaur and Ogre.
"Zeft!" the aeromancer mispronounced, "Cravisk! get to Skarr, see if he's ok!"
The two heard and did so once they realized the wurm was being subdued.
"He's toying with it…" Aerion calmly said to himself watching Bane weave his hands about. Vayldris was just having fun and laughing the entire time attacking the corrupted jungle wurm like it was a comical creature.
"What?" Hrafn asked Aerion while holding his bad shoulder.
"Bane. He's letting it slowly burn instead of finishing the job… torturing it even."
The ones remaining watched Bane play with his toy. Each swipe the wurm took at Bane was either dodged or prevented by some fiery means. The wurm attacked with his tail, yet the fires on it held it back. Each action the wurm took was anticipated by Bane.
"Just kill the thing already, Bane!" Aerion hollered his fellow elementalist.
Bane looked over to Aerion slowly, "Why? This is fu-"
The wurm dove into the ground knowing Bane's attention was elsewhere. With what little energy it had left, it burrowed as much as it could in a last attempt to rid itself of the flames ablaze about it. In a few seconds, it was out of sight, for the most part. Its tail and a few segments of it didn't make it into the burrow, falling off during the action due to the incinerating flames.
"Oh no you don't…" Bane angrily pronounced in disagreement. He weaved his hands back and forth concerned. The way the Charr moved his hands looked like he was searching through something or an odd way of swimming. After a minute of this he smiled showing his sharp teeth.
"Ah ha!" Bane bellowed before thrusting his hand forward.
A dire explosion was heard underground as the ground some eight yards from Bane's location shattered upward in smoke, flame and ash. The radius was but the size of a small home, but the wurm was extracted from the blast, as it was now in many pieces falling to the ground, all of which were still on fire.
"Wasn't that simple to escape, was it?" Bane asked the minion's pieces in a cynical manner.
The parts of the champion wurm flailed about in their several pieces. The two biggest pieces were a middle segment of it and the mouth of it.
"Finally," Aerion briefly shouted with a smile to Bane.
Bane looked over and nodded to his companions, who looked overjoyed with his power over fire instead of fearful and menacing. This was a feeling Bane liked. Acceptance.
"I-" Bane began before turning to the side to avoid a sharp branch the wurm had managed to chuck his way.
Bane roared in all his Charr grandeur to the wurm before turning it into a full on war cry with his arms outward.
The remains of the wurm, each and every piece, now were part of the wind in blackened form riding off into the beginning of the dusky sky.
After the wurms threat was completely gone, the remaining Forefront gathered together, injured and alive.
"What now? Bane asked standing beside Zrevt and Psyche.
"I got it," Hrafn said pulling out a familiar device from his pocket wwith his good arm. He pulled out the Priory flare, opened the little hatch and pressed the button. A small surge of electricity surged visibly around the device and shocked Hrafn slightly. "Ouch!"
In the distance, the same portal could be seen. The blues, purples and slight greens formed, but all the way back where it had initially let Hrafn and his party out.
"Uh, we have to walk all the way over there to get to safety?" Psyche asked, finally speaking.
"We shouldn't…" Aerion said wondering just why Hrafn's flare acted the way it had.
A few seconds passed as now at the base of the portal, Nightmare Court and Dragonspawn began to appear out of it. Three other wurms too showed up along with what appeared to be a tainted and turned giant.
"Not again…" Hrafn said sighing.
Bane ignited himself again, preparing for the worse as Vayldris broke into laughter again.
"No. We run," Aerion commanded, "Too many injured."
Aerion pulled out his flare, popped the top and pressed the button where each of the remaining members vanished before any of the new threats could see them. Only those killed by the wurm were left behind.
