[PQ] Into the Ruins

Suddenly, Mist Bear! Enigma was about to make a comment when it heckin broke his shovel (THE NERVE) and clawed up his arm. Rude. "Aw come on, that was a gift," he complained, pulling a gold-hilted sword from under his cloak. "But this is too," he told the mist bear as he took up a fighting stance. "I will warn you, I do actually know how to use this," he said as he twirled the sword once in his hand before bringing the blade down on the bear. "Come on, my Three Caballeros! Let's do it to it!" he shouted to the others, hopping backward to avoid any retaliation the bear may give. He would deal with his arm later. They needed to get rid of this guy first. LE GASP. A MIST BEAR. Let's work together to get rid of it! enigma monarch of the apocalypse

remi This was exactly why some mild preparation was necessary. Nearly colliding with Ronin, the alchemist deftly dodged backwards as the mist-bear slowly came to life. Inhaling sharply, Remi found himself fitting his body against the wall trying to eliminate himself as a potential target while simultaneously trying to figure out just what the creature before him was and what the best strategy of defending himself against it might be. At first he thought the beast might be incorporeal given that it looked entirely gaseous, but as it snatched the shovel away from Enigma and clawed into the man's arm, that idea was promptly given up on. Swallowing, Remi could feel his fingers begin to feather as his hawk-instincts began to bubble to the surface. He could easily flee from here given that he was already mostly in the back. Indeed, with no weapons at his disposal (not that he was particularly good with them anyway), what could he do in this fight? "Ronin ?" The alchemist whispered under his breath, inviting the captain to take the lead, despite the fact that Enigma was also trying to do just that. Having charged them down here with no preparation or information straight into what seemed like an ambush had diluted any trust Remi might have placed into him.

R O N I N

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Oh.

Okay then.

Ronin fell to an abrupt halt to watch with a level and calculated gaze as Enigma interacted with their new mist-bear friend. At the sound of Remi's voice the ex-captain glanced back at him, offering a quick smile; whilst he didn't understand the need to talk to the monster quite so much, he did agree that they should, er, 'do it to it'.

"Shift - try to get at the back of its neck if you can. And if, for whatever reason, you can't get a grip on it... well, it's mist. Maybe you can blow it away with your wings?" He smirked. It sounded like a bizarre idea, but that was basically the theme of this entire trip, right?

Whilst Enigma faced the beast head on, Ronin burst into action; darting around the swordsman, he went for the bear's right side, trying to land a blow on it to throw it off balance.

They wandered around the ruins the strange world for some unknowable amount of time, trotting around in the semi darkness. Kaladin had been chastising himself for not coming better equipped to deal with lack of visibility when suddenly the swirls of mist that no one had seemed to notice gathered together to form a strange mist monster in the shape of a rather large bear.

The creature didn't seem tangible at first, its body shifting and swirling like mist typically would. Yet, it seemed solid enough to snatch up their strange leader's shovel, easily breaking the wooden handle in half while simultaneously shredding his upper arm into ribbons. Enigma didn't seem alarmed at all at the sudden appearance of the creature, nor did he seem concerned that blood was rolling down his arm in waves. He seemed jovial if anything before pulling out a golden hilted sword and charging at the bear, Ronin close behind.

Slowly unraveling Godeater from his belt he began to spin the large ball and chain at his hip, a low woo woo woo coming from it as Kaladin took aim. As soon as he saw an opening in Enigma and Ronin's attack he would let the spiked ball fly free. It was more of a test strike, he was hoping that the concussive blast that Godeater emitted when striking something might disperse the mist, assuming that the creature was tangible enough to strike.

