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Post by othus on Sept 22, 2018 0:17:04 GMT
Akane was used to walking long distances, a couple of hours went by extremely fast, in fact, she was kind of worried about Onyx, a dragon that could fly would probably reach his home in no time at all, hell, if she had a bike she would have cut the time to get to this point by 4.
"Well, that was quite the trip, now that we are close let's begin." -Musashi remarked as she equipped her combat armor, her Masamune blade appeared on her waist and the Yoshihara blade appeared on the other, she rested her hands onto the hilts of her blades, a big smile and a determined look was showing on her face.
"Two swords do feel better than one after all...well, time for us to get to work"
Akane would have done the tracking, but Onyx was a lot more familiarized with the area, and more importantly, he knew exactly what to look for, Musashi knew she was there to assist in the hack and slice, maybe she would end up being the decoy...who knows?
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Post by Kuma on Sept 22, 2018 1:28:01 GMT
-Thank you so much.- Callis bowed, upon hearing the location of the Dragon. -I cannot take this.- The Beast Knight pleaded, upon receiving the Adamantine Sword, but upon seeing Onyx face he realized that once again he was being overly humble, so he took the weapon and attached it to his belt. The walk was quite longer than he expected, but it gave him enough time to witness the immense beauty of this land. The landscape was quite similar to the Eastern borders of Via, the province of Orion, where he was born and spent his youth, before going to the Capital. The memories woken by the sights took over, making him silent during the journey, only glancing once or twice towards Akane and smiling. Sooner than he thought, after walking for hours in treacherous mountain paths and deep valleys, they arrived at their destination.
A solitary mountain protruding off the coastline. Eternal snow crowning the peak in immaculate white. Callis looked up, his hair and coat waving behind him as the winds roared down the mountainside, like a pack of hungry wolves. Akane equipped her armor and summoned two swords. Her comment managed to steal a smile from Callis, who couldn’t avoid grinning upon hearing her. -So, what is our next step Mes Onyx?- The Beast Knight asked as he looked around, scanning the area for caves. -I do not mind if you decide to return towards your home, you have done so much for us.- He started talking but quickly added. -Yet if you could at least point us towards a lead to follow I would be extremely grateful.- Callis ended while still in full alert, his nose trying to separate the different scents and smells coming from the mountain, dragged by the bitter whistling winds.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 23, 2018 2:00:21 GMT
"Dragons are my job. You two maniacs aren't charging into one's lair without me." Onyx wandered up the mountain until they passed a ledge and the entrance came into view. "Although I admit you didn't need my help finding it." A massive opening was carved right into the side of the mountain. It wasn't made by the dragon, and it certainly wasn't natural. Too square, even if it wasn't marked all over with dwarven runes.
The runes were old enough that Onyx could barely read them, but he got the gist. They were documenting what metals were found here and the king that funded the dig, standard features of a dwarven mine. Less standard was the hot air that flowed from the mouth of the cavern and the red glow behind it. A sour smell came with the air, the sulfuric stink of a giant reptile. "Yep, that's dragon. Parts of my hall still smell like that." Onyx sighed and stepped up to the edge of the lair. "Are you two ready?"
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Post by othus on Sept 23, 2018 2:50:38 GMT
"Ready" Akane replied as she positioned herself right behind Onyx, Musashi was picky for her every day about cleanliness, but when it came to actually do the dirty work, she had come to enjoy monster lairs. The smell of sulfur was something she was used to, especially after fighting so many demons, its nothing a good shower wouldn't fix.
Akane looked back at Callis with an expression of excitement, there were the two of them, going at it again, putting their lives at risk once more. Her actual contracts in the months after the cursed blade incident had been pretty tame, save for that encounter with what the Musashi clan later registered as specimen Z, facing near death had been more and more common for her, and this was probably not the exception, this did not bother her on the least, for the way of the warrior meant being resolute towards death on the first place.
