[KQ] Bigger A(spire)ations

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets It was time. Ronin had prepared, stalled, prepared again and finally, finally, he had given his daughter over to Vervain at the Infirmary and he had headed to the Spire at high noon. The Flowerbirth sun, pale but still warm, shone down upon him as he came to a halt just within that strange, invisible line around the Spire that most deemed 'safe'. Not that he would stay within it for long. The ex-captain was dressed in his old Storm Guard leathers, Ronin determined not to receive another bite from the creature if he could bloody well help it. His left hand flexed, clenching and unclenching; the God Hand gauntlet gifted to him by a goddess shimmered with each movement. He had donned his kinesis bracers, too, making sure they were fully charged; from one of them, a small plume of osprey feathers bristled in the breeze. An eye-shaped pendant lay warm against his chest beneath his clothes, too (did it feel warmer than usual? Did it?). He was ready as he'd ever be. Tilting his head up to greet the sun, Ronin closed his eyes. "Safrin, smile down upon us today," he murmured, before turning to face his comrades. "Thank you all, for being here. It... it's encouraging, not showing up and finding out I was to do this alone." He laughed quietly, slinging a small sack from his shoulder and setting it down before the group. "The monster is weak against fire and other incendiaries. Courtesy of my favourite alchemist, I have here a selection of grenades and glass bombs, which should spread fire where they ignite. There is flint and other means to set them alight in there, too. So please, arm yourselves." OOC NOTE: Each participant will have 1 x grenade and 1 x glass bomb (AKA Molotov) to use as a thrown projectile throughout this KQ. "I also have this." Ronin withdrew three vials from his pocket, handing them out to the group - noticeably, there was not one for him. "Isla was able to make this much antivenom to deal with the creature's poison before she died. If you get bit, knock that back and you should be... well. Not alright, but you know what I mean." Clearing his throat, Ronin glanced over his shoulder to ensure he had not unintentionally drawn the creature's ire just yet. "I suggest Sparky stays back and tries not to get too close to the creature." He winked at Ashetta. The rest of us... if we can draw it out from the Spire and its shadow using the projectiles, all the better. If we can keep it away, we stand a very good chance, I believe. I'll go in first and draw it out. Roana, I'd appreciate you being hot on my heels. If you can attack, I'll shield you as best I can. Agreed?" Whether they were all in agreement or not... it was happening. Welcome to the Key Quest! 1. Ronin 2. Roana 3. Ashetta 4. Remi You have 48 hours to respond, detailing your character arriving and their preparations. REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding, but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters - enter at your own risk!

"I will take that as a compliment and pretend that I am not the only alchemist." Remi said with a smile that belayed none of the worries and fear that he should have been feeling. Glancing warmly at Ashetta before nodding politely to Roana, the alchemist took a breath. "I am perhaps not as trained in combat as the three of you are, but I will be here to support as best I can. My hope was to create difficult terrain for the creature, to perhaps even create a pit if you can hold it still long enough, for I doubt that it will be stupid enough to simply fall in on its own. Barring that, Isla will be able to provide some healing if things get particularly bad." He said, gesturing over his shoulder to where the dark unicorn stood, watching with intrigued and intelligent bright blue eyes.

Glancing up towards the sky, three medium-sized hawks circled. Nodding towards them, the alchemist smiled. "Last time it was just the spire demon on its own..but if more trouble comes, they can alert us and provide a distraction."

Яemi

& we don't know what we're waiting for & we don't know the truth anymore
& we can't see clearly through the fog so we end up chasing g h o s t s

