Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The Airship is down! Somewhere north of Nalbina, on the Empire side of the mountains, still a good half mile up, just into the tree line. It is perched and secured to the ground after a frantic scramble by the crew, the good news is you are not dead, the bad news is.. the airship is down, the masts and rigging are destroyed and there are fiends in the forest!
Raziel steps out onto the deck when they land and are secured then he looks for the captain while sending a frown up towards the ruined masts that the sailors are working with. "A dangerous place.. how long do you estimate it will take to finish with the repairs," he inquires before glancing back over his shoulder towards the cabin he and Vazkor share.
Vazkor comes stumbling out of said cabin! His hair a messy, his clothes haphazardly thrown on, and his expression a mix of groggyness and confusion... Though atleast he had the presence of mind to come out with his sword in hand, in case all the commotion means trouble, such as a pirate raid. And as his gaze meets Raziel's, he raises a brow questioningly, "What the balls is going on?"
The captain turns, "We had to land, a flaming ship came out of the mist and hit us, we rescued four people and then had to land." He eyes Vazkor and Raziel, "We are going no where until I have new masts, I am sending a crew out to chop down two suitable trees but they are sailors, I need warriors and mages to proect them, can you help?"
Raziel has dropped a connection.
"That's no trouble," Raz responds with a nod as he volunteers both himself and Vazkor to do it. "As long as the ship remains safe we'll get your crew back to you." He reaches over to clap Vazkor on the shoulder then leans to whisper, "your hair is standing straight up. Might want to get your.. uh things.." Before he straightens back up and grips onto the ringed staff he carries with both hands.
Vazkor glances at the Captain, then takes a moment to study what lies around the ship... Finding it indeed to be on a mountainside. Reaching over to resheath his sword in that peculiar trademark, Samurai-ish way of his, he mutters something about 'not again', then blinks over at Raziel. Giving a sheepish grin, he smooths out his hair some with a hand, and starts straightening some of his clothes, before answering, "If that's what it takes to get us out of here."
The captain nods, "Sorry boys but that's the short of it" In about twenty minutes he has a crew under the bosun eady to head out into the woods. He points a direction, "we need to go down, pick a tree and take it down. You boys are our protection what's the order of march and all that?"
Raziel looks at the group and he then glances at Vazkor, "you take point, I'll take the rear?" He looks over the group then, "and whichever of you ends up doing lookout duty the most? Take center line and keep your eyes peeled hmm?" He smirks briefly and one might wonder that despite the danger they're obviously going into and the lingering anger that is driving him on this quest if the man isn't enjoying himself just a little.
Vazkor nods at the Captain and Raziel both, commenting to the latter, "Aye, so better keep your fire spells nice and ready. I'm sure we'll be needing them before long." Twitching his lips into a brief smirk afterwards, as well as giving Raziel a wink, he then starts to get ready to get off the ship and safely lead the men towards the first suitable tree. The swashbuckler once more drawing his sword as he goes.
The passage through the woods is quiet, the bosun is up with Vazkor leading the way, examining trees, pausing every now and then to look at one considering things. The forest is dark, dank and quiet, mist flows around the tree-trunks and the foliage on the floor muffles their footfalls.
Raziel's eyes narrow a little and he tilts his head before he reaches out and taps the man infront of him before whispering lowly, "tell the others to stop and Vaz to come back here. We're being tailed." The mage turns around then and lifts his staff and tilts it to the side a little while he looks around, listening for any tell tale signs while looking for the shadow again.
Vazkor moves carefully in the lead... Looking this way and that, trying to look right through the surrounding mist and gloom. Arching an eyebrow as he's tapped on his shoulder however, and leaning in as the man behind him whispers something in his ear, he starts frowning right after... And signals that same man to keep an eye out, before starting down the line to get to Raziel, muttering quietly, "What did you see, lad?"
The forest is dark, dank.... cold, mist flows around everyones feet, up to the knees almost, the crew are looking around nervously at having been made to stop. Something is up, thye know it.
Raziel takes a breath before he shakes his head a little bit, "I thought I saw something following us... humanoid, but large.." He frowns a little bit before glancing down at the mist then lifting his eyes once again. "It feels like we're being watched.. The only solution would be to wait for it to attack or to brighten the area and hope we can find it. Which do you think?"
Vazkor looks around, trying to spot whatever Raziel saw... Shrugging a tiny bit then, though, he suggests, "Better move on... The sooner we get this over with, the better. But if you can use your magic to light up the place, then that'd be most welcome... And better keep something for offense ready too." Giving Raziel's shoulder a squeeze then, followed by a quick smile, he turns back around after to get back to the front of the line. Telling the men to keep their weapons at hand and prepare for likely danger.
You both see it, Raziel a bit faster then the others, something large and man-like with swinging arms charging out of the trees down by the mid-way point of the line of Sailors. It is some sort of very large, rather mutated ape thing and it roars and swings at one of the sailors who staggers back with an oath.
The mage was on high alert quickly spots the oncoming creature. Before he even starts to take in the details the man has begun to cast, beads of fire coming into existance in the place where his wings once were. In fact it almost looks like, for an instant, that he has wings of fire, but the magics move on, running up over his shoulders and down his hands to his staff. He twirls it once and then swings it shooting out a blast of flame at the creature as it rushes towards a sailor.
Vazkor snaps his head towards the charging creature as soon as he spots it! And the man is quick to react, swinging his blade for a moment before bellowing out, "Close the lines! Get in a circle! Fiends rarely attack alone!" Ordering the men even as he watches Raziel cast that blast of fire, and then starts to quickly look around for other attackers- Letting the mage and any nearby sailors deal with the one creature by themselves, atleast for this very moment.
