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Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 1915683" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p><strong>Temptations of the Flesh - Part 5: The Children of the Molder of Flesh</strong></p><p></p><p>As they turned the corner, the southern corridor became wider. Huge stones and boulders that made up the eastern wall were apparently cleared to form the passageway. </p><p></p><p>"Something's coming," hissed Ilmarė. Her warning was followed by the scuttling noise of many legs.</p><p></p><p>"Beldin, stand at my side," said Quintus, pointing with his spear at the other side of the hallway to his left. "Sebastian, Kham, you're in the back. Ilmarė, you stay in the center." He crouched down behind his shield.</p><p></p><p>What came around the corner were mockeries of men. There were three small, twisted abominations with many arms sprouting from bloated torsos and heads embedded in their chests. Directing them was a large woman, her torso elongated to accommodate an extra set of arms that were stitched on like a slave's rag doll. She had a gladius and a buckler in each pair of hands.</p><p></p><p>"By the gods!" Sebastian shouted involuntarily, hand to his mouth.</p><p></p><p>"Stand fast!" shouted Quintus. "Take out the leader!"</p><p></p><p>Quintus stabbed at one of the flesh dolls with his longspear. It grabbed onto it with three of its arms. Beldin swung mightily with his axe and lopped off one of the thing's arms, but it kept coming, snapping at him with jagged teeth. </p><p></p><p>Kham found himself sheathing one of his handgonnes. He looked down in surprise to discover his hand on the hilt of Flesh Ripper. </p><p></p><p>Next to him Sebastian chanted, "<span style="font-family: 'Impact'">Magicus telum!</span>" A sliver of bright blue energy spiraled its way over Quintus shoulder and slammed into the flesh doll leader. She didn't even flinch.</p><p></p><p>Ilmarė fired an arrow at her but it bounced off one of her shields. Beldin and Quintus kept two of the flesh dolls at bay, but the third walked between them. She fired an arrow into its torso. The arrow perforated one of its eyes, but it kept coming.</p><p></p><p>"They're breaking through!" she said. "Shoot it!"</p><p></p><p>Beldin hacked straight through one of the flesh dolls and engaged another that had wrested itself off of Quintus' spear. </p><p></p><p>"Thanks!" shouted Quintus. He pulled the spear back for a long thrust and shoved it through the torso of the flesh doll leader. </p><p></p><p>Glazed eyes looked down at the spear. There was no blood or even evidence of a wound. Using two of its hands, it pulled the longspear out. Quintus stumbled backwards but held on.</p><p></p><p>Then it lifted the spear up in the air and Quintus with it. Using the longspear as leverage, it slammed Quintus into the wall. Dazed, the legionnaire fell to the ground.</p><p></p><p>Kham forcefully unclenched his hand from Flesh Ripper's hilt and, with effort, grabbed one of his handgonnes. </p><p></p><p>Sebastian pointed at the flesh doll and chanted, "<span style="font-family: 'Impact'">Radius gelidus!</span>" A bluish-white beam of energy sliced into the flesh doll. One of it arms was covered in frost. It kept coming.</p><p></p><p>"Kham, if you're going to do something," said Ilmarė as she dropped her bow and unsheathed her sword, "I suggest you do it now!"</p><p></p><p>Kham, sweat beading on his forehead, pressed the barrel of the handgonne against the flesh doll's headless torso. Multiple hands grasped for the weapon even as lifeless eyes stared up at him.</p><p></p><p>BLAM!</p><p></p><p>There was an explosion of debris as brittle bone and dried flesh bounced off the stone floor. The flesh doll had exploded into its component parts, unrecognizable as anything but bits of corpses.</p><p></p><p>Quintus reached for his gladius even as the flesh doll leader loomed over him. He blocked the first two attacks with his shield as he struggled to rise, his back against the stone wall of the hallway. But there were too many arms attacking at once. Quintus gladius was slapped out of his hand. A pair of arms grabbed the shield and wrenched it out of his grasp.</p><p></p><p>Quintus looked up at the flesh doll leader. She looked familiar.</p><p></p><p>"Helena?" Quintus said, incredulous. "Helena Vorosa! Is that you?"</p><p></p><p>The thing's face twitched in confusion. It raised two gladiuses over Quintus…</p><p></p><p>Before it could strike, Beldin's axe smashed into its back, protruding through its collarbone. Arms flailed to dislodge the weapon until the body fell to the ground, once again lifeless.</p><p></p><p>Beldin helped Quintus up. "Brilliant tactic. How did you know its name?"</p><p></p><p>Quintus stared down at the broken, patchwork body. "Not an 'it', a 'she'. That was Helena Vorosa. She was a legionnaire of the Reluctant Warrior. She lost her arms in of our campaigns against the Voei." He placed his fingers over her eyelids and closed them. "How did you come to this, Helena?"</p><p></p><p>"Look well on that corpse," said Ilmarė to Beldin. "It is the result of Coryan vanity and hubris." </p><p></p><p>Thunder boomed ominously overhead and the sounds of rain on stone reverberated above them.