The First Blight: Curse of Dumat [RP/Closed]

[ShadowFolk]

As they came around for another assault on the darkspawn Sulahn?nehn noticed that more of them were gathering on the tower.  To make matters worse, one of them was a massive ogre on the same side as Jarrik. With a combination of both fresh archers and the big, ugly beast the Warden could be one hit away from falling off that tower. She could bet that no one would want to chance how quickly a griffon could react to grab the man before he hit the ground. That was more than enough thinking about a tumble from a great height.

She pat Ulrin on the shoulder and pointed to the trouble, ?There! Stay as level as you can.?

Do not miss. Do not miss.

Sulahn?nehn?s eyes darted from the archers to the ogre and back. She took a deep breath, rose her staff in the air and a second later one of the archer fell from the tower, another knocked on its back, and the ogre?well, she wasn?t entirely certain she?d actually hurt the thing, but it did seem to take pause.

 

[Rosen2012]

"Aye!" Ulrin shouted over his shoulder to her. he too was watching the next wave of Darkspawn scale the stairs, and cursing under his breath. Now there was an ogre in the mix of things, and Jarrik was its target. Luckily Sulahn'nehn spells finished off the first round of archers, and the rest of the Wardens seemed focused on the new ones.

"Hang on, my sister!" Ulrin gripped the reigns of the bird. "We're going to give Jarrik our aid!" With that he ordered Weaver down to dive in at the Ogre. A risky move, but he hoped its precarious placement would slant things in their favor. He was slightly right. The beast dove in hard and fast, her talons cutting into the Darkspawn's back shoulders while he stabbed at its neck with his daggers. In an instant the damage was done and he pulled Weaver back trying to escape before it could turn to attack them.

 

[Cinnonym]

Nadja gave a sharp wail that was as much surprise as it was pain, her thigh feathered with two arrows and quickly reddening with blood. The griffon wheeled around and charged the archers out of blind instinct, latching onto one with talons and beak and showing the monster what had earned him his name. Nadja's glaive swept out, cutting deep across the chest of the other archer just to make it keep its distance while she shouted commands to her mount and jammed her heels into his sides.

"I'm sorry, Jarrik! Endure!"

In a white blur, the griffon shrieked and shot upward with a beat of his massive wings.

---------------​

Fidelity aided Delphina in trying to keep the Ogre distracted, a strike of sorcerous lightning razing the monster's chest and left shoulder.

"Be at ease, Constable. It is slow and your Wardens are resilient."

 

[duckflesh]

The ogre roared as it was laid into by the Wardens, its dark blood now glistening on its armor. It drew a massive greataxe from its back and charged at Jarrik, fetching him a mighty blow with the weapon.

One genlock archer was now paralyzed; the other loosed an arrow at Diocles, but the shot went wide.

A Hurlock had now reached the top of a watchtower some fifty yards from the battle. Holding its staff high, it sent an enormous ball of lightning hurtling toward Weaver. The shockwave enveloped the beast and both of its occupants.


---

Delphina nodded to Fidelity. "You're right-- we'll show them what we're made of!"

The griffon swooped in once more, strafing the paralyzed Genlock as Delphina shot an arrow at the other. Miraculously, neither Darkspawn was injured by the assault.

Delphina shot Fidelity a look of exasperation as their griffon climbed once again.

 

[Cinnonym]

Fidelity looked at the uninjured archers with a blank expression, blinking rapidly in as near a gesture of surprise as it could manage. The spirit turned its head to regard Delphina with complete solemnity.

"...Those ones are less slow."

 

[FortyThree]

"MAGE!"

Diocles wheeled his mount the instant he saw the new threat emerge. Flufferkins streaked to the target as Diocles sent an arrow deep into the creature's gut. If that wasn't enough to get it's attention, the griffon buzzed it, slashing into its shoulders with a pair of claws. Diocles shouted for the creature's attention, hoping to bring its fire away from the more populated griffons.

"Try me, dragon-shit! Diocles Komnenos is no easy prey!"

 

[ShadowFolk]

Sulahn'nehn shrieked in pain. The attack felt like a powerful kick in the chest and fire in her blood. She reached forward and grabbed onto Ulrin to steady herself as she gulped down air to catch her breath. Another mage was on the field somewhere. She would find it and repay it in kind.