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Post by Kuma on Sept 23, 2018 4:36:25 GMT
Callis nodded, entering through the old dwarven doorway. In front of them, there was a very long hallway, carved into the mountain itself. At the far end, there was a reddish glow coming from the right. -Thank you Mes Onyx, your help and wisdom are greatly appreciated.- Callis bowed again, thanking the dwarf as they advanced. The Beast Knight took the lead, not even worried about unsheathing the blade given to him by Onyx. He wanted to attempt a diplomatic approach before fighting and he didn’t want to ruin the blade lent to him, so even if fighting broke he didn’t plan on using the Adamantine Sword. He wondered where did the voices he heard outside Onyx’s home go to. For the first time since bonding with the Grail he heard the spirits within the relic, but now they were silent.
The Beast Knight couldn’t avoid appreciating the skilled craftsmanship of whoever carved the passage, as the parts not damaged were quite amazing, polished walls of stone that were the reason for the glow, so deep within, reached the doorway in the mountainside. The damaged sections have deep grooves carved into them, as if something really sharp and really heavy scratched against it, causing patterns of lines, surely claw marks or horns, being drawn in solid stone. This was an awful sign of very painful things to come, but the Beast Knight reminded positive, knowing that if the Dragon was a sentient being he would be able to talk it out. Soon they arrived at the source of the glow, a massive hole in the hallway, leading to a massive incline of broken rocks that ended upon crashing against a veritable sea of golden coins and objects.
Callis stopped upon seeing a corner of the hoard, not even peeking to check about the dragon. He gestured the others to stop and whispered. -I have a plan.- His face was a mask of seriousness and determination. -I will go down and talk to the Dragon, you two can take positions where you like if the parlay does not work.- The radiance of Callis optimism could be pretty annoying for anybody listening to him, but his determination, the white flame burning inside his pale blue eyes, was a silent counterpoint to the incredible recklessness of his plan. He didn’t choose diplomacy out of ignorant naivete or hopeless idealism. He was alert and ready to move if something happened, but he wanted to try the civilized approach because of a conscious choice. -I trust you will have my back Akane.- He said with a smile, before starting the descent with calm and steady movements, trying to avoid being too noisy or sneaky. He was going up front to talk with the Dragon. If somebody wanted to stop him there was enough time before he turned a corner being fully exposed to the hoard.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 23, 2018 18:15:08 GMT
Onyx rolled his eyes, but he nodded anyway as Callis walked past. At this point, he realized that trying to reason with the knight was impossible. "Is he always like this?" He asked Akane as he slid his arm ring into his hand. He began chanting, a gutteral, throaty language that would be alien to Akane, having no relation to anything humans had ever spoken. "I block the flow of flames, I seal the serpent's mouth. I am dragonslayer, scale-splitter, who cuts wings like sails and severs the tail!" The arm ring stretched and flattered as he spoke until in his hands he held a massive sword, nearly as wide as a human torso and longer than Onyx was tall. Gems that resembled dragon's eyes glittered and changed color depending on what angle Akane looked at them from, adding an element of life to the deadly tool.
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Post by othus on Sept 23, 2018 20:38:33 GMT
"Be careful" Akane replied to Callis while holding his hand for a moment and then letting go as he went ahead, Onyx's comment made her crack a small laugh, she too found him weird at first, despite being polite, he was stubborn in a unique way. It threw her back to the time he refused to even call her by her first name.
"Yes, that's the kind of man he is, but that's part of his charm," Akane told Onyx somewhat happy. The sword the Dwarf selected was definitely something she wasn't expecting, it almost looked comical when wielded by the dwarf, though a blow from that would more likely crush you rather than slice you, ornamental blades were never the cup of tea for Akane, that clearly wasn't a battle blade, it was more of an executioner's blade, at least for humans. Musashi immediately understood where the Dwarf was getting at using that weapon, it was meant for far larger targets.
"You western people love big weapons huh? I once fought against a woman who carried a sword the size of a building, gotta commend you for your strength though, not many would be able to wield that thing effectively"
Having said that, Akane moved in order to have Callis within her eyesight, she set up her visor which was now a full helmet, and her armor slowly adopted the color of the cave, Akane's slayer type also had noise dampeners which made her movements barely sound despite the metallic nature of her armor, she signaled Onyx to move forward, hopefully, the dwarf could make as little sound as possible, but walking around with that blade shaved her hopes in half.
