Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Shrouded within Darkness

"Go ahead. I'll be generous and spare you having to pay. Not like I can't purchase another, I am a filthy stinking rich king."

He copped a grin after saying that.

A quiet chuckle. "That's certainly true. Just trying to do the right thing. I'll be on my way."

Sam bowed with a "your Highness", then turned on her heel, bending, scooping up the scabbard and reattaching it in the same motion. Once out the door, she walked around the side wall to where she had tied up her saurus earlier (a purple-skinned horse-sized dinosaur-looking thing with reins and a saddle that runs on two legs, in a posture similar to a velociraptor), mounted, and rode off in the direction of Death Mountain or whatever people were calling the volcano these days. Her red cape flying dramatically in the wind.

Onward... to adventure!

((Now I've got to get back to my main character.))

Alphanus, from his underground prison, was greatly humored by the scene. How could these dolts have any hope against someone who can all but bend reality to his will((Not saying he can actually do that, just wanting to make him sound deeply sinister and powerful))? At this point, he had regained about half of his power, but the seal had yet to be broken. He was about at the point where he could fully shatter it himself, but its limiting effects prevented him from doing such a feat at this point. He laughed and dismissed these "heroes" as nothing, and resumed his maniacal plotting.

"Heheheh...the time is near. I will emerge in my full glory once again, and existence shall know terror once more..."

The Ranger questioned silently the validity of a lizard riding a lizard as he caught Sam riding off in the corner of his eye. He went back to silently tacking a horse from the King's stable for the journey ahead of them. If he kept his mouth shut and just killed whatever got in the way, he might actually get through this mission without trying to stab one of his "team mates."

Once the horse what loaded and ready to go, he turned to look for Mink.

On their way out, she had clung to the man like a wet towel; of course, upon exiting the building, she had seen something shiny and had run off. The woman never got too far behind, however. When the human turned to find her, there she was. Blatantly staring at his ass. Mink's mouth curled into a small smile as her eyes quickly traveled up to meet his. Her expression was menacing, yet enticing. She yawned.

"So," she said in a bored voice, "we going now?" She looked away, the very embodiment of the phrase "bored out of my mind."

(i was waitin for hydro to post, also i think we'll need you to set up another scene for us pretty soon as we're all on the move, or about to be)

(haha I was afraid I scared everyone off)

Dadj lifted his brows and smirked at the woman's unconcealed staring. "Yes, let us go now. I know you'll follow as long as I'm in front."

He mounted his animal and reigned it in the direction of their journey. 'So long as my rear parts are so interesting." He waited for her to ready herself.

This area, an expansive, grassy plain where looking any direction would yield seeing only more of the plain all the way to the horizon, seemed to be untouched by the cataclysms. The only indication of the disasters was the ash-filled sky. Looking straight ahead, the heroes should be able to see the volcano a long distance off, which is not nearly as violent now. Ash and smoke still billow from the top, and some lava flows are still present. Behind them they should still be able to see the capital city, albeit just a faint, small outline now. There are also some lesser fire demons, but nothing to really pay any mind to. There did seem to be what looked like a glowing magic circle hovering in the air nearby. This just so happens to be a portal for the next major enemy((or boss, if you will))to appear from, but none of the characters currently present making the crossing across the plain should know this.

Mink happily hopped onto a horse, startling it slightly, a smirk playing across her lips.

"Let's do it, then." Her eyes lit up once again with excitement.

The two riders were rounding a hill leading to their destination when the Ranger lifted his head to see the sky. The ring of magic caused him to flinch, but he urged his horse onward. He could see the volcano and felt the presence of the evil all around him. A similar feeling stirred inside his soul and made him feel cold. In brief words, he pointed out the ring of energy to his companion.

Already used to the presence of evil, Mink didn't mind the feeling as she took in the scenery. To her, this was like a break from adventuring alone. As the man pointed out the ring, she looked at it thoughtfully. Of course she had seen it before he had said anything; but it was comforting to know that someone was thinking of her. Heh heh heh... The corners of her mouth turned up and her eyes narrowed. But she soon brought her thoughts back to the glowing orb of energy. She slowed her horse to inspect it further.

"What could it be, hmm?"

"Gronk. Gronk!"

Sam's saurus suddenly became agitated, becoming more and more difficult to control.

"What the heck, Mort? What's with you today? These demons aren't gonna kill themsel... what is that?" A tug on his reins, and Mort came to a halt, though he continued to fidget and stomp nervously.

"Gronk." Mort bobbed his head emphatically at the nearby magical ring.

"Yeah, I see it. Let's check it out!" After some encouragement with the heels of her boots and, eventually, a snack of salted olm, she managed to get Mort to reluctantly start moving closer to the ominous manifestation.

As soon as they stepped towards it, the circle turned into a portal, out of which a giant, demonic knight((Giant, as in 15 feet tall))stepped out of. For some reason, he didn't have a weapon of any kind. He doesn't need one.

"I am a servant of Alphanus, and my name is Herald Distrugere. You seek to destroy my master? Then I will do to you what you seek to do to him."

Distrugere let loose a massive blast of dark energy at the good guys, hoping just that one attack would finish them all off.

Reacting quickly from years of experience, Mink spread her wings and took off as quickly as she could away from the attack, simultaneously reaching into her small bag for her sword. When she alighted, she turned to the fiend, ready to fight. It was only as an after thought that she glanced around to see if her comrades were still alive.

The ranger was tossed from his horse, who unfortunately did not survive. He struggled to his feet on badly burnt legs and re-aligned his arm for the second time. As he stood, his wounds began to close at a sickeningly slow speed and his face was pale and ashy. While he himself could not process the pain in his mind, his body was still having a hard time telling itself it was perfectly fine.

He stood before Distrugere, arrows knocked and flying despite the horrid condition his body was in.

Mort skidded to a halt as the fiend emerged, throwing Samantha off his back. He immediately turned around and ran away as fast as possible, escaping death by mere seconds.

Sam managed to tuck her knees in for a roll, recovering just in time to unsheathe her sword, which was emitting brilliant white light due to its proximity to a powerful supernatural being. Kneeling, she held the blade out vertically before her, and parted the knight's Evil Lazer Blast around her.

She rose and charged at the knight with her sword held aloft, hoping to catch him off-guard thanks to the arrow-pelting.

By this time, Mort had removed himself several hundred meters from the battle in the direction of the town, but could not summon the courage to travel any further through the flame-monster-infested plains without Sam around. He instead picked an inconspicuous-looking outcropping of rock to hide behind, poking his head around the side to watch the confrontation.

(If Distrugere is at all sensitive to magic, he'll be able to discern that the sword's magic is anathema to supernatural beings, and therefore, can identify it as somewhere between a moderate and extreme threat depending on his confidence and skill level.)