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<blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 4065586" data-attributes="member: 55060"><p>Chapter 30</p><p></p><p><strong>Showdown</strong></p><p></p><p>Everyone in the group gasped and screamed as they attempted to avoid the worst of the explosions. Gilliam succeeded in rolling away from the flames in order to reduce the damage, and Gon practically jumped above them with perfect precision, getting his boots barely singed in the process as the only consequence. The rest did not fare so well, as Darius and Hantel were greatly burned by the explosion; Vincent and Kahleen were not able to dodge in time, but the squire’s ring and the shaman’s protective magic spared them from some burns. </p><p></p><p>The smoke was clearing quickly, while the grass in a twenty foot radius remained blackened, and already the trio of arcane mystics was conjuring magic. Even to the warriors of the group it seemed as if they were all casting almost the exact same spell. Once they were done, the two apprentices vanished from sight, and Ignus did likewise a second later, for the illusionist added extra syllables to the spell. Everyone could hear the mage’s steps as he moved away from the others. </p><p></p><p>“Can you do anything about <em>that</em>?” Gilliam asked the casters behind him. Hantel replied he could not, but Kahleen answered enigmatically that she “had something for such an eventuality”. Before anything else was done, both priest and shaman channeled their respective magic in order to ease some of the wounds from Darius and Vincent. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Gilliam charged after the human apprentice. “Gon, you’re with me” he informed the rogue as he ran forward. Gon did not hesitate and joined the mercenary in his assault. They reached the spot where the arcanist had been mere seconds ago and almost in unison they attacked in that direction. </p><p></p><p>Neither Gilliam nor Gon’s attack struck anything but air. Darius and Vincent were attempting the same thing with the other apprentice, and their luck was just as bad. </p><p></p><p>“How are we to defend ourselves if we can’t <em>see</em> them?” Vincent asked in a slightly desperate tone, looking around the forest, hoping to have the answer make itself manifest out of thin air. His words were responded by further spellcasting from the three arcanists, but much to their relief the spells did not make any apparent change. </p><p></p><p>“Sorry to keep you waiting, we’re just finishing our preparations to your demise” the disembodied voice of Ignus informed them from somewhere behind the two other mages. Hantel paid it no heed, as he was deep into spellcasting, summoning divine energies in order to heal all his wounds with an azure nimbus that covered him from top to bottom. </p><p></p><p>The four warriors did not know how to proceed, for in front of them there was only misty air, and no more. The situation changed considerably when they felt the ground moving beneath their feet. Vincent yelped in surprise when he felt something grab at his ankle; roots were beginning to emerge from the grassy ground, grasping blindly at everyone situated in a wide radius. </p><p></p><p>“Kahleen, what in the <em>Hells</em> are you doing?” Gilliam demanded to know, his guess being correct about the phenomena being the shaman’s handiwork. “Keep your eyes forward, not downwards, and you will see” she replied calmly. </p><p></p><p>The four stopped worrying about the groping roots for a moment, and only then did they notice them latching around what looked like empty air. “They can still be caught” Darius reasoned as he saw the roots that were attempting to twist around the invisible figure in front of him. </p><p></p><p>No one needed much encouragement to strike at either mage. Darius’ sword cut only air once more, and Vincent’s spear did likewise even though they could get an approximation of the apprentice’s location now. Gilliam and Gon managed to land one solid blow each, but it did not feel to them like they had hurt the magi much, as little blood dropped from its still invisible owner. </p><p></p><p>In reaction to being hit, the apprentice cast a spell, making the air shimmer around where he was located, but no more. His female companion’s outline became visible once more when she raised her slender wand with an amber tip, aiming for Darius. A word of power was spoken, and one flaming serpent emerged from its tip, hissing and spitting fire at the blond soldier as it launched itself towards him. Darius could not defend himself from it with his sword, nor did his armor prove efficient against the magic, and he felt an intense burn on his left arm when the snake struck there and exploded. </p><p></p><p>Kahleen looked left, and then right at each group of combatants, finally allowing her gaze to remain in the middle of them. She nodded to herself and begun to channel essence around her body. Just then, a single arcane word was