</p><p></p><p>Quintus kneeled down before the body and muttered a quick prayer to Illiir. Beldin joined him.</p><p></p><p>"What are they doing?" asked Kham, reloading his handgonnes. "We don't have time for this!"</p><p></p><p>Sebastian put one hand on Kham's shoulder. "I think we must make the time."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 1915683, member: 3285"] [b]Temptations of the Flesh - Part 5: The Children of the Molder of Flesh[/b] As they turned the corner, the southern corridor became wider. Huge stones and boulders that made up the eastern wall were apparently cleared to form the passageway. "Something's coming," hissed Ilmarė. Her warning was followed by the scuttling noise of many legs. "Beldin, stand at my side," said Quintus, pointing with his spear at the other side of the hallway to his left. "Sebastian, Kham, you're in the back. Ilmarė, you stay in the center." He crouched down behind his shield. What came around the corner were mockeries of men. There were three small, twisted abominations with many arms sprouting from bloated torsos and heads embedded in their chests. Directing them was a large woman, her torso elongated to accommodate an extra set of arms that were stitched on like a slave's rag doll. She had a gladius and a buckler in each pair of hands. "By the gods!" Sebastian shouted involuntarily, hand to his mouth. "Stand fast!" shouted Quintus. "Take out the leader!" Quintus stabbed at one of the flesh dolls with his longspear. It grabbed onto it with three of its arms. Beldin swung mightily with his axe and lopped off one of the thing's arms, but it kept coming, snapping at him with jagged teeth. Kham found himself sheathing one of his handgonnes. He looked down in surprise to discover his hand on the hilt of Flesh Ripper. Next to him Sebastian chanted, "[FONT=Impact]Magicus telum![/FONT]" A sliver of bright blue energy spiraled its way over Quintus shoulder and slammed into the flesh doll leader. She didn't even flinch. Ilmarė fired an arrow at her but it bounced off one of her shields. Beldin and Quintus kept two of the flesh dolls at bay, but the third walked between them. She fired an arrow into its torso. The arrow perforated one of its eyes, but it kept coming. "They're breaking through!" she said. "Shoot it!" Beldin hacked straight through one of the flesh dolls and engaged another that had wrested itself off of Quintus' spear. "Thanks!" shouted Quintus. He pulled the spear back for a long thrust and shoved it through the torso of the flesh doll leader. Glazed eyes looked down at the spear. There was no blood or even evidence of a wound. Using two of its hands, it pulled the longspear out. Quintus stumbled backwards but held on. Then it lifted the spear up in the air and Quintus with it. Using the longspear as leverage, it slammed Quintus into the wall. Dazed, the legionnaire fell to the ground. Kham forcefully unclenched his hand from Flesh Ripper's hilt and, with effort, grabbed one of his handgonnes. Sebastian pointed at the flesh doll and chanted, "[FONT=Impact]Radius gelidus![/FONT]" A bluish-white beam of energy sliced into the flesh doll. One of it arms was covered in frost. It kept coming. "Kham, if you're going to do something," said Ilmarė as she dropped her bow and unsheathed her sword, "I suggest you do it now!" Kham, sweat beading on his forehead, pressed the barrel of the handgonne against the flesh doll's headless torso. Multiple hands grasped for the weapon even as lifeless eyes stared up at him. BLAM! There was an explosion of debris as brittle bone and dried flesh bounced off the stone floor. The flesh doll had exploded into its component parts, unrecognizable as anything but bits of corpses. Quintus reached for his gladius even as the flesh doll leader loomed over him. He blocked the first two attacks with his shield as he struggled to rise, his back against the stone wall of the hallway. But there were too many arms attacking at once. Quintus gladius was slapped out of his hand. A pair of arms grabbed the shield and wrenched it out of his grasp. Quintus looked up at the flesh doll leader. She looked familiar. "Helena?" Quintus said, incredulous. "Helena Vorosa! Is that you?" The thing's face twitched in confusion. It raised two gladiuses over Quintus… Before it could strike, Beldin's axe smashed into its back, protruding through its collarbone. Arms flailed to dislodge the weapon until the body fell to the ground, once again lifeless. Beldin helped Quintus up. "Brilliant tactic. How did you know its name?" Quintus stared down at the broken, patchwork body. "Not an 'it', a 'she'. That was Helena Vorosa. She was a legionnaire of the Reluctant Warrior. She lost her arms in of our campaigns against the Voei." He placed his fingers over her eyelids and closed them. "How did you come to this, Helena?" "Look well on that corpse," said Ilmarė to Beldin. "It is the result of Coryan vanity and hubris." Thunder boomed ominously overhead and the sounds of rain on stone reverberated above them. Quintus kneeled down before the body and muttered a quick prayer to Illiir. Beldin joined him. "What are they doing?" asked Kham, reloading his handgonnes. "We don't have time for this!" Sebastian put one hand on Kham's shoulder. "I think we must make the time." [/QUOTE]
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