BoZV - Arc 2

[Arashi]

Enfurnus quietly helped the others clean up the camp. He didn't have much to say at this point; they would simply just be packing up, and then heading out. There was work to be done now, and it needed to be done soon.

Silver did her part in cleaning up the camp too; the anticipation was killing her. She found herself slightly anxious, simply because she knew she would be deactivating a crystal again. She had no clue what effects it had on her, and she hadn't really thought much about it until now. It didn't really matter as long as it was done, but...who knows. She quietly hoped that Rion's abilities really did negate the effects of the crystals on her.

She walked up to Rion.

"You...will come with me again right? To the crystal?" Part of her knew he would, but part of her was still unsure about all this.

She then saw Aqua returning with some fish.

"Thank you Aqua! A good snack for on the go. Shall we head out then?"

[Bloodbane]

Rion nodded in agreement with Terra, though tilted his head after looking around and not seeing Aqua anywhere. "Where'd she run off-- oh there she is." It was just as he began speaking that Aqua returned with freshly-caught fish, wasting no time in getting them heated up. He smiled, nodding at the idea of taking the fish while they continued toward the mountains. "Sounds like a good idea," he said, though just when he was about to begin moving forward, he was soon approached by Silver, who asked if he would go with her to the crystal. What kind of question was that?

"Of course. It'd be too dangerous otherwise." He replied. Knowing now that she had practically drained the energy by taking it into herself, he saw no reason not to try and be around to reduce whatever effects that would have. Once everyone had gathered once more, he began setting off towards the mountains. It took some time to get to the base of the mountains, but they had reached the area without any further incident, soon finding themselves near one of the larger cave entrances. How deep would these caves go?

"I know at least some portion of these caves are due to mining... but that likely won't be the case until we get closer to Eulene. From here, we'll need to be ready for anything." He explained, before a glowing aura began to radiate around his hand, soon forming a small orb of light that he used as a sort of torch. Once he had the way in front of him better lit, he proceeded inside.

[Swim]

Terra thanked Frida and munched eagerly on the fish she'd provided as the group made their way to the base of the mountains. She hadn't counted on any sort of breakfast and it was a pleasant surprise to be sure.
~
Terra held aloft a fireball and fell into step with Rion. "Were you a miner at one point?" She asked him, after he announced some measure of familiarity with the area. Her father and brothers had all been miners, it was partially because of the experiences she'd shared with them that she felt very comfortable with the prospect of going underground now.

[Sorrum]

Aqua finished her fish and looked at the cave. "As early as it is, and secluded as this place is, I wonder if our enemy will be prepared?" Aqua asked Enfurnus. Upon Rion's advice, she drew her spear and fell into step behind the others, a similar formation to last time. "Fighting in these tunnels might be rough.."

[Arashi]

Silver scratched the back of her head as Rion answered her question. He answered with such certainty...it made her feel better. And slightly embarrassed, because she felt like she should have already known the answer. Oh well. She just simply nodded in reply.

She walked along with the others as they made their way towards the caves, after eating her fish.

~

They soon arrived at the caves.

Enfurnus looked to Aqua as she asked him about their enemies being ready.

"Who knows. I have a feeling our enemies won't have much of a brain to begin with if this crystal has already been here for awhile. If anything in there has a brain, I'm sure we can catch it off guard. Otherwise, should be easy enough regardless." He replied with a shrug. It was pretty obvious at this point that he didn't expect it to be too bad in there. Either that, or it was just the fact that this was every day business for him many years ago.

Silver stayed quiet for now, following Rion in to the cave and staying close behind him. She didn't really like caves, they kind of spooked her. While many dragons live in caves, her species did not live in deep cave systems like this; they often lived atop ridges at high altitudes that left them to be pretty safe, or among densely packed trees.

Though, she would deal with it. This was important.

Enfurnus followed in soon enough, staying towards the back of the group.

"Be on guard now."

~

The group managed to get fairly deep in to the cave system without incident; the narrow paths now more wide and a bit more accommodating. However, darkness consumed everything around them...and the extra open space was considerably more dangerous, because it allowed for ambushes.

...and out of the shadows, a blighted human pounced out, towards the back of the group...at Aqua. It swung it's arm up to ready a strike.