uttered from afar, its source no other than Ignus, who had been waiting for her to make the move. The shaman felt constricting forces forming around her, attempting to leave her paralyzed, and she made a supreme effort through her tiredness to resist the power. As soon as it had started, it went away, and her body relaxed, allowing her to finish the spell. </p><p></p><p>Seeing Darius more hurt than ever, Hantel rushed to his aid as quickly as his debilitated body allowed, and he somehow avoided the thrashing roots by smacking them out of his way with his trusted staff. He made it right behind the soldier and prayed to Berethor for a healing spell, not for the last time in the day, he knew. Darius felt his recent burn go away, but his earlier injuries remained there nonetheless. </p><p></p><p>Renewed by Hantel’s magic, Darius focused solely on the offense this time. The problem was, he realized, that there were five, not one, of the elven mage, each acting and looking like the real one. Darius cut through one with great precision, but after it dissipated in a flash he figured it was not the real one. “How in the Hells” he muttered, frustrated. Right next to him, Vincent attempted the same with his weapon, and the woman was pierced by the stomach right before dissolving into nothingness as well. </p><p></p><p>The elven mage laughed as she began spellcasting once more, filling the two with dread. </p><p></p><p>With his impressive speed, Gilliam would have had no problem in slashing at the mage and tearing him into little pieces in no time, but it was not going to happen: Kahleen’s summoned entangling roots now played against him, impeding him from moving another inch forward. Gon was in similar straits, and instead of attacking the mage he had to take the time to cut the roots away. </p><p></p><p>A flash of fire appeared in front of them, heralding the appearance of another flaming snake from the now-visible man. He targeted Gilliam, seeing him as less nimble than Gon, and the mercenary could not for the life of him avoid the fiery magic with his legs trapped by the roots. The snake bit him in the neck, exploding and leaving a nasty burn in that part of his body. Before he had been tired, but now Gilliam felt truly exhausted, getting closer to the point of dropping down from all that he had been through recently. How much longer could he stay up and fight? </p><p></p><p>Vincent felt sleepy. Sure, he was tired from all the fighting, but this feeling was beyond reasonable, and his eyes just refused to stay open. Suddenly the ground, living roots and all, did look rather inviting for a nap, and he toppled over…</p><p></p><p>…but this insistent voice kept trying to take that precious sleep away from him. “Wake up, good squire! This isn’t the time for rest!” the voice of an old man kept repeating over and over. It was Hantel, he realized at length. Startled as he was, Vincent could not immediately shake off the feeling of sleepiness, and he began to climb back to his feet with the priest’s help. </p><p></p><p>In the meantime, a small ivory figurine of a coiled whip appeared out of thin air, and after a command word was spoken it glowed, enlarging and transforming itself into a real weapon which floated on its own accord. An invisible hand pointed towards a target, and the magical weapon abided to its owner’s wish. </p><p></p><p>Darius had felt the sleepiness as well, and was surprised to see Vincent actually fall asleep to the ground in the span of a second, right after the mage had worked her spell of slumber, and he felt fortunate to have resisted the spell. Instead of targeting one of the shifting images of the robed woman, the soldier closed his eyes and performed a wide horizontal slash with his blade. The satisfactory sound of fabric being ripped, along with skin and muscle, announced that he had been on target. Now the three images bore the same wide cut on their robes by the waist. </p><p></p><p>Having released themselves from the restraint of the ever-moving vegetation, Gon and Gilliam proceeded to take the human apprentice down once and for all. He manifested mirrored images of himself like the other one, but the combination attack of the mercenary and soldier removed him of his illusory protection. The man paled at this, but held his ground, pointing at Gilliam with his wand once more, conjuring the deadly serpent at him. </p><p></p><p>This time, the mercenary was able to dodge part of the explosion, but his energy was depleted by both the burn and the effort of dodging it. His breath became even more labored, and Gon glanced sideways at him, expecting Gilliam to collapse at the slightest breeze of air. </p><p></p><p>A floating whip came from behind the mage, rearing back right before snapping forward, twisting its length around Gilliam’s sword, and pulling back. It was all Gilliam could do to avoid being driven to the ground by releasing his grip on the sword, allowing the floating whip to disarm him partially.