ASHƎ She was a storm: sudden; powerful; violent; devastating;    Ashe smirked grimly at Ronin  arms crossing over her chest as she leaned on the large shoulder of her coal and snow dappled unicorn. He stood dutifully and calmly, golden eyes and golden ram horns both glinting under the sun of high noon. "You got it crab-kicker," she said in a tone not heavy enough for the situation. She reached a hand up and patted the stallion's neck, glancing up at him before she turned her gaze back to Ronin. "Percy is as quick as the wind - we'll be right there when we're needed." And of course, her lightning would be expertly trained on that fucking beast the entire time. A familiar voice sounded in her head mere moments after she spoke, and she nearly missed Remi's voice piping in. She could sense Kalt's unease, but she maintained her confidence, she had to - she'd fry that demon to a crisp today. "I'll be home for dinner, silver," she promised.    Ashe accepted the vial and tucked it safely into one of the many hidden compartments in her fitted black clothing. Her uniform from the Guild - there hadn't been an anticipated battle yet that she hadn't donned the stretching and durable black suit, full of hidden blades and necessities. Both the explosives found safe places, and she simply double checked her prosthetic from Remi . As the flame curled from the end of the little finger, she smiled warmly at Remi. "Glad you're here," she said, and she turned her gaze to Roana next, nodding to her gratefully in greeting. No matter what lay in the past with her and the woman, she was glad for her presence.    The assassin glanced down to the bracelet Kalt had given her for this - Remi had created this, too. She was thankful the sword was lightweight.. cause she sure as fuck was gonna need it. Lightning began flickering silently over her arms and bouncing across her hands with brilliant shades of white and blue, and she turned fire blue eyes out to the spire. To where the demon waited for them. and utterly magnificent.

art belongs to Jaecarys

Roana I am more than just a piece in their game Roana arrived promptly, obviously ready for battle. Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid, the hardened leather armor she wore nothing as glorious as the mail she had in her time in Northwind, but a heck of a lot better than the plain tunic and leggings she had worn before. On her hip, back where it belonged, Krosis. Her boys were safely away with Phoebe, with whom she had recently reconciled despite the narrator's arbitrary decision to not write about it as the readers beyond the now shattering third wall would probably find it boring (and no one was here for boring). Momentary pause for the fragments of the third wall to repair. Thank you for your patience. Upon seeing Ronin, a pack in hand, she smiled and nodded her greeting. She remained quiet, listening to his instructions and decisions. They all seemed sound enough to her. As he mentioned each person in their cohort, Remi, Ashetta, she nodded to them in greeting in turn with a small smile. They all had something worthy to contribute. She armed herself with the projectiles when noted, and safely tucked away the poison. So she was to take Ronin's flank and take the offensive. Easy enough. Krosis was long enough to maneuver around her fellow warrior, and defend them both in the worst case scenario. She glanced back at Ronin then. "Ready to go play bait and switch, Captn'? I pray your Safrin is with us." Phoebe had told her a bit more about this Goddess. While she hadn't had the time to visit her before this...it seemed if any might give them some advantage it was her. If she lived through this, she planned to pay her a visit too.

There are no words of encouragement to offer, none that will change this outcome now.

Still, Safrin sends a cooling breeze through the midsun air. It wraps itself around the maybe-martyrs-but-hopefully-heroes and invigorates them, body, mind, and soul.

It lingered in the shadow of the spire, waiting. It waited because it knew. It knew because it had been told. The Outlander's assumptions of safe zones and the strength of their anti-venom would be their downfall just as much as teeth and claws and poison would. It would give them no time to plan, no time to lay traps or tempts or feints.  It raced towards them, its claws leaving scars in the budding earth as the scent of the four drowned out the whispered and eroded voices of a once rational mind. It was hungry slowed slightly by the sun, but it would never give up charged with relentless abandon just the same. Snarling and snapping, jaw already unhinged and salivating, it targeted the group, clustered so thoughtfully together. Predatory navigation that was hardly instinctual sought points of weakness, targeted and then attacked. As it runs into the group, it swipes at the softest looking target, the one without weapons or armour (Remi). Its long and grisled claws rake towards him, wanting to flay flesh from bone.  Its prey is faster than he looks, and the demon's claws catch on naught but air. Spinning in a snarling whirlwind it snaps its teeth towards Roana, its teeth needling through the muscles and skin of her shoulder, cutting and tearing until its mouth was filled with the sweet and tangy taste of her blood. The initiative order is as follows (determined by dice roll): MONSTER, REMI, RONIN, ASH, ROANA. Your turn is roughly 6 seconds long, so keep that in mind when writing your posts. If you want to use your turn to protect someone else, you must have specified that in your previous post. MONSTER {ATK REMI/CLAWS - MISS} {ATK REMI/CLAWS -  MISS} {ATK ROANA/BITE - HIT} - 30 DMG + poisoned ENDING HP Ending HP Monster: 500 Remi: 147 Ronin: 161 Ashetta: 105 Roana: 80 poisoned You have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so might result in you being removed from this KQ whatever doesn't kill me better run

The alchemist watched as fire curled from Ashe's finger. He was glad that after all the months prior that he'd promised to make her the item that she now wore, that he'd been able to make good on his promise. Whether or not it would make any difference now however was another matter entirely.