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Post by Kuma on Sept 24, 2018 3:52:28 GMT
The Beast Knight started his descent, being careful not to step on any loose looking rock. The more the moved down, the stronger the golden and reddish glow became. An outcropping of the cavern roof blocked his view of the hoard, but just the edges of it seemed to be bursting with treasure. Callis never was a greedy man, but he was honest enough to admit that the sight of so much treasure made his blood rush a bit. To him there was something comforting about metal, maybe it was because most lack strong smells, making them quite comfortable to be around. Precious minerals even more, as they rarely rusted. The Beast Knight didn’t have any troubles going down, as his newfound powers made his body as light as a feather, he even accidentally stepped on a somewhat loose stone, but it didn’t budge an inch, even after using it to jump to the next one. If Akane or Onyx were paying attention to him they would notice the phantom feathers trailing behind him.
Finally, he left the safety of the massive stalactite blocking his sight. A golden sea lying beneath him, hills of golden coins, fields of gems and a veritable bounty of weapons and objects decorated the room. It was a dome of roughly 50 meters in diameter, with almost double the height. The walls had several tunnels with broken bridges coming out from them. This place must’ve been the “downtown” area of the underground community, a hub-like area that connected different sectors of the mine and the living quarters. And in the center of this massive chamber, a creature, unlike anything Callis had ever seen, rested comfortably, nested among the gold, like a cat sleeping on their owner’s bed. It was quite big, possibly almost 10 mts tall, even taller counting the neck. Two large horns, similar to Antelope horns, crowned the long head. The body was completely covered in green scales, all ending in sharp tips facing the back and round tips facing forward. The sharp ends had a gradient of yellow.
The Beast Knight had to stop for a second to take everything in. He had seen impressive things in this world, but this could almost take the cake. But soon he realized he couldn’t stay there dazed and confused, so he resumed his calm walk towards the Dragon. He finally got off the cracked cliff and reached the edge of the Hoard. Without hesitation or doubts, he strode forward, walking over the coins and ingots. No sound could be heard, as his steps were as light as falling snow. He got closer to the creature, whose breathing pushed away and dragged back coins in front of its snout. Callis, deciding he was close enough cleared his throat and proclaimed his presence. -Oh, mighty Dragon!- He shouted, his voice echoing around the dome. He continued with official and courtly tone. -I have come to beg for an audience as I wish to discuss an exchange for something in your glorious collection.- There wasn’t any dishonesty on his voice. -Please, allow my humble self a moment to talk with your majestic self.-
There was a moment of silence until the Dragon started shifting, moving and slowly lifting its head off from the golden bedding it was using.
𝔎𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲
ℌ𝔬𝔴 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤... 𝔄 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔥𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢...
The Dragon opened its eyes, focusing them on Callis. They were yellow orbs of contempt locked on the Beast Knight
𝔚𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔪𝔶 𝔰𝔩𝔲𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔞 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫...
ℑ𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔢...
𝔑𝔬𝔴 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔨 𝔥𝔲-𝔪𝔞𝔫...
𝔅𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 ℑ 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡...
Callis, keeping his cool beyond what was humanly possible, took a deep bow. -Greetings great wyrm, my name is Callis Nomene, Knight of the Kingdom of Via, Field Marshal of the Northern Battalion, Aurora Regulus Ensis and currently serving as an Agent of the Japanese Hidden World Affairs Bureau.- The Beast Knight tone was as well-mannered as if he was talking to a king. -I wish to obtain certain objects in your collection and I am willing to exchange goods and services for them.- A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Callis had nerves of steel, but the intimidating aura of the beast in front of him was slowly getting under his furry skin.
𝔄 𝔨𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔞𝔶...
ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔥 𝔰𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢...
𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰...
𝔎𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲𝔨𝔲...
It had changed its posture upon hearing the word Knight coming out Callis' mouth. Something was weird.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 24, 2018 5:51:58 GMT
"That doesn't sound great." Onyx slipped into the opening Callis had taken, eyes widening at the mountains of gold around him. If they won this, maybe they could actually afford to have Gerd forge those swords for Callis. He edged his way around the horde to avoid jingling any coins. Memories kept flashing through his skull. He saw blood running down these coins from the eviscerated bodies of dwarves. He saw fire flowing in the valleys between these hills. He froze, breathing slowly. His sword was shaking like a leaf in the wind. The dragon's voice alone burned through him, leaving him only ashes. That dragon would strike at Callis, he knew that. Could he move when it did?