</p><p></p><p> Vincent and Darius were confident that they could finish the elven mage on their own, especially now that she had been caught fully by the moving roots, rendering her immobile. Vincent thrust forward with his spear, but he heard a voice from farther ahead tell him a message of great importance, stopping his attack. </p><p></p><p>“<em>Do not strike her with the spear, it will cause you your death!</em>”.</p><p></p><p>Not wanting to meet his end, Vincent promptly dropped the weapon, opting to punch at the mage instead. His attack was clumsy, to say the least, and he did not even hit a fake image. Darius was so flabbergasted by this that he stayed his own strike, staring at the squire in silent disbelief. </p><p></p><p>The blond soldier was drawn from his stupefaction by a high pitched screech that came from above. An abnormally large bat was flying fifteen feet from the ground, moving swiftly to the space behind the two mages, looking for something or someone. </p><p></p><p>Not far away, Gon feinted low with his sword, making his overhead chop unavoidable to the fragile mage, cutting a long wound on the side of the head, bypassing his magical wards. Gilliam would have added his own right there and then, but he felt like dropping dead rather than fighting. A surge of energy came into his body like a rushing river passed through an opened dam, restoring part of his potency.</p><p></p><p>“Thanks, Han” he said while stepping forward and slashing the already hurt mage across the chest. Now it was the mage’s turn to look at the verge of annihilation, his eyes shining with fear of his demise. </p><p></p><p>It was strange for Kahleen to obtain the shape of a bat, mostly since she had not been in it for a long time, as the animal’s sonar was its only source of perception to guide itself. Still, for the purpose she needed it now, it would have to suffice. She flew over past the humanoid shapes that were moving about, making a beeline towards the solitary person not far away from the rest. Her sonar informed her that the robed man was moving his arms about, but no more. She could only hope to reach him in time. </p><p></p><p>Kahleen swooped down upon Ignus, claws outstretched, just as the illusionist finalized his spell. A spark appeared on his open palm, which quickly multiplied into thousands of other sparks as Ignus reached out for the shapeshifted shaman and grasped her foot firmly. </p><p></p><p>“They say I’m quite the <em>electrifying</em> fellow” Ignus commented casually. “Or at least, that’s what the spirits of the people I killed with this spell said” he added, right before he unleashed the electricity of the spell.</p><p></p><p>Kahleen felt as if every cell of her body went on fire from one moment to the next, and everything went black.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cerulean_Wings, post: 4065586, member: 55060"] Chapter 30 [B]Showdown[/B] Everyone in the group gasped and screamed as they attempted to avoid the worst of the explosions. Gilliam succeeded in rolling away from the flames in order to reduce the damage, and Gon practically jumped above them with perfect precision, getting his boots barely singed in the process as the only consequence. The rest did not fare so well, as Darius and Hantel were greatly burned by the explosion; Vincent and Kahleen were not able to dodge in time, but the squire’s ring and the shaman’s protective magic spared them from some burns. The smoke was clearing quickly, while the grass in a twenty foot radius remained blackened, and already the trio of arcane mystics was conjuring magic. Even to the warriors of the group it seemed as if they were all casting almost the exact same spell. Once they were done, the two apprentices vanished from sight, and Ignus did likewise a second later, for the illusionist added extra syllables to the spell. Everyone could hear the mage’s steps as he moved away from the others. “Can you do anything about [I]that[/I]?” Gilliam asked the casters behind him. Hantel replied he could not, but Kahleen answered enigmatically that she “had something for such an eventuality”. Before anything else was done, both priest and shaman channeled their respective magic in order to ease some of the wounds from Darius and Vincent. Meanwhile, Gilliam charged after the human apprentice. “Gon, you’re with me” he informed the rogue as he ran forward. Gon did not hesitate and joined the mercenary in his assault. They reached the spot where the arcanist had been mere seconds ago and almost in unison they attacked in that direction. Neither Gilliam nor Gon’s attack struck anything but air. Darius and Vincent were attempting the same thing with the other apprentice, and their luck was just as bad. “How are we to defend ourselves if we can’t [I]see[/I] them?” Vincent asked in a slightly desperate tone, looking around the forest, hoping to have the answer make itself manifest out of thin air. His words were responded by further spellcasting from the three arcanists, but much to their