Having watched the Ro's interact together with easy soldierly-camaraderie before, the alchemist felt the naive stirrings of hope and optimism sparkle in the back of his throat making him want to laugh or to perhaps ask Ronin to say some silly words over them as a precursor for what they were about to face. However the hawks above suddenly trilled loudly, their minds pressing inwards on Remi's with wordless ripples of !!!!!!!!!! that buzzed with warning and panic.

"MOVE!" Remi cried, hardly finding the time to do or say anything more as the creature vaulted towards them. Its claws raked outwards and the alchemist dodged backward nimbly on his feet for the first swipe, hardly making it out of the way of the second. Remi was quick and nimble, but he possessed none of a soldier's predictive knowledge and so had little guess as to where a creature such as this might attack next.

Reaching deep into the wellspring of his magic, Remi felt for the magical tendrils of earth beneath the creature as it snapped at Roana. Gripping at them like a handful of string, Remi tugged with all of his strength—mostly magical, though his muscles rippled in response. He tried to create a 30ft deep pit, thrusting the misplaced dirt high into the air to land away from the group and away from the demon (so that it could not use it to crawl its way back up). Hopefully the creature might take damage by falling, but if nothing else, at least it might be temporarily incapacitated in the hole so that Ashe could blast it with lightning.

---

Remi dodges the two attacks, then tries to create a 30ft deep pit with mastered earth manipulation magic for the creature to fall into.

Яemi

& we don't know what we're waiting for & we don't know the truth anymore
& we can't see clearly through the fog so we end up chasing g h o s t s

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets Watching as they all grabbed up the supplies and made their preparations, Ronin took a long, deep breath and let it out again, as if steeling himself for what was to come. Still, he managed a crooked smile to Roana at her quip, lips parting to offer one in return when-- MOVE! Only military training and a great deal of luck had Ronin darting out of the way before the order had even fully registered. He'd forgotten, almost, the horrifying sight of the thing; the stench of old blood and death, the unhinged jaw and the rictus grin that had haunted his nightmares in those first few weeks after arriving. The difference now, though, was they were not only better armed in general. They were armed with knowledge, too. Hissing a curse as he watched Roana receive a nasty bite (and he knew how much it fucking hurt) and feeling the ground begin to shift beneath his feet as Remi worked his magic, Ronin rushed in. It was all or nothing. He moved up behind Roana, one hand braced against her unharmed shoulder so he could keep hold of her (he didn't want her to get dragged off with the monster), before aiming a solid, point blank strike at the creatures eyeless plane of a face with Safrin's gauntlet. At the same time, he engaged his kinesis bracers; should he succeed, he might cause some damage and hopefully aid the creature on its way down into Remi's pit. Ronin has grabbed Roana and punched the demon in the fucking face! If he succeeds in hitting, the effects on the following items will trigger: Type: Grey Kinesis Bracers {Upgraded} - Stores kinetic energy that can be released at will. Gives +3 strength and +1 endurance for one post, and +1 endurance in the next two posts. Also causes a knock back