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Post by othus on Sept 24, 2018 6:22:51 GMT
The moment Akane saw the dragon she knew speaking with it was a bad idea, they should have taken advantage of it being asleep to get the blade and then bolt out of there, one fire breath from that thing and Callis would be gone. Musashi heard Onyx on the back state his disapproval, Akane couldn't help but agree in silence
*If I were the dragon I would have burnt him already, I don't like where this is going*
Musashi grabbed hold of a couple of throwing needles, her heart rate accelerating as she knew those would do absolutely nothing against the skin of the dragon, but with her accuracy, she could definitely hit a target as big as it's eye from afar, should the dragon try to kill Callis she could probably distract it that way, but after that there was still an uphill battle, they wouldn't be able to grab the blade after that, not unless they killed the dragon as well. Akane backed off as she moved towards onyx, signaling him to move ahead.
Akane had to cover Callis, but Onyx could definitely look for the blade in the meantime. If the worst came to it, she was sure she and Callis could stall the creature for a while.
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Post by Kuma on Sept 25, 2018 23:08:44 GMT
-Oh, mighty Dragon, I only have gratitude for this chance to barter with your magnificence and avoid unnecessary conflict.- Callis was as courteous as he would have been while serving under a King or somebody of equal importance. What little he knew about Dragons, mostly out of hearsay and from a couple of stories he heard from Percival, was that they were arrogant and had a high opinion of themselves, so playing to that pride seemed to be the right way to engage in a conversation with them. Gapjärn posture had changed upon hearing the word “Knight”, getting more interested, and it changed once again once the phrase “unnecessary conflict” left Callis’ lips, turning disdainful and haughty. The Beast Knight wasn’t well versed in reading people moods through their body language, and much less reading a dragon’s, so he only took it as the Wyrm shifting positions to become more comfortable. Onyx, if he could see Gapjärn, might notice the clear signs of discomfort, considering his familiarity with Dragons.
ℌℜ𝔘𝔐...
ℑ 𝔰𝔢𝔢, 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔬𝔟𝔱𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔪𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫...
𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱?
Gapjärn asked, it voice echoing through the whole dome, reverberating like a bell made of stone. It put a strange inflection to the word “Knight”. Callis bowed, lifting his coattails with elegance and grace, crossing his legs behind him. -Once again thank you for your time.- He slowly, without any kind of killer intent, moved his hands towards the blade, detaching it from his belt. -In your hoard there are two blades like this one, I wish to obtain them, is there anything you would like in exchange for them?- Callis asked while returning the blade back to his belt. Gapjärn opened its mouth, revealing the reason for its nickname. Each of the long and sharp teeth inside her maw was covered in metal, dark and opaque, almost as if it didn’t reflect any light. The Beast Knight didn’t know, but those reinforcements were more functional than decorative, because of one of Gapjärn’s abilities, being unlike the usual among its kind.
𝔖𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔞𝔶?
ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪...
ℑ 𝔞𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔫𝔢𝔤𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪...
𝔅𝔲𝔱 ℑ 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤.
Gapjärn initial openness of Callis ideas bodes well. -What do you wish powerful Wyrm?- He asked, looking at the massive scaled monster in front of him with eyes full of optimism, hoping that it would be something on his reach. Gapjärn looked down on Callis, its slithery neck tilting to the side.
𝔄𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶 𝔞 𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱?
𝔅𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔞 𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔪𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔣𝔬𝔯.
𝔒𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡...
𝔇𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔪𝔶 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢?
Callis was taken aback by the question. He didn’t expect a Dragon to question his Knighthood, but he would take that as a setback. -I am a Knight, mighty Gapjärn, not of this world, as my land lays beyond the dimensional veil, but I have served kings and nobility as a vassal.- The Beast Knight decided to explain more. -I was marooned in this world by an accident of magical nature and serve a new master, but keep my oaths as a Knight, the word in my homeland is different, but essentially my role is being a Knight.- Callis referred to the fact he was using a translation spell since back in Centris the official title was Ensis, that was part of his title “Aurora Regulus Ensis” (Lion Knight of the Dawn) -Please tell me your request and I will do my best to comply to it.- The Maw of Iron looked down on Callis, its yellow eyes locked on to him.
𝔐𝔶 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢...
