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Ambition Was Limitless
The team of four tightened their grips on their assorted weapons as the final door in this segment of the Ruins loomed before them. No words were said between them. Each made eye contact with the others as a silent understanding of just what they were about to do passed amongst them. As one, they nodded. Aela moved in front of the door, feet making no noise on the stones.
"AAAKLYORAAAHHH!" The Hellion shattered both the silence and the door, kicking it off its hinges. There was a shape in the shadows of the final room, an imposing figure, nightmare made material. The Necromancer Apprentice. Aela brought up her glaive and changed. Velsi chased after her. He dropped to all fours, chains shattering as his body shifted in the moment between one step and the next. Man and beast shared their eyes, and It was eager to see if those bones would survive being crushed in their jaws. Vesli would've preferred to not taste Necromancer arm, but when one's weapons were teeth and claws, there was few ways around that.
The Apprentice hissed, creating waves of sheer terror with a mere wave of the horrible monster's hand. The magic had the stones of the room rumbling, and skeletons rose to their undead master's call. Puffs of green smoke started to assault the room as Bird began a volley of toxic mixtures. Some were so potent that the skeletons outright melted, and the Doctor could be seen making fast scribbled notes with one hand and continuing her onslaught with the other. The skeletons that survived the mixtures then had to content with ghost tentacles dropping from the ceiling and tearing at any enemy foolish enough to come in range. Caillot's eyes gleamed, echoing the color of the glowing sockets of his skull as he uttered incantations in some dark forgotten language.
The shrouded horror let loose a screech of rage at the sight of its skeletal minions laid waste. With another shriek, the Apprentice thrust a pustulous clawed hand skyward, sinuous ropes of writhing black energy blasting skyward. At the peak of their ark, the ropes of dark eldritch power began to merge, taking a more defined shape as they fell. Seeing this, Vesli tried to jump out of the way, as did his friends, but the energy, now having formed the silhouettes of tombstones, changed course, slamming into them.
Feeling the vile magic washing over them, It let loose a revolted howl, a cold shiver running down their spine at the sensation and a light sweat dancing along their skin. Seeing the party's reactions, the Necromancer gave a guttural inhuman laugh, the monstrous sound ringing with mocking intent as another skeletal minion rose from the ground to stand by its master's side.
Seeing how few skeletons it possessed to aide in the battle, the Necromancer uttered an incantation in a language that sounded older and even more twisted than that which Caillot practiced. Feeling clawing fingers grabbing at their ankles he and It let loose a howl of pain and anger, looking down to see skeletons trying to crawl from the floor, using their and Aela's legs to sink clawed bones into. Snarling, It slammed a clawed fist into the rising skulls, shattering the bone as they crumbled apart. Aela used her glaive to splinter the limbs of her attackers, but the Apprentice had gotten what it wanted. In the confusion, while they responded to their attackers the Necromancer had summoned more and more skeletons to aide it in the battle.
Glancing at Aela at their side they gave a roar before charging the horde of skeletons. Most went down with one or two blows, some taking three. The problem was that there were so many skeletons and the Necromancer kept summoning more. "At this rate, we'll never kill him." Aela growled, having just landed a single blow against the Necromancer himself, one of the few they had attained during the battle, before being pushed back. Suddenly, her eyes went wide. "Guys! Give me an opening!"
Roaring in acknowledgement, It lowered their head and charged, slamming skeletons out of the way or into powder. Behind them, echoed out Caillot's controlled voice, tentacles shooting behind them at their sides to keep the horde from filling in the gap they had just created while Bird started a new onslaught of poisons. Ignoring the sounds of glass vials shattering and skeletons melting, man and beast kept charging until they felt a large heavy boot on their shoulder. Straightening from shock, Vesli lifted up and propelled Aela skyward, the barbarian giving a savage blood curdling war cry as she spun her glaive, using her momentum from the lift and fall along with the spin to rend a massive bleeding gouge into the Necromancer's chest.