"Watch it!" Enfurnus snarled, reacting quickly enough to grab the blighted human by the would-be striking arm with his metal hand and toss it a short distance away; enough to get it out of clawing range.

Silver swung around and drew her katana. She looked around, trying to see if any more blighted beasts were coming their way.

[Sorrum]

The walk through the darkness dulled Aqua's senses. The blighted human's hand came at her almost without resistance. Luckily for her, Enfurnus caught the attack.

While he threw the monster away, she took aim with Sharksbane and fired the spear head. She pierced the monster's head while it was still stunned from Enfurnus's attack, its head fidgeting briefly before it lay motionless. "Enemies! Be on guard!" Aqua cried out to the group.

She quickly turned on her helmet's light, and sure enough there were more. She wasn't sure how many, so it would best to play defensively. Aqua swung wide with her Sharksbane, its head now shaped like a glaive. "Take this!" she yelled as she cut down one of the oncoming monsters, severing its neck from its shoulders.

[Bloodbane]

Looking over to Terra, Rion shook his head. "I personally wasn't... but being raised there I knew people in Eulene who worked in that field, and likely would have gone down that path, myself. When my abilities were discovered, you can imagine how quickly those career prospects changed." He replied, chuckling briefly. Indeed, those with abilities like his weren't as common, and it had been decided it was best to train those abilities than live what would have been considered by some to be a "normal" life. From there, he listened to the conversation between Enfurnus and Aqua, nodding in agreement. Assuming the crystal's creator was not hiding out somewhere, then it was very likely to be a similar case to before; groups of mindless minions and maybe a couple bigger things when they got closer.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before said minions began to make their way toward the group, with Enfurnus and Aqua making quick work of one that had gone too close. "Looks like it's showtime." Rion said, the orb that was lighting the path soon appearing to stretch and lengthen until it resembled a slender blade. With the group being made aware to some extent of his work before his travels alone, he saw no reason to keep his primary talents hidden any longer. He quickly pressed forward, slashing across the chest of another zombie before forming another orb in his other hand, launching it forward and sending it back toward a cave wall.

[Swim]

When the attack came it was fortunate that Enfurnus noticed. Even though she and Rion were providing light it wasn't enough to illuminate everything. And she certainly hadn't expected the attack to come from behind, were the blighted creatures even smart enough to pull off a sneak attack? A question for later perhaps, now it was time to fight. Terra supposed there was no sense in trying to take the creatures out quietly, if there was a Blight Mage in the cavern with them there was little chance their approach would go unnoticed.

Remembering what Silver had said about removing their heads Terra boosted herself over to one of the many pathways and delivered a lunging gut punch to the nearest blighted human. When its body doubled over she straightened up and shattered its lower jaw with an uppercut. While the creature reeled Terra grabbed it by the shoulders and hurled it down the passageway where it collided with a few of its fellows. She followed up with a couple of blind fireballs down the tunnel for good measure before turning around to check on how the rest of her team was doing.

[Arashi]

Silver made quick work of an approaching blight minion by slicing it's head off with one of her swords. These ones didn't appear to be very strong or threatening, but...it was only the start of their approach after all. The closer they got to the crystal, the stronger the beasts guarding it. It would be best not to get too relaxed.

Another blighted beast approached Silver from the dark, catching her off-guard. It slashed at her arm with it's claws. She managed to move mostly out of the way in time, but it did manage to graze her arm, leaving a few small cuts. She growled and retaliated by stabbing the zombie through the face.

Enfurnus grabbed a nearby monster's head with his hand and held it firmly. A green, glowing liquid began to drip down it's head...and then it promptly began melting. For the first time since joining the group, Enfurnus had opted to use his magic...and primary element. Poison.

He dropped the headless body to the floor.

After the group fought for a short while, the beasts seemed to stop coming. That appeared to be all of them...for now.

"So...we're going in the right direction, apparently." Enfurnus crossed his arms.

Silver lowered her weapon a bit, though was still tense. Being surrounded by a black void was eating at her ability to focus. She raised her arm to examine the cuts; they were small, but annoying. More annoying in that she let her guard down and her discomfort distract her; she considered that a failure on her part. It was unlike her to take a hit so easily like that. She snarled a bit.

"Right direction yes...let's get it over with."

