Cerin looks up into the great trees surrounding him, the signs of the giant beast that has been terrorising the villages around here. The surviors reported it as a 6 legged beast, with claws as long as a mans forearm and fangs to match and a hide so tough no spears would penetrate. It would be an interesting fight, once they tracked the beast down...
<Markuran> "Damn the wyld ones, sending this beast. They have no honor. They try to buy our lands for some lost love and then try to force us out when we refuse."
<Cerin> "I know nothing of this deal they attempted, but they are persistant..."
<Markuran> "Some lord said his lost love was coming back and he had to meet her on our land. We told him he could have it if he swam in the Well of the Void."
There is a rustle in the distant trees.
<Cerin> "Ah. That is curious. But...Ah perhaps we draw near to our prey"
With a sudden crash, the beast -- even taller and more grotesque than indicated by the description -- bursts forth from a nearby copse. Startling even the well-prepared Solars, the beast rounds on Markuran -- the biggest target -- and brings down its vicious, twisted claws across his chest.
Markuran's kick leaves him ever so slightly open for one more strike -- the beast manages to rake a claw ever so gently across his chest.
Cerin's arrows plunge into the beast's supposedly "impenetrable" hide, and it howls in anger.
As Cerin's arrows and Mark's blows strike home against the horrific beast, its blood flows freely, and after a moment, it stops moving. For a second, it seems that the Solars have accomplished their goal -- until three more such beasts begin to charge at them, from the opposite direction.
The beasts rampage across the trunks of fallen trees, howling and screaming in horrific, unearthly voices. Two bear down on the thing which slew their brother, while the third moves to strike Cerin from his treetop perch....
The third creature comes to the foot of the tree, and sniffs it for a moment. Then, it crouches down upon its six legs, and makes a prodigious leap up to Cerin's branch, where its monstrous teeth snap at him fiercely
Cerin's leap is almost precisely what is needed to escape the beast's jaws -- almost. The Solar miscalculates by an inch and a single fang rips deeply into his gut, spraying blood everywhere.
Under the onslaught of Markuran's blows one of the beasts drops to its knees, nearly defeated.
The beasts, maddened by the scent of blood, press on harder after the beleaguered Solars.
The beast is so surprised at Markuran's strange action that it nearly forgets to bite down, managing only to slice the surface of the barbarian's thick skin.
The beast rapidly shakes its head and shifts its tongue around in its mouth, attempting to force Markuran off balance; at last, though, the Solar braces himself against its teeth and gives one mighty kick, driving his legs through the top of its head and shattering its skull utterly.
Another beast falls dead under the hail of Cerin's arrows.
The last of the horrific monstrosities turns to Markuran, still dripping with its companion's blood, and charges furiously.
Furious with anger, the beast runs right through its fellow creature's remains and slams into Markuran viciously.
The beast crumples under the wounded Marku's forceful blows.
<Markuran> "I can walk unless my legs are ripped off and then I'd crawl on my hands." spitting out a wad of blood, the big man groans. "But I think..it might be nice to wait for Zahara to catch up with us...we left her that note."
<Markuran> "She'll want to look over the monsters."
<Markuran> "We can wait here. For her."
<Cerin> "They're yeddim ...if you can believe it"
<Markuran> "Nothing is a yeddim after this long in the wyld. But I recognized what they used to be."
<Cerin> "The shaping was deliberate though..." he takes a breath "Which makes it much more worrying"
<Markuran> "The wyld ones are always worrying."
<Markuran> "You fought well."
<Cerin> "I was careless. If you hadnt been here it would have cost me my life"
<Markuran> "..no one else needs to know that a mere Yeddim brought me low, Cerin..."
<Markuran> "We can tell her they had riders."
<Markuran> "Big riders. With swords of diamond and fire."
<Markuran> "They burst into flames when we killed them..."
<Markuran> "The wyld ones must be made to pay for these beasts, Cerin."
<Markuran> "I'm not the only Sunlander that's been down this beast's gullet."
<Zahara> "What happened here?" she asks, surveying the carnage with interest.
<Zahara> "You're hurt.. where's Markuran?"
<Markuran> "I'm in here." one blood-caked arm waves from inside a crushed corpse
<Markuran> "I jumped down its throat and kicked its brain out. Then another one attacked before I climbed out. I killed it too, so I'm just laying here."
<Markuran> "They grazed me a few times. I could use one of those bugs of yours."
<Markuran> "Just for a moment or two."
<Zahara> "The ones that you think are disgusting?"
<Markuran> "They are disguisting. But useful.."
<Zahara> "hmmm you MUST be ill." she sends two of the bugs over to Marku, as they've pretty much finished with Cerin.
<Markuran> "Of course I stink. I'm covered in blood, sweat, spit and brains."
<Markuran> "They will leave me a decent scar, won't they?"
<Zahara> "How glorious."
<Zahara> "No, really." she points.
<Markuran> "It was the riders, not the beasts, that were the problem."
<Zahara> "Riders? What riders?" she stops her fascinated staring at his spine, and looks around for smaller corpses. "There's just these huge beasts."
<Zahara> ::Tantamount tries the yeddim-things out for flavor, and finds them quite tasty.
<Zahara> "Wyld-twisted, looks like."
<Markuran> "The riders burst into flames when we killed them. wyld ones."
<Markuran> "Sunfire doesn't leave ash when it burns bodies."
<Zahara> "does so."
<Markuran> "Not real ash. That's dust, it blows away, carrying the soul up."
<Zahara> "Did they leave any weapons behind? I wouldn't mind adding to my collection."
<Markuran> "Their swords were of flames."
<Zahara> "Hmm you don't LOOK burned. Did you get bitten?"
<Markuran> "On my way in."
<Zahara> "I think they like you."
<Cerin> "Zee, could I have one of the Sesselje...as pleasant though your face is to see, I'd prefer if I didnt have to wait to see it to have my injuries healed"
<Cerin> "I would prefer to.." he pauses to let the bug dive in "never use its powers but..."
<Zahara> "Well, it will get upset if it doesn't get to heal anything for a long time, so be sure to let it play every once in a while."
<Markuran> "Or it might start poking holes in your guts to amuse itself by healing them"
<Zahara> "You can always feed Marku to some giant beasts, to give it something to do."
Tags: (:tags Fair Folk:)