The mist bear was unimpressed by the group’s efforts. Ronin's fist passed through it with no effect. Or at least, no effect on the bear, but the man would find his fist tingling unpleasantly, as if  he'd accidentally cut off the blood. After all, the creature was, essentially, air, with some water vapor after all. No weapons or fists could do much to deter it. However, that didn’t mean it couldn’t affect the party and their weapons. No one said this fight was going to be even a little fair. Enigma might know how to use his sword, but he clearly didn’t know what he was up against, and lack of preparation would fell even the most skilled of combatants. The blade passed through the body of the monster and left eddies in the fog that comprised the bear’s body, but they quickly closed up. Unfortunately, when the man disengaged he would find his sword spotted with rust. The substance that made up the monster had found every imperfection and, while the individuals in this group didn’t know the science behind it, they would recognize the work of water and air on a weapon. This process had just happened more quickly than most. Kaladin's weapon (Godeater was a silly name for a weapon that would hardly give even the feablest of gods pause, let alone a creatue like the mist bear) would similarly come away slightly rusty from the encounter with the fog. However, unlike the more mundane weapons employed by his companions (except for Remi who’d done nothing in this fight) the magic of the ball and chain actually did manage to disperse the bear briefly, causing the mist to explode into a cloud for a brief moment. That was unexpected, for the mist being most of all, but like the air itself it was mutable. Besides, it had already shown that it could reform from being damaged. That didn’t mean it enjoyed the process, and so it swirled in a bewildering cloud that overwhelmed the party before it eventually split into two large birds made of the clouds themselves. They swooped down and snatched up the broken halves of the shovel, carrying them into the sky before even Remi could think about chasing them. Maybe that would teach this lot to think twice before venturing into the ruins again without preparing for the dangers lurking within.

Enigma was enjoying himself as his sword danced with the mist. The others came in as well. The looks on everyone's faces as they fought said a lot about them. They clearly thought he was crazy, and they wouldn't be wrong. He lost a few marbles over the years, it wasn't like people weren't bound to notice. He would be concerned if they didn't. Just as it seemed all was well, the bear turned into two birds, grabbed the two halves of his shovel from him, and began to fly away. He stopped and stared at the birds for a moment, his eyes glowing coldly through the shadows of his cloak. He then began running after them, swearing at them in his native tongue, and with all his might, used his air elemental powers to shred the mist to pieces. If he was successful, he would pick up the pieces of his shovel and leave. If not... He would stop running and stand there seething. The mist would have hell to pay. The PQ is over after learning from the Random Event what the fate of Enigma's shovel is. Enigma will be done, but if you wish to continue, that is fine. Enigma already survived one post-apocalypse. Why not another?

remi Remi didn't know Kaladin nor Enigma, and after the way the cloaked man had acted, the alchemist wasn't entirely sure he wanted to continue on into what seemed like a doomed treasure hunt. As the bear coalesced despite having been struck, Remi took a step backwards. Not necessarily cowardly was he, but nor was he prepared to fight for such a worthless cause. Treasure? Why? "Ronin-" He said in a whisper, reaching out to grasp the hunter's shoulder and tugging him backwards softly. As the bird split into two birds, each wielding half of a sword, the alchemist watched as Enigma ran screaming after them, shouting things in a language he could not understand. "How about a drink instead of this nonsense?" The alchemist whispered into the former-captain's ear. Despite the fact that the danger seemed gone, Remi had no intention of further descending into this madness.

R O N I N

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His fist passing through the mist bear had been... almost expected, but at the same time Ronin still stumbled, and he darted back cradling his wrist against his chest and flexing his fingers experimentally. Ugh, that was... unpleasant. Blue eyes flashed over his shoulder as Remi called his name, and he allowed the alchemist to guide him back as the whole maddening display unfolded before them. It was akin to some kind of pantomime, almost, and Ronin blinked after Enigma as he chased his shovel.

Madness. Yeah, that seemed about right. Nodding in agreement with Remi, the ex-captain turned and started to lead them away, though he did glance over his shoulder now and then for either Kaladin or Enigma or both. It wasn't in his nature to leave a man behind, but... it was definitely in their best interests not to be in those ruins for any longer. That exploration could be left to another day.