[Sorrum]

The attack was in small numbers apparently. No sooner did Aqua slay her fourth enemy then did the bout cease. Holding one minion on the end of her staff, ice splashed over it and encased it's form in ice. With a swift turn and swing of her spear, Aqua smashed the figure into bits.

"Well, they're not very strong.. a threat to citizens, perhaps." She said. When Silver spoke, she noticed her agitation, then the cuts on her arm. "T'would I likely have the same discomforting scrapes if not for my armor. Then again, nearly lost my head in a sneak attack." She mused. From now on, she'd have to be more careful in here. All of them would.

[Swim]

Terra wasn't surprised that the blighted humans were few in number. From what she understood the nearest populated area was Eulene, and if they were successful here today they'd halt the Blight spread before it ever got that far. These people had most likely been unfortunate travelers before being transformed into monsters.

Frida made a comment regarding the sneak attack, Terra decided to chime in. "I'm surprised that they were able to get the drop on us like that, I didn't think these creatures had enough intelligence remaining to carry out a stealth attack. We'll have to watch our backs as we continue forward."

[Bloodbane]

Before long, the minions were dispatched with relative ease, and in the process Enfurnus revealed his own magical element. "Well... looks like that should work well too." Rion said with a chuckle, before looking around the group. "Everyone all right?" He asked, checking around for any wounds. He had overheard Aqua mentioning some sort of scratches, and when he looked over to Silver he noticed she was examining her arm. It wasn't long before he approached her, the light-based blade in his hand dispersing as he looked over her arm as well. Within seconds an aura began to emit from his hand, and though the healing itself was minor, it was primarily to ensure that no remnant blight was left to fester in the wound.

"Looks like we're all set. Let's press on." He said, before continuing deeper into the caves.

[Arashi]

Enfurnus smiled at Rion as he commented about his magic. "Yeah, melting things is pretty effective. Not so easy on something that puts up more of a fight, but I mean...for these things, sure."

Silver stared at her injuries for a bit longer as Aqua spoke. She realized that Aqua was...trying to make her feel better, perhaps? This made her smile a small bit, though she still avoided eye contact. She was glad Enfurnus managed to protect Aqua.

"I...guess so. I'm glad that you aren't hurt at least." She spoke somewhat quietly in reply.

Enfurnus crossed his arms and listened to Aqua and Silver speak. He looked at Aqua.

"You're not losing any body parts on my watch. Unless you want a metal arm like me, then knock yourself out. It's useful, after all..." He smirked, trying to lighten the mood a bit after the surprise attack. He knew the importance of keeping morale high. Besides, he didn't plan on seeing anybody have major injuries. He then looked to Terra, as she commented as well. "They don't. They just like the dark and also like to kill anything that isn't like them, so they attacked. Don't worry too much. Just be wary."

Silver tilted her head a bit as Rion walked up to her and began to look at her arm. He then used some sort of light magic on her injury. While it didn't heal the cuts all the way, it made them at least stop hurting.

"Oh...uh..thanks!" She looked up at Rion and smiled. She had forgotten he can do that sort of stuff...and was glad that he could.

~

The group continued on their walk without further incident, but probably more on guard at this point. It was almost...eerily quiet. The only sounds were occasional shuffling, and water dripping. It was cold and dark, even with light provided by the group.

Soon enough, off in the not-too-far distance, a faint purple glow could be seen that would look familiar. It was the crystal they were looking for, for sure. It looked bigger than the last one. The tunnel it was in was also of decent size; it was not cramped. The crystal provided a dim light, but that would be temporary.

Around in, the glowing eyes of blighted creatures could be seen. None of them looked particularly off, likely due to the fact that the tunnels were so secluded, nor did any of them notice the group just yet. This didn't look like it would be too hard, but the crystal itself...that was a little intimidating, at least to Silver. She was hoping for something small.

"...I see it. Same thing as before, stay away from me when I deactivate the crystal." Silver said quietly as to not alert the zombies, as she looked at the crystal in the distance. "And...stay safe. Please."

"I think we should be the ones saying that to you. I only have...some idea how you do it, but I know for certain it can't be good for you." Enfurnus quietly replied back to her as he drew his katana. He didn't want to say much more than that in fear of...revealing things he should not.