She grit her teeth and a spell whistled through the air and collided with the Hurlock.

 

[Rosen2012]

Like Sulahn'nehn, Ulrin hollered in pain as they were struck, his cries slightly drowned out by Weaver's own shrieks. For a moment both rider and griffon were dazed from their pain, but as he felt the female elf grip his shoulder Ulrin's mind came back to tug on Weaver's reigns. He could hear Diocles proclaiming there was a new mage about on the field, and his passenger was already setting her spells upon the Hurlock.

"Come on, Weaver!" Ulrin turned her from the Orge and joined in on Flufferkins dive bombing of the the new mage. The elf used his daggers to lean out and slash at its chest as his bird quickly made a sweep at him with her beak and claws.

 

[Cinnonym]

Though their comrades had forgotten Jarrik and the ogre, Nadja at least remained to assist him--though he was still not invited back into the saddle. She didn't want to hold still long enough to risk it.

When the ogre's arms raised to prepare another swing, White Fury's swift dive put velocity behind the blade of her glaive to cut a gash wherever she could find exposed flesh. The griffon sank its talons into the monster's head and launched back into the air, sweeping down away from the wall before regaining altitude. She adjusted her weapon, keeping it firmly supported beneath her arm.

"I said 'endure'! What're you getting throttled for!?"

Fidelity's next attack continued to harry the ogre, and the spirit frowned at the sight of the thing merely shaking off its jolt of electricity, "It has a surprisingly high resistance to magic, Constable. I worry for the armored man."

 

[Slycne]

"Why don't you come down here and fight this thing instead then!?"

Jarrik verbally sparred with the griffin rider zooming around nearby, in a tone of jest but with a hint of urgency.

The orge's last attack had nearly wrenched his shield arm from his shoulder - the mighty blow only having barely been turned on the metal shield, but now the arm hung mostly limp and numb at his side. The armored Rivaini gave up ground in order to stay defensive, waiting for strength to return and get his shield back up. His blood soaked spear darted out whenever the ogre tried to advance on him, the constant jabbing keeping the large creature at bay and delivering several leaking wounds across its arms and torso. Like a twisted mirror, they stood opposite each other both bloody, but not yet broken.

 

[duckflesh]

The Hurlock Emissary was nearly knocked out of the watchtower by the furious assault that was mounted upon it. Badly bloodied, it howled orders in its foul tongue, and the pair of archers sent arrows flying for Weaver; one was off the mark, but the other embedded itself in the griffon's breast, evidenced by its howl of pain.

The Emissary itself was watching Diocles, turning where it stood to follow his course through the air. It sent a rippling current of energy at him, the bolt of force finding its mark.

The ogre stared Jarrik down, gasping for breath and oozing blood in rivulets. It tore the crumpled helmet off its head with one hand and threw it aside. Then it lunged forward, hammering the man once again with its greataxe.

---

Not one to be discouraged, Delphina's griffon swooped in for another pass, this time targeting the ogre and raking its face. Delphina followed this up by launching an arrow into the ogre's neck. It was already so bloodied, however, that the wound was barely noticeable.

 

[ShadowFolk]

Darkspawn were amazingly resilient. Had the series of attacks placed on it been pointed at her, she was certain that she would not still be standing. That was about the only spectacular thing about them and they really needed to do something about that fact.

Sulahn?nehn rose her staff once more and saw the Emissary?s body jerk to one side when her spell connected. She swore under her breath; the damn thing was still breathing.

 

[Rosen2012]

Following up on Sulahn'nehn's latest assault on the Emissary, Ulrin pulled Weaver to circle around, trying to console his bird to calm her cries while preparing her for their next attack. He ordered the griffon into a long swoop across the wall, she dove down bringing him in close to the Hurlock, allowing him to slash into its throat with such force that he nearly severed the head from the stalk. Its dark blood sprayed freely as it finally toppled over.

Weaver continued down the line, slowly climbing just as they came up on the ogre, her talons clipped into the beast's shoulders, tearing away more skin as she used the momentum from the attack to continue upward toward the sky once more.