"Doc!" Aela yelled grunting out spit as the Necromancer back handed her into the man-beast as they both flew back several feet. "Blight him!"
With a yell, Bird lobbed several glass vials at the Necromancer, the green liquid spilling out covering the Apprentice necromancer's skin and seeping into the wounds made by the glass and the one Aela had caused. "Just have to outlast him now," Aela grinned, spitting out blood as she shot to her feet, spinning her glaive to clear the skeletons away and give them room to fight.
"You would know a great deal about 'outlasting' people, wouldn't you Aela?" Caillot called out, almost startling Vesli out of his beast form at the Occultist trying to make a joke in the midst of combat.
Aela simply laughed, "Probably more than you do!" before charging once more into the fray. Even with the bleeding infected wound on the Necromancer greatly slowing his ability to summon skeletons, the battle was far from easy. Bird had run out of vials and concoctions, now reduced to stabbing at any skeleton that came near her or Caillot with her knife.
The battle raged onward, the skeleton's numbers dwindling lower and lower as Vesli and Aela broke them apart just a little faster than the slowing necromancer could raise them. Seeing this, blood spilling over the floor, the Necromancer clearly realized it was going to die… but it didn't want to die alone. Raising both hands skyward tombstones of black eldritch power rained down while skeletal hands clawed upward. Caillot stood out of their range as was Bird, but Vesli and It took the brunt of the tombstones while Aela lay on her last legs, barely standing after breaking the clawed fingers of the skeletons.
Seeing their condition, Veci rushed over to their bleeding barbarian to try and tend the wounds… just as the Necromancer wanted. With a shriek, the Necromancer shot forward and thrust a clawed hand, catching Bird as she gave out a pained cry that froze Vesli and It, stilling even the shaking his body endured from the eldritch powers. Bird rolled like a rag doll from the blow, laying almost motionless on the ground, only the slight rise and fall of her chest showed she was alive, albeit on death's door.
Seeing her like this, seeing his friend all but dead and this monster moving in to finish the job, Vesli felt stress and hate and rage like never before. It responded. New strength coursed through their veins as he and It shot forward, yelling in mutual fury, the light from their torch shining behind him in luminescent glory as the Necromancer turned. The beast's last sight was of It, wreathed in light, swinging its claws and ending the wretched thing's life. Man and beast panted over the corpse. Vesli was having a hard time from keeping It from rending into the remains again. Especially since he was partly considering it himself. The beast escaped his control slightly, swiping at the lock the Apprentice wore as a sort of necklace. They could feel the pulsing magic in the metal, even as they startled. The beast suddenly remembered there was a more important matter, and Vesli was able to turn them to bound over to the fallen Bird.
"RRrrrrRRrgh?" In his haste to ensure Bird's safety, Vesli hadn't yet transformed back.
"She'll be alright," Aela assured, fingers on the Doctor's pulse.
"Thank the Light," Vesli breathed, chains reforming as his more human shape took hold of his body. "Caillot. You may want to look at the Apprentice. There's… magic in those chains."
"Necromancy most likely," the Occultist scowled but went to investigate. He stroked his chin. "Not the chains. The lock. And it isn't Necromancy. Curious." Caillot cast a spell that had the lock opening.
"You could steal so much stuff with that," Aela whistled. Vesli rolled his eyes, gently pulling Bird onto his back. Giving a piggy-back to an unconscious female was certainly going to be a first for him.
"Vesli, I believe this will be of more use to you than me," Caillot strolled over with the lock in hand. "I found it curious that you would recognize magic and upon investigation, I understand. Whatever enchants this metal is much like the magic which you and It possess to transform as you do."
"One last thing to do then," Aela approached the body, and spun her glaive. Her blade connected with the corpse, decapitating it. Now they had proof for the Heir that the job was done.