"Rion helps me. I'll be okay. Worry about yourself." Silver was short and curt with her reply. She was both determined and nervous. This one was bigger. What would happen to her?

"Fine." Enfurnus sighed. Silver was putting a lot of trust in Rion. He didn't think it was misplaced, but...still. It put them both undeniably in danger.

Silver walked up to Rion and looked at him.

"...Ready?" She spoke with quiet hesitation and nervousness. It wouldn't stop her from doing her job, though.

The silence was broken soon though, by the zombies taking notice of the group. A few began to run at the group with claws raised. Enfurnus opted to fight in his human form and use his katana to fend off enemies. One charged at him; he blocked its claws with his metal arm and sliced its head off with his katana.

Silver drew one of her swords but opted to simply dodge her way through the group of zombies, aiming to get closer to the crystal instead of fight; this group seemed small enough for her to do that for now. She would fight when she got to it if she needed to.

It was up to the group now to fight off all the zombies, and distract them if possible.

[Sorrum]

Aqua took note of Enfurnus's abilities, and his metal arm grabbed her attention. How did that happen? she wondered. "Thanks. I've got your back, too." She replied. Enfurnus felt dependable. Aqua smiled under her helmet.

~

The crystal ahead looked bigger than the last one. No doubt it would result in Silver becoming weak again. That would be dangerous here, being down a fighter. Even from this distance, the crystal seemed to pull on Aqua's very essence. "Gods, what is with that effect?" She stammered as she forced mana out to her spear. Even her spear felt heavier, unfortunately the spear's head felt much lighter as it only formed an imitation of what Aqua desired. She cursed under her breath. With the two dragons in the lead now, the party's rear defense relied on her. "Focus, Frida.." she said to herself. Light blue mana once again poured over the spear, this time forming a nice dagger-like spear head. "Excellent."

Aqua took aim and fired the spear ahead, piercing one of the blight drone's heads. She retracted the blade, and took aim at another, before noticing the thing kept moving. "W-wait, I thought they died from that..?" Aqua saw the monster's head turn toward her and start heading toward her now, ooze pouring from its head wound and fangs. Freaky.

Aqua focused her mana yet again, down to the spears other end. She channeled energy into it until the monster was nearly upon her. With a hefty swing, Aqua swung down on the monster's form with an oversized block of ice, her spear becoming a war hammer. The monster crumbled under the maul, crushed between its weight and the rough rock floor of the cave.

"Alright.. enough playing around.." Aqua lifted the hammer again, this time slinging it over her right shoulder. "Have to end this before any more of these creeps come out." Aqua stepped right of the main charge, swinging the hammer in a wide arc and cleanly knocking back two oncoming blight drones. She pushed on, spinning the staff around and impaling another blighted creature on it's spear head. Aqua's left hand became covered in ice, as she grabbed the monster's head. Slowly, from her hand the ice spread over the blighted monster's head and body, until it was frozen solid in only a few seconds. Aqua pushed the figure off her spear, it's body shattering against the cave floor. Aqua afforded herself a quick breath, before lifting the hammer for another mighty strike against the next wave.

[Swim]

The narrow pathway had opened up into a more spacious cavern, and in the distance was a faint purple glow that could only be the crystal. And drawn by its corrupting influence was a small pack of guardians. And once again she felt the familiar pull of the Blight sapping her energy, they'd do well to neutralize the crystal quickly.

Silver and Rion made directly for their objective, with Frida and Enfurnus providing a tight cover around them. Terra had lagged a couple of paces behind, still holding fireballs aloft in each arm to provide vision for everyone but as the monsters closed in it became apparent that perfect vision was something the party might have to do without.

One of the monsters pounced at Terra, who thrust her left arm out, launching the fireball and blasting it away. She balanced the remaining fireball in between both palms and focused her energy into it, feeding the fire and willing it to grow. By now the sounds of the fight had alerted more of the monsters, their footsteps thundering down the tunnel the group had entered from. Now at critical mass, Terra released her fireball, incinerating the first few Blight creatures and crushing several more as the tunnel collapsed. The party would have to find another way out now, but that problem could wait. Terra could see the others still advancing on the crystal, she flicked the wheels out of her combat boots and launched herself down the sloping path to join them.