relief the spells did not make any apparent change. “Sorry to keep you waiting, we’re just finishing our preparations to your demise” the disembodied voice of Ignus informed them from somewhere behind the two other mages. Hantel paid it no heed, as he was deep into spellcasting, summoning divine energies in order to heal all his wounds with an azure nimbus that covered him from top to bottom. The four warriors did not know how to proceed, for in front of them there was only misty air, and no more. The situation changed considerably when they felt the ground moving beneath their feet. Vincent yelped in surprise when he felt something grab at his ankle; roots were beginning to emerge from the grassy ground, grasping blindly at everyone situated in a wide radius. “Kahleen, what in the [I]Hells[/I] are you doing?” Gilliam demanded to know, his guess being correct about the phenomena being the shaman’s handiwork. “Keep your eyes forward, not downwards, and you will see” she replied calmly. The four stopped worrying about the groping roots for a moment, and only then did they notice them latching around what looked like empty air. “They can still be caught” Darius reasoned as he saw the roots that were attempting to twist around the invisible figure in front of him. No one needed much encouragement to strike at either mage. Darius’ sword cut only air once more, and Vincent’s spear did likewise even though they could get an approximation of the apprentice’s location now. Gilliam and Gon managed to land one solid blow each, but it did not feel to them like they had hurt the magi much, as little blood dropped from its still invisible owner. In reaction to being hit, the apprentice cast a spell, making the air shimmer around where he was located, but no more. His female companion’s outline became visible once more when she raised her slender wand with an amber tip, aiming for Darius. A word of power was spoken, and one flaming serpent emerged from its tip, hissing and spitting fire at the blond soldier as it launched itself towards him. Darius could not defend himself from it with his sword, nor did his armor prove efficient against the magic, and he felt an intense burn on his left arm when the snake struck there and exploded. Kahleen looked left, and then right at each group of combatants, finally allowing her gaze to remain in the middle of them. She nodded to herself and begun to channel essence around her body. Just then, a single arcane word was uttered from afar, its source no other than Ignus, who had been waiting for her to make the move. The shaman felt constricting forces forming around her, attempting to leave her paralyzed, and she made a supreme effort through her tiredness to resist the power. As soon as it had started, it went away, and her body relaxed, allowing her to finish the spell. Seeing Darius more hurt than ever, Hantel rushed to his aid as quickly as his debilitated body allowed, and he somehow avoided the thrashing roots by smacking them out of his way with his trusted staff. He made it right behind the soldier and prayed to Berethor for a healing spell, not for the last time in the day, he knew. Darius felt his recent burn go away, but his earlier injuries remained there nonetheless. Renewed by Hantel’s magic, Darius focused solely on the offense this time. The problem was, he realized, that there were five, not one, of the elven mage, each acting and looking like the real one. Darius cut through one with great precision, but after it dissipated in a flash he figured it was not the real one. “How in the Hells” he muttered, frustrated. Right next to him, Vincent attempted the same with his weapon, and the woman was pierced by the stomach right before dissolving into nothingness as well. The elven mage laughed as she began spellcasting once more, filling the two with dread. With his impressive speed, Gilliam would have had no problem in slashing at the mage and tearing him into little pieces in no time, but it was not going to happen: Kahleen’s summoned entangling roots now played against him, impeding him from moving another inch forward. Gon was in similar straits, and instead of attacking the mage he had to take the time to cut the roots away. A flash of fire appeared in front of them, heralding the appearance of another flaming snake from the now-visible man. He targeted Gilliam, seeing him as less nimble than Gon, and the mercenary could not for the life of him avoid the fiery magic with his legs trapped by the roots. The snake bit him in the neck, exploding and leaving a nasty burn in that part of his body. Before he had been tired, but now Gilliam felt truly exhausted, getting closer to the point of dropping down from all that he had been through recently. How much longer could he stay up and fight? Vincent felt sleepy. Sure, he was tired from all the fighting, but this feeling was beyond reasonable, and his eyes just refused to stay open. Suddenly the ground, living roots and all, did look rather inviting