𝔐𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱...
𝔏𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔩𝔡...
𝔐𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔶 𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔠𝔨𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰...
ℑ 𝔡𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔢...
Callis heard what the Dragon was saying and for a moment he was absolutely confused, to the point the only thing he managed to say was. -I beg your pardon?- Callis' hopes for a peaceful exchange very vanishing quite fast.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 26, 2018 3:22:59 GMT
Onyx couldn't see the dragon, knowing full well that if he was in a position to see the monster, she could peer right over the hills of coins at him. However, he very clearly heard her. He swallowed a curse and grabbed into his coat pocket. Out he pulled a ring, shaped like a serpent entwined with itself, sharp-toothed mouth slightly agape. Back to you, then. It seemed to guide his fingers to draw itself down, coils tightening when it was firmly on. In the moment it did so, he was taking off. The ring transformed him mid-stride.
Bony scutes like a crocodile pushed their way out of his skin first, a stony brown-grey. His face split into a gaping grin full of fangs, teeth overflowing to jut from his lips and chin. Just as a bony shield was growing from his neck, he was lunging over the hill, blade coming right down for the dragon's skull. He felt a little bad starting the fight this way, but she had made her intentions clear, and you should never let the first blow go to a dragon.
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Post by othus on Sept 26, 2018 3:54:23 GMT
Akane too acted immediately, if the dragon wanted a fight he would get it, Onyx rushed for the head, but Akane chose a more tender part, she aimed both of her blades at the creature's eye, if her blades did not work there, they wouldn't work anywhere!
"Niten Ichi-Ryu: Raijin no ken!"
The flurry of strikes was focused on a single point, her fighting spirit roared as the blades landed, she was hopeful that attack would at least give Callis time to rethink his strategy, Onyx too was an expert, so aiming for the head was indeed the best they could do at the moment, her intuition hadn't failed her this time either.
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Post by Kuma on Sept 26, 2018 4:27:04 GMT
Gapjärn didn’t show any kind of shock upon seeing the incoming attacks. She smelled the group from the very first moment they took a step into her lair. She heard her steps echoing in the hallways and felt their presence once they got close enough, through the vibrations in the ground. The only reason she didn’t attack Callis, at first sight, was curiosity. As both attacks were coming directly towards her head and face, she just spun around with surprising agility whipping her tail towards the incoming attackers. The slithery extremity ended in a bladed tip, almost like a bony ax head. Akane would get tagged by the proper tail, while Onyx might crash against the edge of the natural weapon. Callis, still standing where he was, jumped into action, running towards the incoming tail and sliding underneath. As he did he picked a weapon from the hoard. He wouldn’t use the loaned blade Onyx gave him if he could use other weapons. His fingers gripped the shaft of a halberd and a rush of memories hit him as he saw the weapon in his hands once he stood up after the tail lash. “You need to use the weight of the weapon Kitty-cat, or you won’t split their heads in two” A female voice echoed in Callis' head, a memory of his own past. The voice of his first crush. 𝔅𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔶𝔞𝔩! 𝔚ℌ𝔈ℜ𝔈 ℑ𝔖 𝔜𝔒𝔘ℜ ℌ𝔒𝔑𝔒ℜ 𝔎𝔑ℑ𝔊ℌ𝔗!Callis snapped out from his flashback as Gapjärn roared with anger upon finishing her first attack. She was standing showing her side to them and her head turned towards them and her opened mouth got filled with green luminescence. The Maw of Iron didn't spew flames like others of her kin. Her whole family had a different breath weapon. A jet of thick green sludge came out at high pressure, like a massive hydro-cleaner, launching an attack towards Callis, who jumped to the side. The gold around him remained intact, but wooden objects among the hoard started melting. Gapjärn and her ancestors were known as the Corrosive Wyrms, able to exhale highly pressurized acid that only targets organic matter. Her mother was known in the past as "The Deathbringer" for this ability.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 26, 2018 5:07:27 GMT
Onyx swiftly raised his arm when the tail lashed out and his watch flared out into a golden shield, marked with a maze of red lines. It caught the dragon's tail for him, sending him sprawling in the coins. They showered over him, glittering right in his face. This was a good hoard. Something swelled in his chest as he ran his fingers through the stream. He was snapped out of it when the dragon spewed her acid.