"WENDIGO!" One of the sailors shouts and with a scream he runs away, no one else panics, they draw together, drawing belaying pins and staffs and forming into a ring around the tools and supplies and the Bosun, the flaming ball of fire rams into the creature and it screams in pain! Beating at itself then lashing out at a neaby sailor, knocking it back, the bosun shouts, "Wendigo's clear their range of any ther fiends! It'll be alone!"
Raziel scowls after the runner, but doesn't say anything. The man can find his own damned way back. As the beast lashes out he first checks the man for wounds at a quick glance and then he points the still glowing staff at the creature. "Careful lest it incite rage..." He mutters something lowly, the power in the staff glows brighter and then he swings again, lobbing another ball of flame at the monster.
Vazkor scowls as he hears the shout of 'Wendigo!' but is atleast quick to go for the attack as soon as he learns the beast will be alone. Waiting an instant for Raziel's second attack to hit home, before the swashbuckler springs forward past the frightened sailors, moving with speed and power as he brings forward that cutlass in a swift, vicious arc to attempt to cleave at the beast.
The wendigo shrieks as more fire engulfs it and then it squeals as Vazkor slashes it, it staggers back, roars in rage and lashes out at the shimmering image of what might once have been the space in whick Vazkor was standing and the overly agile swordsman slashes at the Wendigo again in the opening provided, the beast screams as Vazkor's blades sinks into its burning chest and it crumples to the floor, quite, quite dead.......
The movements, too fast for Raziel to catch, cause the mage to blink while the creature crumples. Looking to Vazkor then he smirks briefly and nods while the magic fades from his staff and he steps over to the man that was initially attacked and sees to a quick healing spell before he steps back. "The local area should be clear for a bit.. but we should get moving before scavengers get brave enough to come and get their... dinner."
Vazkor moves with a speed which has no place in time, springing forward so quickly as to appear to be a mere blur, a glimpse of movement... His sword a brief glitter in the darkness as it opens up the Wendigo's side with its first strike, and the man long gone right after, out of reach of the beast's long arms. Instead that cutlass cuts right through muscle, bone and vital organs in one final strike as the swashbuckler attacks a second time... Vazkor appearing in a crouch, sword at his side, a few meters beyond the beast as it sways there just before death. And as the Wendigo screams, falling over to bleed out on the forest floor, the dark man's sole gesture is to get up and re-sheath his sword all Samurai-like. Nodding towards Raziel right after.
With the Wendigo dead the sailors are eyeing Raziel and Vazkor with new respect, those things are not easy to kill and these two did it so professionally, soon enough they are cutting down a suitable tree, lookouts on watch arond the woods in a loose ring. The Bosun nods to you both, "How did you know? Fire to revoke its immortality then stab it?"
"The monsters that are in the wood are much like the wood themselves," Raziel answers the Bosun while keeping an eye on their surroundings. "Aligned to earth, which while it is not as weak to fire as ice, is not nearly as immune to it as other things." He looks back at the man before dipping his head a little, "it stands to reason that flame would be a good weapon.. his blade is the best for most monsters though.." A little nod given to Vazkor.
Vazkor glances back at the dead monster for a brief moment... Then gives a shrug as if disinterested in its plight, looking back to the Bosun and Raziel instead as he faintly smiles, answering, "Stab them when they're on fire... It usually works, hm? Don't need to fight a Wendigo to figure that one out." Shrugging again, he then remarks, "Anyway, we should move on... I'm sorry about the men that fled. Can only hope they made it back to the ship. But we better get said ship repaired, now."
The bosun shrugs, "He ran, his choice, one man, I have a ship to worry about" he points to the men cutting down the tree he has chosen. "It will take some time to fell the tree, we should have it down in the next two hours, then we can have it back to the ship by sunset"
Raziel considers before nodding to the man, "two hours? Alright.." He moves away to patrol around the area a little, though does at one point whisper to Vazkor as he passes the man, "a very good job there." He doesn't linger as he continues keeping a look out for anything brave enough to wander into the wendigo's territory.
As the sailors start to work, and Raziel starts to patrol, Vazkor busies himself for a while with the dead Wendigo... Getting down to some quick, gory details, with the gist of it being his ending up with a severed Wendigo head to put on a pike at the edge of the working area- Meant as a warning to any other semi-intelligent Fiend to stay the hell away. As Raziel compliments him on his fighting prowess, though, he gives the man a smile and a quiet thanks, and then starts on his own patrols on the opposite side, keeping an eye out for things.
Thanks to it being a Wendigo range the forest remains peaceful, no more fiends show up and when the tree is felled it is stripped of branches and soon the team of Sailors are pulling it back through the woods toward the ship.... the sun is sliding down toward the horizon but they are nearly there!
Despite nothing else coming to attack, Raziel doesn't let his guard down. This state is heightened as they make their way back to the ship, unsure just where the monster's territory ends and where another will begin. With the sun sliding low he scowls a little and then murmurs, "if it gets too low I will provide light, but that might attract things. Let's hurry so we don't need to resort to that.."
Vazkor remains alert as well, taking point once more, with one hand resting firmly upon his blade's ornate hilt. Briefly watching the son go down, he nods at Raziel some, and answers back, "Aye, keep your magic ready, just in case... But hopefully we'll be at the ship soon. Shouldn't be far now."
Go back to Stelazzio Quest Chapter 1
Go on to Stelazzio Quest Chapter 3
Or return to Sin of the People/Stelazzio Quest Directory