 

[FortyThree]

His taunt worked, maybe too well. One more hit like that and he'd be killed. Even as it was, he had the wind knocked out of him, everything going black. As he began to fall from the saddle, Flufferkins turned to keep him upright. It saved its rider, but foiled its own attack on the weaker Genlock to miss. Regaining his senses, Diocles managed to launch another quick arrow, though he was unable to focus enough to aim properly. Still, he managed to do some damage to one of the remaining archers.

 

[Slycne]

Like a pair of drunken pugilists urged into a brawl, Jarrik and the ogre were now simply exchanging blows with feet squared off to stay upright. Whoever fell first was not likely to get back up, permanently. One of them had a giant axe and the other had brought more friends to the fight, but they were both heaving for breath.

As another griffin raked the ogre with claws, through blurring vision Jarrik didn't see who, the ogre roared and took out its frustration on the only available target. The massive great axe was moving more slowly now, but the force still slammed Jarrik against the wall with a crunch and clatter of metal. The armor had gained many rents today, but it had done its job absorbing enough impacts what would have killed him twice over.

Sensing its opponent finally bested, the ogre let the axe go slack in its tattered and bleeding arms. It's not as if humans normally took four solid blows to put down. Jarrik wasn't going to loose his chance, and a spear darted out from the seemingly crumpled form. The heavy axe was too slow to bring up to parry, and the blade sunk into the beast's thick neck. The ogre stood teetering on the edge of the wall, clutching at its throat to keep blood from flowing free. It's breathing was shallow and gurgling, but there was spite and fury still in those eyes.

 

[Cinnonym]

White Fury returned before the ogre could retaliate, diving down and landing heavily on the creature's shoulders. The griffon's talons mauled its face and gouged its eyes, and as it bellowed in pain and alarm, his wings beat and his legs shoved off and upward. Blinded and near death as it was, the ogre thrashed wildly with its greataxe and flailed its massive arm but neither action could help it retain its balance; one more lumbering step, and it toppled from the wall with another wail.

Nadja's mount hit the floor on all fours, charging forward toward the surviving archers. One drew its bow to attack, but Fidelity's lightning stunned it just long enough for her glaive to slice through it.

 

[duckflesh]

The two remaining Darkspawn, both badly injured, fired their final volley at Diocles. They hissed in pleasure as both arrows found their mark.

Their happiness was short lived-- Delphina's griffon slammed into one of them, sending it hurtling to its death. Delphina hopped off and onto the battlements, drawing back her bowstring and launching an arrow at point-blank range through the final Darkspawn's eye. It collapsed dead, blood gurgling from its mouth.

She shielded her eyes and looked up, trying to spot Flufferkins. "Diocles!?"

 

[FortyThree]

Diocles' bucked forward as the arrows slammed into his back. His last sight was his comrades, followed by a spray of blood from his own mouth. As he went unconscious the archer slumped forward onto the griffons neck, his arms going on either side of the beast, arrow falling earthward, his bow catching precariously on a stirrup. Flufferkins, a well-trained beast, moved to land on the wall when it sensed the lack of control.

As they turned about Komnenos slumped further to the side, edging closer to the point of no return..

 

[Rosen2012]

Ulrin let out a sigh of relief as the last Darkspawn archer fell. He was thankful the battle had gone so well. They hadn't lost anyone, or so he though. As he turned his head to congratulate his fellow Wardens he saw Diocles slump over on his griffon.

The elf gripped Weaver's reigns cursing as he turned her to land next to Flufferkins. "Death surly does want that man! I hope that spirit can heal as well as Theadrin."

 

[ShadowFolk]

A quick glance over the area showed no signs of living Darkspawn; a welcomed sight. However, the sound of Delphina shouting for the Senior Warden did not bode well. A stone formed in her stomach, misfortune really did favor Diocles.

?Only if he is not too far gone.? Once landed, Sulahn?nehn wrestled herself out of her harness and hurried to his side, placing her hands on his shoulders. ?Come now, you?ve seen worse than this. You will be fine.? Her tone of voice was far from convincing. She couldn?t even tell if he was conscious.

?Where?s the damned spirit!?