"What, that's not like- She's corrosive! If I have my memories straight, her blood will be too. Most metal won't survive it!" His sword would be fine, as would Adamantine, but he wasn't sure about the others. He could even be wrong, scraping together half-remembered facts he had never had to put to use. His shield shrank back into a watch and he dove back into combat, swinging his sword at the wide space in her flank between her front and hind legs, hoping to get at her belly from there.
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Post by othus on Sept 26, 2018 5:59:37 GMT
Akane kicked into the dragon's tail as it came to strike, she managed to reduce some of the damage while the rest was covered by her armor, Akane slid down the ground like a motorcyclist who just had a fall, finally crashing against one of the walls.
*Tch, that thing packs a lot of power, I should be more careful from now on*
slowly getting up, Akane teleported out her blades as she heard the word corrosive, Tamahagane would definitely not survive it. she swapped the blades for a set of standard katanas, while those were fine weapons, they could be replaced with money, something her Masamune wouldn't
Musashi was bothered by the breath, but her armor should be fine, not only was the Mangalloy somewhat resistant to corrosion, the tantalum carbide coating was extremely resilient to it, with her current armor being a tight seal from head to toe, she would just have to focus on not getting crushed by the beast.
-Perfect Warrior-
Akane bulked up as she ran towards the creature, the belly was not nearly as armored as the top, so aiming at the insides would be the best bet, she tried slashing with both blades aimed at the base of the chest, if she were to try a large attack, she would probably get pinned again, she had to get a proper opening before that!
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Post by Kuma on Sept 27, 2018 1:41:50 GMT
Callis dashed to the side, exploding into a sprint aiming to reach the opposite side to flank her. The Beast Knight wanted to target the back of her knee, to reduce her surprising mobility. Thankfully for him, his new power allowed him to move without sliding over the myriad of coins under his feet. He shifted his weight once he reached his intended destination. “You need to stand firm, no flippy shit, get it?” Once again the voice from his past reminded him how to wield her weapon of choice. Callis couldn’t avoid thinking how much she had in common with Akane, while also having plenty of differences. This momentary reminiscence was enough of a distraction that he didn’t go full force with his attack, not doing it as fast as he could.
Gapjärn, scanning the area, saw the incoming attacks and reacted accordingly. First, she leaned towards Onyx, blocking his path towards her exposed belly, to the point that the dwarf never even saw it. Her tail whipped back, this time from over he body, trying to crush the Dwarf under it. She avoided Callis attack by sending her front leg forward, directly towards Akane. This wasn’t the first fight for the Wyrm. Yet something seemed wrong, as Gapjärn seemed vexed, not enrages or drowning in battle-lust, but merely ticked off by the circumstances of the fight. There was something off about the whole thing, something hidden from the eyes and minds of the group battling this Great Wyrm.
𝔉𝔒𝔒𝔏𝔖!
𝔅𝔈𝔗𝔗𝔈ℜ ℌ𝔈ℜ𝔒𝔈𝔖 ℌ𝔄𝔙𝔈 𝔗ℜℑ𝔈𝔇 𝔗𝔒 𝔇𝔈𝔉𝔈𝔄𝔗 𝔐𝔈!
𝔗ℜ𝔜 ℌ𝔄ℜ𝔇𝔈ℜ 𝔒ℜ 𝔐𝔜 𝔐ℑ𝔊ℌ𝔗 ℭ𝔒ℜℜ𝔒𝔖ℑ𝔙𝔈 𝔅ℜ𝔈𝔄𝔗ℌ 𝔚ℑ𝔏𝔏 𝔗𝔘ℜ𝔑 𝔜𝔒𝔘 ℑ𝔑𝔗𝔒 𝔊𝔒𝔒𝔓!
She roared, threatening them to a very painful death. The areas her breath hit were still intact, except for anything organic. Clearly, her breath weapon was highly specialized to combat humans and the sort. Callis looked at the Mighty Wyrm with apprehension, he couldn’t feel any killing intent from her. Surely Akane, as a trained warrior, might also reach the same conclusion if she stopped to sense her enemy. Something was really off, as her corrosive breath could easily one-shot any of them, yet she wasn’t using it.