for a nap, and he toppled over… …but this insistent voice kept trying to take that precious sleep away from him. “Wake up, good squire! This isn’t the time for rest!” the voice of an old man kept repeating over and over. It was Hantel, he realized at length. Startled as he was, Vincent could not immediately shake off the feeling of sleepiness, and he began to climb back to his feet with the priest’s help. In the meantime, a small ivory figurine of a coiled whip appeared out of thin air, and after a command word was spoken it glowed, enlarging and transforming itself into a real weapon which floated on its own accord. An invisible hand pointed towards a target, and the magical weapon abided to its owner’s wish. Darius had felt the sleepiness as well, and was surprised to see Vincent actually fall asleep to the ground in the span of a second, right after the mage had worked her spell of slumber, and he felt fortunate to have resisted the spell. Instead of targeting one of the shifting images of the robed woman, the soldier closed his eyes and performed a wide horizontal slash with his blade. The satisfactory sound of fabric being ripped, along with skin and muscle, announced that he had been on target. Now the three images bore the same wide cut on their robes by the waist. Having released themselves from the restraint of the ever-moving vegetation, Gon and Gilliam proceeded to take the human apprentice down once and for all. He manifested mirrored images of himself like the other one, but the combination attack of the mercenary and soldier removed him of his illusory protection. The man paled at this, but held his ground, pointing at Gilliam with his wand once more, conjuring the deadly serpent at him. This time, the mercenary was able to dodge part of the explosion, but his energy was depleted by both the burn and the effort of dodging it. His breath became even more labored, and Gon glanced sideways at him, expecting Gilliam to collapse at the slightest breeze of air. A floating whip came from behind the mage, rearing back right before snapping forward, twisting its length around Gilliam’s sword, and pulling back. It was all Gilliam could do to avoid being driven to the ground by releasing his grip on the sword, allowing the floating whip to disarm him partially. Vincent and Darius were confident that they could finish the elven mage on their own, especially now that she had been caught fully by the moving roots, rendering her immobile. Vincent thrust forward with his spear, but he heard a voice from farther ahead tell him a message of great importance, stopping his attack. “[I]Do not strike her with the spear, it will cause you your death![/I]”. Not wanting to meet his end, Vincent promptly dropped the weapon, opting to punch at the mage instead. His attack was clumsy, to say the least, and he did not even hit a fake image. Darius was so flabbergasted by this that he stayed his own strike, staring at the squire in silent disbelief. The blond soldier was drawn from his stupefaction by a high pitched screech that came from above. An abnormally large bat was flying fifteen feet from the ground, moving swiftly to the space behind the two mages, looking for something or someone. Not far away, Gon feinted low with his sword, making his overhead chop unavoidable to the fragile mage, cutting a long wound on the side of the head, bypassing his magical wards. Gilliam would have added his own right there and then, but he felt like dropping dead rather than fighting. A surge of energy came into his body like a rushing river passed through an opened dam, restoring part of his potency. “Thanks, Han” he said while stepping forward and slashing the already hurt mage across the chest. Now it was the mage’s turn to look at the verge of annihilation, his eyes shining with fear of his demise. It was strange for Kahleen to obtain the shape of a bat, mostly since she had not been in it for a long time, as the animal’s sonar was its only source of perception to guide itself. Still, for the purpose she needed it now, it would have to suffice. She flew over past the humanoid shapes that were moving about, making a beeline towards the solitary person not far away from the rest. Her sonar informed her that the robed man was moving his arms about, but no more. She could only hope to reach him in time. Kahleen swooped down upon Ignus, claws outstretched, just as the illusionist finalized his spell. A spark appeared on his open palm, which quickly multiplied into thousands of other sparks as Ignus reached out for the shapeshifted shaman and grasped her foot firmly. “They say I’m quite the [I]electrifying[/I] fellow” Ignus commented casually. “Or at least, that’s what the spirits of the people I killed with this spell said” he added, right before he unleashed the electricity of the spell. Kahleen felt as if every cell of her body went on fire from one moment to the next, and everything went black. [/QUOTE]
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