ASHƎ She was a storm: sudden; powerful; violent; devastating;    The air that had been so noticeably tense seemed to ease with a gentle breeze, pulling at her short hair and brushing against her skin. Ashe took a deep breath and glanced once at the gathering crowd in the distance before she looked back at at her three comrades. They had a plan. They had better weapons, they were stronger, they weren’t caught off guard this time… or so the assassin thought.    There would be no further conversation. No planning. No drawing the beast out.    Percy tossed his head with an agitated snort, and she looked up with narrowed eyes at the unicorn. And then everything happened all at once. Remi called out for them to fucking move, and the demon was upon them. Ashe didn't have time to consider what happened, what had already gone wrong. She only grabbed a fistful of Percy's mane and hauled herself onto his back. "Go!" she commanded, but he needed no verbal tell. The stallion snorted and launched himself away from the claws that narrowly missed Remi, and.. from the fangs that did sink into Roana.    In the next second Ronin’s fist was heading for the hideous beast’s face, and Ashe was galloping in an arc around the rumbling earth with a low curse. She didn’t think now, there wasn’t time. Ashe guided Percy back from the immediate frey, just barely in range, her lip feathering into something that resembled a snarl. She knew by now how to keep stray bolts from striking at her friends, and so it was with wholly mastered aim and control the wild lightning burst forth from her hand. Percy only pinned his ears at the sound, back end rising a bit too high, but the assassin did not waver in her attack. Ashe hopped on Percy and hauled ass to get out of range! She has sent a blast of mastered lightning magic to fry the spire demon and do the intended damage. and utterly magnificent.

art belongs to Jaecarys

Roana I am more than just a piece in their game There are two major factors on any battlefield: training and sheer damn luck. Roana had impeccable training. She was a refined, honed fighting machine. However, luck had never been the former Captain’s strong suit. Case in point, where she just so happened to be standing. She heard the shout to move, and had turned to do just that…but her proximity to the Spire and thus the beast just by happenstance led to her demise. Okay, not demise yet but it sure as hell felt like it! Roana shouted, teeth gritting as fangs tore flesh from bone, what remained intact burning as poison began to course through her veins. Just a flesh wound, just a flesh wound… On instinct she pulled back away from the monster, abruptly running into who she assumed was Ronin, but forgive her for being a bit delirious with pain in second 2 of this attack. His hand on her shoulder steadied her, which she needed as she instinctively reached for her sword, still in its sheath on her hip. Fortunately the beast had gotten her left shoulder (not that it mattered terribly as she was ambidextrous by training) so as she reached with her right, arm for the blade she was unhindered, save for Ronin’s hand there. In one swift motion she drew the blade and slashed it towards the beast, in hopes of causing it serious damage with the near 5 foot blade and forcing it somewhat away from her. Roana slashed at the demon with her claymore and moved back away from it.

Sweet. She tasted sweet, and it was all but consumed by the fresh meal, determined not to let it go. Unfortunately, it did not seem to have a choice in the matter. The earth tilted alarmingly, the creature releasing its grip on Roana to scream in her face, flecking her with blood. Like it was her fault. It swiped and scrabbled, but Remi was skilled and his power over the earth began to successfully suck it down into the makeshift pit. Then something went and punched it in the fucking face. With a tinny sort of squeal, the demon was propelled back by something unnatural, aiding gravity in its pull downwards. Unfortunately, the hit meant that the suddenly sparking, hot vile, fire, pain, KILL lightning missed it on the way down. It did strike hard into the side of the pit, true, but Ashetta's magic would not touch the demon. Not this time, at least. Then, at the very last moment, Krosis blazed bright and true, and the length of the blade leant it the luck that Roana had so sorely lacked. Slicing at the beast's chest, it opened a deep wound that sprayed black blood into the air as it thumped into the pit below. For a beat, silence. Then laughter, hideous and wheezing and altogether not human, echoing up and up and up from the pit. On legs more than used to clawing, rending, climbing, and with a strength that had been waiting to tear these fleshlings to bits, the demon began to vault itself back out of the pit. It would be with them again very, very soon. The initiative order is as follows (determined by dice roll): MONSTER, REMI, RONIN, ASH, ROANA. Your turn is roughly 6 seconds long, so keep that in mind when writing your posts. If you want to use your turn to protect someone else, you must have specified that in your previous post. TEAM {ATK REMI - HIT} {ATK RONIN - HIT} {ATK ASHETTA - MISS} {ATK ROANA - HIT} The monster SUCCEEDS in clawing its way back up out of the pit! ENDING HP Monster: 393 Remi: 147 Ronin: 161 Ashetta: 105 Roana: 75 poisoned You have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so might result in you being removed from this KQ. whatever doesn't kill me better run

As the creature fell into the pit he'd created, for a moment the alchemist felt a painfully naive spark of hope. Could it really be that simple? That it could be contained in the earth where the likes of Ashetta could simply blast it with enough lightning to render it defeated? But then something rose up from the pit. Not the creature, no not yet, but its laughter? Whatever it was, the sound chilled the alchemist to his core as he edged carefully forward to peer into the pit.