Holding Bird's weight up with one arm, Vesli accepted the lock deposited in his free hand. Now that he wasn't recoiling from it, the locks magic was almost… soothing to the mind. Deciding to keep it for now, he clicked the lock into a link of the chains. The soothing sensation was strong enough it seemed even to permeate to his companions. Vesli adjusted so that he was carrying Bird with both arms once more. His gaze went to the Apprentice and he wondered. But questioning such things whose answers he'd likely never know would only drive him insane. For now, Vesli was content with the fact that Bird would live and that he, Aela, and Caillot were heading out of the dust filled Ruins.
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A soft groan altered the staff of the Sanitarium that their patient was waking up. One sterile-white garbed nurse walked over to the cot. "Welcome back," here she looked at the clipboard "Veci, is it? A Plague Doctor? You've been out for a while."
"Feel like I headbutted It," Veci grumbled sitting up. She made a face, "Still need better name".
"Beg pardon?" The nurse questioned.
"Nothing. Was not addressing you. Am now. Where is my mask?"
"We removed it. Your team mates that brought you in here had left it on." There was a gesture to indicate where the avian clothing article now sat.
"Left it on?"
"The one with the scraggly hair that carried you in here said they felt like removing it would be invading your privacy."
"Scraggly? Means Vesli. How long must I stay here?"
"At least another day. You did just wake up from being almost dead. The one you called Vesli left a gift." Here she motioned to a small box.
Veci accepted it. "I want my notes and pencil. Need to do something or will go crazy." The nurse shrugged, and handed the items over. "Perhaps will manage to narrow down names." The Doctor opened the box and the contents jingled. She laughed, gripping her side. "Ow."
"…" the nurse very wisely decided she didn't want to know.
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"I still can't believe Face let you on his head," Vesli murmured, "Your powers of persuasion must be unparalleled." The Man-at-Arms hadn't even looked embarrassed at Vesli coming to retrieve Creature and seeing the not-kitten sound asleep on the old veteran's head the other day.
"Meow," Creature simply demanded more back scratches. The man obliged with a soft huff of amusement.
There was a jingling sound that caused Vesli to straighten. "Talks to cats. Possible loneliness." The familiar voice had the man rising his perch on the Sanitarium steps.
"I didn't think you'd actually wear it." The object in question was a leather strip attached to a bell which currently tied to Bird's belt.
"Was a gift. Waiting on me?"
"Perhaps. Maybe I just felt like sitting and chatting with Creature." The not-kitten merely blinked at him.
"On the steps of a place you despise. Strange choice."
The man shrugged. "Gotta keep that air of mystery somehow."
"Have a gift for you as well," Bird rummaged amongst her things.
"You just walked out of the hospital. You're still moving like it hurts. How in the name of the Light did you get a gift for me? Why?" Vesli wondered if it was because she was female or because she was Bird that all his attempts at understanding constantly failed.
"Said I would make it. Have a list of new names for It to think about."
Oh. That made much more sense now. "Let's hear them then."
"One thing first."
"Hm?"
"If I get a name It likes, I get to meet It."
This again? Vesli automatically opened his mouth to refuse. But… considering what happened in the Ruins… He sighed. Then nodded. "Alright. But… not in the Hamlet." There were too many things that might set It off here. Her best chance at survival was somewhere calm that happened to have plenty of escape routes.
"Deal."
"So? The names?"
"There are five. Will list them all together. Are: Aegis, Roard, Sverrir, Zvir, and Thaon." Bird gave a slight head tile. "Considered Fluffy originally. Did not think it would be appreciated".
It snarled at 'Fluffy'. "You'd be right in not suggesting that last one." The beast considered and dismissed some of the names quickly. Others gave it pause. Vesli gave a long sigh when It decided that one of the suggestions was acceptable. "It likes Sevrrir. Though It thinks the name's a mouthful. Admittedly, It mostly likes that Sverrir can be shortened to Rir, which is a noise It can actually say."
"Then I'd like to meet Rir. So much better to say a name."
"Just promise to run if he tries to bite."