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Post by HungryHunter on Sept 27, 2018 2:12:11 GMT
Apparently Gapjärn had more experience fighting humans than Onyx did fighting dragons. The tail came spearing down and he realized instantly that blocking it with his shield wasn't going to cut it. He dove forward, body-surfing a few meters along the coins to let the tail come smashing down behind him. He pushed himself to his feet, noticing the lack of aggression himself. A dragon could do so much more than she was doing. This didn't seem to be her first rodeo, so it wasn't a lack of experience.
Was she that attached to her noble, one on one clash? Was that a thing with dragons? Or was she just a weirdo? The later seemed likely. He looked at the treasure around himself and quickly grabbed something out of the pile. He set the steel cap he grabbed on his head, the horns and frill on his skull preventing it from resting easy. "There, I'm a knight now? You happy?" He growled, tapping on the rim. "I'm keeping this, by the way."
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Post by othus on Sept 27, 2018 2:46:38 GMT
Akane nimbly dodged to the side, almost lounging herself to the right in order to avoid being crushed. Looking at Onyx's reaction made Akane cringe, was that really the reason she wasn't fighting them? Musashi walked right in front of the creature.
"Surely you jest!"- Akane exclaimed loudly towards the dragon
"Your lack of killing intent is an insult!, I demand you take seriousness in this!"
Musashi pointed her blade towards the dragon, she never liked being underestimated, not even if it was a dragon.
"Is a title so important to you?" Akane finally said in anger, she could prove she was a samurai, but she always hated that people measured her according to her heritage and not her character.
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Post by Kuma on Sept 27, 2018 3:14:34 GMT
Akane’s commanding voice echoed around the dome, serving as a stop to all the frantic movement. The Maw of Iron returned to an upright position, glaring directly at Akane, the source of the reprimand. Her yellow eyes turned into malicious slits, measuring her down. A blast of air came out from Gapjärn’s open maw. Surprisingly it wasn’t fetid as one would expect, but mint-scented. The Mighty Wyrm scanned Akane from head to toe and finally decided to speak.
ℑ𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔨!
𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔞 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔡!
𝔖𝔬 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔞𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤!
𝔄 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔠𝔯𝔶 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔶𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔡 𝔬𝔣 ℌ𝔢𝔯𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯.
Gapjärn taunted them, while accidentally revealing that her mother “The Deathbringer” was still alive, contradicting the information Onyx gave them earlier. Callis looked up at the powerful dragon. -But I do not desire to fight, there is no point if we can solve this like civilized people.- The Beast Knight was once again trying to reach a peaceful agreement, taking advantage of this impasse. -Fighting is not glorious, waging battles should be the last resort anybody should use.- Callis continued. -Can we stop this mindless brawl and return to bartering for the items?- He asked, hoping Gapjärn would change her mind. Unluckily for him, she didn’t, as she let out a mighty roar, her eyes turning incandescent.
𝔚ℌ𝔄𝔗 𝔎ℑ𝔑𝔇 𝔒𝔉 𝔎𝔑ℑ𝔊ℌ𝔗 𝔄ℜ𝔈 𝔜𝔒𝔘!?
𝔚𝔄𝔊ℑ𝔑𝔊 𝔅𝔄𝔗𝔗𝔏𝔈 ℑ𝔖 𝔑𝔒𝔗 𝔊𝔏𝔒ℜℑ𝔒𝔘𝔖!?
ℑ 𝔇𝔒 𝔑𝔒𝔗 𝔚ℑ𝔖ℌ 𝔗𝔒 𝔖ℌ𝔄ℜ𝔈 𝔐𝔜 ℌ𝔒𝔄ℜ𝔇 𝔚ℑ𝔗ℌ 𝔖𝔘ℭℌ ℭ𝔒𝔚𝔄ℜ𝔇!
The Maw of Iron’s roar thundered inside the dome as she stood in her hind legs and then crashed down, slamming her claws against the floor with as much force as she could muster. A veritable tsunami of gold and invaluable relics was created by the shockwave of her angry stomp, towering over the group. Callis, seeing this, started running in the opposite direction, nimbly avoiding larger objects indented in the gold with fluid and continuous movement. Both Akane and Onyx should also try to avoid it, or they might end up crashing against the smooth walls of the dome, pressed down by a maelstrom of riches.
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