With claws that easily overcame the sheer walls he'd tried to create, Remi gave himself a one second respite to internally curse and groan and wish that for once something might have gone their way since the beginning. Quickly though the not-soldier shook this thought lose, his rather pragmatic mind immediately rushing towards a potential solution. In his hands flint and stone suddenly appeared, the grenade and the glass bomb that he and Ronin had worked on. Holding them with his magic, the alchemist struck flint against stone, holding the wicks of both devices close until they caught. Giving how close the creature was, Remi used his magic to wrap the wick tightly around the bottle's opening so that it would burn quickly.

Rather than tossing the two devices, Remi magically lowered them, intent on ensuring that whenever they detonated, it would be directly on the creature. He'd not risk a rogue bounce or having the fire burn at an interval that he hadn't predicted just to render it useless at the bottom of the pit.

Hopefully having hit the creature twice before it made its way out, the alchemist would then leap into the air to take flight, flying up and to the opposite side of the pit hopefully avoiding whatever retaliation the creature might have. Not quite cowardly, but definitely defensive. Besides, he'd need a bit of range for what he had planned next.

---

Remi lights and then uses his magic to hold the molotov and the grenade near the creature to hopefully ensure that they both hit.

Яemi

& we don't know what we're waiting for & we don't know the truth anymore
& we can't see clearly through the fog so we end up chasing g h o s t s

ronin A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets As the creature fell into the pit, Ronin was already on the move. "Antivenom," he told Roana in but a moment as he released her - by that time the cackles of the beast had reached them, and the dismay on Remi's face was enough to tell him that it would not be contained for long. Following suit and breaking into a run around the pit on the opposite side to the alchemist, Ronin slid his own flint and stone from his pockets, along with the glass bomb - that would prove the most effective weapon currently. Hunkering down near the edge of the pit, Ronin wasted precious seconds - fuck, dammit - to light the thing, but once it was done he threw the thing as hard as he could. Unlike Remi, he aimed directly at if not slightly above the creature, so even if the bomb should shatter, the flames might shower it. Hopefully. "Ashetta!" he cried across the pit. "Trap it!" Her cage of lightning had worked before - not that Ronin remembered it very well, given how poisoned he had been at the time. But if they could keep it still, they could bombard it. Ronin gives hasty instructions and lobs a glass bomb at the creature!

ASHƎ She was a storm: sudden; powerful; violent; devastating;    ”Shit!” she snarled. She missed. She never missed! Ashe bared and grit her teeth, canines elongating with her frustration as she and Percy continued their steady gallop around the fight. Her fist clenched in the unicorn’s mane, and he tossed his head with glinting golden horns - he sensed her agitation. Her heart was racing as she watched it fall into the pit Remi created, knocked back by a powerful hit from Ronin, slashed open by Roana.. And then silence but for the thud of her steed’s hooves.    It couldn’t have been that easy, could it? She sat back against Percy and moved at a slower pace, narrowing her eyes with her gaze firmly locked on the pit that it had been trapped in. And then.. laughter curled up from the dark.    Her heart plunged in her chest at the sound, and she huffed a sharp breath as she urged Percy to propel them forward. The cage had worked enough so that they could all flee the last time… But bombs had been thrown, it'd been hit, it'd been cut - hopefully, damage had been done and they could fucking finish this. Lightning was crackling along her arm as she urged the stallion onwards and only turned him when she was at least fifteen feet away - she wasn’t going to miss this fucker again.    Lightning burst from her outstretched palm with only a clap and echo of rolling thunder as her confirmation to Ronin’s instruction. She grit her teeth and had to slow Percy  to focus on splitting the pillar of electricity into a crackling web, pressing it down, down, down over the top of the beast as it came to the top of the pit. She shot bolts from the cage itself at the creature until she could - fucking hopefully - lock it down upon the ground with minimal space to move. Ashe moved in to trap the monster with a thunderous cage of lightning, and strike at it until it could be caged. and utterly magnificent.

art belongs to Jaecarys